Beartown | Fredrik Backman
I picked up Beartown because I like hockey.
I mean, I'd been meaning to pick up some Backman at some point. Everyone loves A Man Called Ove, but to be honest, a book about an old dude just didn't interest me. But hockey does interest me, so I went with Beartown.
If you've watched my latest June Weekly Wrap-Up, you know that this book is my favorite book that I've read so far this year. I cried for the last hundred and fifty pages. Just, sobbed, straight onto the page, which was kind of gross, because it's a library copy, but now I have my own copy to cry into so it's all good, it's all good.
The funny thing about Beartown, though, is that a lot of people I've talked about have neglected to pick it up because it's about hockey. They've read his other books and enjoyed them, but they're just not into hockey, so they never picked up this one. Which is, first of all, how can you not be into hockey, pretty boys slamming into each other at full speed is literally the best sport that's ever existed and I will fight you on this, and second of all, if you like hockey, this SNL sketch gets about a million times funnier, but third of all...
I mean, okay, I realize I didn't pick up anything else that Backman ever wrote because they didn't sound like they interested me, but like, I wasn't already a fan of Backman when I decided not to pick up his most popular books. And, hell, Beartown got a sequel! Which I am super excited about and now own!
The thing with Beartown is that, sure, it's about hockey. But it's about so much more than hockey. It's about how a community can get so obsessed with one thing that it hurts them. It's about the hopes of a town riding on the shoulders of a group of teenage boys. It's about a mother's love for her children. It's also about what trash dudes can be, and how hard being a teenager is, and also Benji Ovich the best child that's ever existed and I would literally die for him.
Beartown took these lives, sketched their portraits with a few concise sentences, made you fall in love with them, and broke them. Like I mentioned, Benji was my favorite, but I spent the entire book just waiting for something to break him. Just waiting to see what would just push him over the edge from stoned and apathetic to hurt. And I wasn't disappointed with it.
And, if you need any more convincing, there's a Middle Eastern protagonist, and a gay protagonist, and realistic, well-written female characters, and everyone please read Beartown.
I mean, I'd been meaning to pick up some Backman at some point. Everyone loves A Man Called Ove, but to be honest, a book about an old dude just didn't interest me. But hockey does interest me, so I went with Beartown.
If you've watched my latest June Weekly Wrap-Up, you know that this book is my favorite book that I've read so far this year. I cried for the last hundred and fifty pages. Just, sobbed, straight onto the page, which was kind of gross, because it's a library copy, but now I have my own copy to cry into so it's all good, it's all good.
The funny thing about Beartown, though, is that a lot of people I've talked about have neglected to pick it up because it's about hockey. They've read his other books and enjoyed them, but they're just not into hockey, so they never picked up this one. Which is, first of all, how can you not be into hockey, pretty boys slamming into each other at full speed is literally the best sport that's ever existed and I will fight you on this, and second of all, if you like hockey, this SNL sketch gets about a million times funnier, but third of all...
I mean, okay, I realize I didn't pick up anything else that Backman ever wrote because they didn't sound like they interested me, but like, I wasn't already a fan of Backman when I decided not to pick up his most popular books. And, hell, Beartown got a sequel! Which I am super excited about and now own!
The thing with Beartown is that, sure, it's about hockey. But it's about so much more than hockey. It's about how a community can get so obsessed with one thing that it hurts them. It's about the hopes of a town riding on the shoulders of a group of teenage boys. It's about a mother's love for her children. It's also about what trash dudes can be, and how hard being a teenager is, and also Benji Ovich the best child that's ever existed and I would literally die for him.
Beartown took these lives, sketched their portraits with a few concise sentences, made you fall in love with them, and broke them. Like I mentioned, Benji was my favorite, but I spent the entire book just waiting for something to break him. Just waiting to see what would just push him over the edge from stoned and apathetic to hurt. And I wasn't disappointed with it.
And, if you need any more convincing, there's a Middle Eastern protagonist, and a gay protagonist, and realistic, well-written female characters, and everyone please read Beartown.
Comments
Post a Comment