Beartown - Fredrik Backman

First off, I was completely surprised by this novel. It was very different from what I expected and I was a little unsure at first. It’s a slow burner to begin with but then the pace really picked up and I became hooked. The novel is set in a remote Swedish forest where a close-knit town, Beartown, is a hub of passionate ice-hockey enthusiasts.

The town is largely cut off from other societies and harbours rather dated and misogynistic ideals - the hockey players run the town and no one questions them, even though they’re school and college age. When a teen party becomes the site of a horrific incident, the town suddenly becomes divided. There are those who believe the word of the town’s hockey star as the word of god, and those who are sick of the politics of the sport dictating justice.

Backman’s novel, translated into English by Neil Smith, forces you to consider some important questions. Can you speak up for what is right against a town who want to hide the truth? Will you break away from the pressure of your teammates to get justice? 

This book contains some difficult themes, including rape, so be aware of this before reading. I thought this would be a young adult novel and I’m still not sure if this is considered to be YA, but I get the feeling it was more adult fiction because of the difficult themes. Backman’s cast of characters was diverse and also included a range of relationships which I appreciated. 

In light of the news today which has devastated me and many others, this novel opens up an important conversation about the safety of women and the ‘blame culture’ when something bad happens. What was she wearing? Was she asking for it? Did she do enough to stop this from happening?

This was not the type of book I’d usually read but I thoroughly enjoyed it!