Beartown

by Fredrik Backman Narrated by Marin Ireland

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Sports, dreams, and small town charm, Beartown takes us into a warming (despite the ice) narrative that shows the power of community, and the inspiration we can find in it.

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove returns with a dazzling, profound novel about a small town with a big dream¿and the price required to make it come true.

People say Beartown is finished. A tiny community nestled deep in the forest, it is slowly losing ground to the ever encroaching trees. But down by the lake stands an old ice rink, built generations ago by the working men who founded this town. And in that ice rink is the reason people in Beartown believe tomorrow will be better than today. Their junior ice hockey team is about to compete in the national semi-finals, and they actually have a shot at winning. All the hopes and dreams of this place now rest on the shoulders of a handful of teenage boys.

Being responsible for the hopes of an entire town is a heavy burden, and the semi-final match is the catalyst for a violent act that will leave a young girl traumatized and a town in turmoil. Accusations are made and, like ripples on a pond, they travel through all of Beartown, leaving no resident unaffected.

Beartown explores the hopes that bring a small community together, the secrets that tear it apart, and the courage it takes for an individual to go against the grain. In this story of a small forest town, Fredrik Backman has found the entire world.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly - Audio

06/26/2017
Backman’s latest novel requires actor Ireland to portray small-town machismo with sensitivity, eschewing caricature and low-hanging fruit to reveal the vulnerable underside of the teenage players of Beartown’s youth hockey league (and their parents, who live vicariously through them). For the most part, she succeeds, and does so with memorable rigor. Her raspy alto switches believably among a wide range of characters—female and male, young and adult—as she gives voice to the emotions they face, from hidden loneliness to the anger of unforgivable betrayal. Ireland has had recurring roles on a number of noteworthy TV shows, including Homeland, Girls, and The Killing; while she hasn’t had a similar range of experience with audio narration, this doesn’t feel like a rookie outing. Her narration is at its best during particularly dramatic moments of the story, such as the crime that occurs amid a raucous victory party. Her passion during these scenes is such that the fictional residents of Beartown might say she “has the bear in her”—their highest compliment for a clutch player who gives everything to a performance, whether in hockey or in life. With luck we will see her as an audiobook narrator more often in the future. An Atria hardcover. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

02/27/2017
The bestselling author of A Man Called Ove tells a poignant story of a hockey town paralyzed by scandal. Jobs are disappearing and Beartown is slowly dying, so for its citizens, hockey is everything. Backman asks, “Why does everyone care about hockey? Because hockey tells stories.” This is the story not just of hockey, but of a 15-year-old named Maya Andersson, whose father, Peter, the general manager of the hockey club, loves hockey, but loves his family more. Seventeen-year-old Kevin Erdahl is the star of Beartown, with a chance to go professional. One night, after a huge win, Maya goes to a raucous party at Kevin’s house and is thrilled at his attention, but things get out of hand, and what takes place changes Beartown forever. 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. While the story is dark at times, love, sacrifice, and the bonds of friendship and family shine through, ultimately offering hope and even redemption. Backman veers close to the saccharine, but readers may be too spellbound to notice. (Apr.)

Green Valley News (Arizona)

"Backman is the Dickens of our age, and though you'll cry, your heart is safe in his hands."

The Washington Times

Mr. Backman cements his standing as a writer of astonishing depth and proves that he also has very broad range plus the remarkable ability to make you understand the feelings of each of a dozen different characters. . . . The story is fully packed with wise insights into the human experience causing characters and readers to ponder life’s great question of who we are, what we hope to be and how we should lead our lives.

Wall Street Journal

There are, in the end, real acts of bravery and sacrifice in this appealing novel.

Booklist

The sentimentally savvy Backman...takes a sobering and solemn look at the ways alienation and acceptance, ethics and emotions nearly destroy a small town and young people.

The Missourian

This novel was well worth reading, and I embrace what I learned from it.

The New York Times Book Review

PRAISE FOR BEARTOWN

"Compelling characters and a wrenching story, beautifully told."

The Oprah Magazine O

"[A] slow burn of a novel about a community that pours all its hopes into a youth hockey team. Think Friday Night Lights for Swedes."

Wall Street Journal

There are, in the end, real acts of bravery and sacrifice in this appealing novel.

