Review: Beartown by Fredrik Backman

I don’t have much to say for this review other than I LOVED THIS BOOK. Beartown has been recommended to me for months and i simply hadn’t gotten around to it…and i can’t believe it took me this long to read. I haven’t read an of Backman’s books before, so this was a fantastic introduction to an author I know is so loved and admired.

What made this read extra fun was that I teamed up with my friend Sarah over at Mama’s Reading Corner and hosted a “buddy read”! We had 8 fantastic women reading at the same time, sharing insightful and thoughtful commentary on a book that contains a lot of sensitive material.

This book does need to come with a trigger warning, as it deals with rape, suicidal ideation, and violence.

I was incredibly impressed with the depth of characters. I am particularly found of Benji and Amat, as well as Sune. I grew up in a town that idolized athletes; excuses were made for students that excelled on the field, ice, or track so this was story that really resonated with me.

Overall, i just really think Backman is an incredibly writer. It’s crazy to me that this was translated into English! It was a nice change of pace from what I’ve been reading and I already have two more of Backman’s titles added to my list of books I want to read this month. Ugh, I just loved it!