Fredrik Backman

*Free e-book ARC received from the publisher through Edelweiss Plus - thank you!*

A major storm hits Beartown and Hed: one person is born and another dies. The ripple effects are many, from Benji and Maya's return, to the hockey rivalry between the towns reaching new heights.

I really enjoyed this story, which has a large cast of characters from the first two books, as well as a new family from Hed. The narrative focuses on each character in turn, and occasionally veers into a collective "we" show more of all the people of Beartown describing how events unfolded or affected a larger group of people. It was a very effective device, giving away a major plot point early on in a way that increased the tension and - even though I knew it would happen - I still cried when it did. You may not love hockey like the Bears in Beartown do, but surely you've experienced being a part of something, an enthusiastic fan of something, and somehow defining "us" as those that share that passion. There's both good and bad that can come with that, and all three books in the Beartown trilogy address those aspects, show you the dark side of humanity, but also infuse some hope and even joy in the end. It was a superb way to wrap up the story. show less

Hockey is just a silly little game. We devote year after year after year to it without ever really hoping to get anything in return. We burn and bleed and cry, fully aware that the most the sport can give us, in the very best scenario, is incomprehensibly meager and worthless: just a few isolated moments of transcendence. That's all.
But what the hell else is life made of?

I love hockey. My love for hockey is not understood by most people from where I'm from (Atlanta, GA) and sometimes I show more don't understand my love for hockey. This book understood my love for hockey. The feeling I get when I step into a hockey rink is a feeling like no other and I don't even play. When I was eleven, the Atlanta Thrashers, our hockey team up and moved all the way to Winnipeg, Manitoba in Canada. I was very upset and I didn't understand why a team would leave like that. This was the second time a hockey team had left Atlanta for Canada and we are the only city to have two hockey teams move away. Hockey is not something I love; I need hockey. When I moved to Minnesota and had access to hockey again the first time I went back to a game, I almost cried. The feelings the people in this town feel about hockey is how I feel about hockey but for them, hockey is their town. A lot of reviews I see say you don't need to love hockey to read this book and I agree, but I think a love for hockey makes the story so much better and the motivations of the characters so much clearer. Some people say this book starts slow and if you don't care about the beautiful descriptions of hockey and what it means, maybe that's true but as I read the opening of this story I was reading someone explains what hockey is in the ways I never could.
We all want to believe we would put the life of a person above the love of a game. I know I don't love hockey enough to excuse things. I've been watching hockey or any sport for long enough to know and despise the fact that men who are good at sports can get away with a lot. In fact, nowadays, I watch women's hockey much more frequently than men's. There are still issues but it makes me feel good to watch women play hockey. What I loved about this book is even the people you hate, even for the characters who are making the wrong choices, you can understand why. They feel like they're supporting/saving the town, they don't want to make a statement because they are scared, if they don't speak out they may have a better life. It makes the choices all the characters make so much more meaningful. The author makes it so clear just how much the hockey team means to this town and even though you want the characters to see how wrong they are, you understand why they make the choices they do.
This town and this story are so full and real. The characters feel so much like real people and I think that's because they are. Watch hockey and sports for long enough and live in a hockey town (such as one in MN) for long enough and you will see all the people in this book. It is the characters that truly drive this story. If they aren't believable the whole story falls apart. I cried my way through this book because everything about it was so real and impactful.
This book is not just about hockey but also it is about hockey. About how a sport can take over a town and the lives of the people in it. It's about how you can love a game but not love everything about it but that's not an excuse for not speaking up when bad things happen. It's a story about a town of people who love their town. I loved this book as much as I love the game that it's about. You don't need to love hockey to love this book, but it really, really helps. show less

Heartwarming is not usually a word I use to describe books that I’ve read and enjoyed (or something I look for in my reading material, honestly), but it’s impossible not to be charmed by the hapless neuroses of our titular protagonist, Ove. Either we all know an “Ove” or we are him, so it’s hard not to be intrigued for a character who’s so perfectly written and even more so not to fall for his curmudgeonly (but well-meaning) ways. In many ways the book itself is completely show more expected - obviously the new neighbours and the Cat are easy devices to get Ove to change his world view and give him a new lease on life - but seeing Ove’s suicide attempts get foiled over and over and seeing him get more involved with his neighbourhood to right the wrongs of the world is immensely comic and satisfying. Paired artfully with the current events the author slowly reveals Ove’s backstory as well, which makes for a very well-rounded character and a very realistic story of a life lived. show less

I loved this book. It started out a little quirky, and I was unsure if I was going to be drawn in, but the more I read, the more I enjoyed it.
Set in rural Sweden, the characters travel well for the international reader. Ordinary people living ordinary lives and making ordinary mistakes, all told with wonderfully dry humour. The book is structured to tell the story by jumping forward and back in time - with plot developments being gradually divulged to the reader. There's a danger in this show more technique that the story telling becomes contrived - but not in this case. The technique is used to challenge assumptions and make the reader think, and re-think. Great stuff! show less