Darkness and grit exist alongside tenderness and levity, creating a blunt realism that brings the setting's small-town atmosphere to vivid life., PRAISE FOR BEARTOWN 'Lest readers think hockey is the star here, it's Backman's rich characters that steal the show, and his deft handling of tragedy and its effects on an insular town. Backman's excellent novel has an atmosphere of both Scandinavian folktale and Greek tragedy. With immense compassion and insight, Fredrik Backman reveals how loyalty, friendship, and kindness can carry a town through its most challenging days.Ī light hearted, deeply moving novel about a grumpy but loveable curmudgeon who finds his solitary world., Evident in all novels is an apparent ability to state a truth about humanity with breathtaking elegance., Backman ( A Man Called Ove ) returns to the hockey-obsessed village of his previous novel Beartown to chronicle the passion, violence, resilience, and humanity of the people who live there in this engrossing tale of small-town Swedish life. Here is a declaration of love for all the big and small, bright and dark stories that give form and color to our communities. By the time the last goal is scored, a resident of Beartown will be dead, and the people of both towns will be forced to wonder if, after everything, the game they love can ever return to something as simple and innocent as a field of ice, two nets, and two teams. But bringing this team together proves to be a huge challenge, especially as the town's enmity with Hed grows more and more acute as the big game approaches. Soon a team starts to take shape around Amat, the fastest player you'll ever see Benji, the intense lone wolf always dutiful and eager-to-please Bobo and Vidar, a born-to-be-bad troublemaker. But the arrival of a newcomer gives Beartown hockey a chance at a comeback. What makes it worse is the obvious satisfaction that all the former Beartown players, who now play for a rival team in the neighboring town of Hed, take in that fact.

So it's a cruel blow when they hear that their town's ice hockey club might soon be disbanded. No matter how difficult times get, they've always been able to take pride in their local ice hockey team. His work continues to amaze and captivate, enlighten and thrill.' - Shelf Awareness A small community tucked deep in the forest, Beartown is home to tough, hardworking people who don't expect life to be easy or fair.

'Fans of Backman will not be disappointed. Instant New York Times Bestseller The author of A Man Called Ove returns with 'a lyrical look at how a community heals, how families recover, and how individuals grow' ( The Washington Post ).

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