Beartown by Fredrik Backman

Not at all what I expected.

I have thoroughly enjoyed Backman's other novels.  A Man Called Ove had me laughing out loud and a bit teary throughout.  My Grandmother Told Me to Tell you She's Sorry was likewise a light, funny and great family read.

This one, not so much.

Definitely not light.  But definitely about family - the regular family unit and also the family built within a sports team, and in a Swedish town that is obsessed with their sport - hockey in this case.  Bear Town LIVES for hockey.  It is their only claim to fame, and they hold onto it with a vice like grip.  They are on their way to the finals, and they have to win.  The current manager of the team was their star player in his youth but is beginning to realize he has very little say in anything, the coaches are vying for the top spot with highly opposing coaching styles, and the boys (both young and old) will do anything - ANYTHING - to help the team succeed.  Even cover up a crime.

I was a little disturbed by this story.  There are a lot of dual relationships here - loved the description of the relationships between Peter and his wife Kira, between their daughter Maya and her bff Ana, Fatima and her son Amat, even between Kevin and his bff Benji.  But Peter was so weak, it was annoying.  His daughter was strong and probably my favorite character, but not enough time was spent on her.  Lots of time was spent on Benji and his secret (was that even really relevant to the story?  What was the main story??) It was hard to tell who was the main character but I think that was by design.  The main character was Bear Town itself.  Does the town survive a scandal of this nature?  Does the team?  Do the boys who witness it, know about it, cover it up, refuse to believe it?  And most of all, what is more important - a hockey team which provides jobs, direction and inspiration for this town, or justice??

This is not a book about hockey.  It is written in a bit of a disjointed style, switching perspectives and inner dialogue and scenes very quickly.  You may have more questions than answers here, but I can promise you time spent in well written, thought-provoking story with lots to talk about in a book club, for sure!!!

n the end, I actually liked it better than I thought I would.  The ending was brilliant. Jodi Picoult would be proud of this one.