Booklist

"The sentimentally savvy Backman (A Man Called Ove, 2014) takes a sobering and solemn look at the ways alienation and acceptance, ethics and emotions nearly destroy a small town and young people."

Library Journal

04/01/2017
Backman (Britt Marie Was Here) expands his quirky character base in his latest novel, which once again takes place in a remote Swedish town. Bjornstad, or Beartown, is an ice hockey town like many small American communities are football towns: no bigger event occurs than home games, where the good cheer of the supporting fans, former players, and sponsors, known as "The Pack," sometimes flares into violence against rivals. As the local youth team snags a possible chance at winning a junior championship, the narrative follows a cross-section of citizens. In their struggles with modern life, these dozen or so individuals face challenges, make decisions, and frequently surprise the reader. Backman's sketchy style always leaves his audience wanting more explanation, but he successfully draws a community portrait that manages to be both unique and universal. There is enough hockey action to satisfy sports fans and plenty of material for group discussion. VERDICT Another solid offering from best-selling Swedish author Backman, with many parallels for American readers and small towns everywhere. [See Prepub Alert, 11/7/16.]—Mary K. Bird-Guilliams, Chicago

School Library Journal

09/01/2017
In rural Sweden, a team of junior hockey players are on the cusp of changing everything for Beartown. If the players can win the championship, the small town may attract new businesses, improve its ailing economy, and recover its dignity. Everyone, from the local bar owner to the mother who cleans the rink, is linked to the boys and has a stake in whether they win or lose, making the teammates demigods within the community. After a night of celebrating a memorable semifinals win, the star player is accused of raping the general manager's daughter. The community must decide between holding the alleged rapist accountable, and thereby forfeiting their chances at success, and overlooking the crime. While this book has Backman's deep character development, it has none of the lightheartedness or mysticism of his previous best sellers, such as A Man Called Ove. This is a serious look at how the actions of one or two people can affect an entire town. VERDICT This title deserves a place on high school shelves for its complex characters and tight narrative. Schools with avid hockey fans won't want to miss it.—Krystina Kelley, Belle Valley School, Belleville, IL

APRIL 2017 - AudioFile

BEARTOWN is, at its heart, a hockey story. However, with author Backman telling that story and Marin Ireland performing it, this audiobook transcends the cliché of “the big game” and becomes a multifaceted study of humanity, integrity, and loyalty. Ireland narrates in a remarkably adaptable way; her chameleon voice is devoted to developing character, and she’s so effective that she makes the story come to the fore. Whether she's capturing the tired Beartown adults who are waiting for a win in the junior league finals to revitalize their town, or the teenagers who are filled with angst and bravado, Ireland nimbly skates her own way through a novel that is gorgeously written, meticulously plotted, and nearly perfectly performed. This one is not to be missed. L.B.F. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

2017-02-21
In Beartown, where the people are as "tough as the forest, as hard as the ice," the star player on the beloved hockey team is accused of rape, and the town turns upon itself.Swedish novelist Backman's (A Man Called Ove, 2014, etc.) story quickly becomes a rich exploration of the culture of hockey, a sport whose acolytes see it as a violent liturgy on ice. Beartown explodes after rape charges are brought against the talented Kevin, son of privilege and influence, who's nearly untouchable because of his transcendent talent. The victim is Maya, the teenage daughter of the hockey club's much-admired general manager, Peter, another Beartown golden boy, a hockey star who made it to the NHL. Peter was lured home to bring winning hockey back to Beartown. Now, after years of despair, the local club is on the cusp of a championship, but not without Kevin. Backman is a masterful writer, his characters familiar yet distinct, flawed yet heroic. Despite his love for hockey, where fights are part of the game, Peter hates violence. Kira, his wife, is an attorney with an aggressive, take-no-prisoners demeanor. Minor characters include Sune, "the man who has been coach of Beartown's A-team since Peter was a boy," whom the sponsors now want fired. There are scenes that bring tears, scenes of gut-wrenching despair, and moments of sly humor: the club president's table manners are so crude "you can't help wondering if he's actually misunderstood the whole concept of eating." Like Friday Night Lights, this is about more than youth sports; it's part coming-of-age novel, part study of moral failure, and finally a chronicle of groupthink in which an unlikely hero steps forward to save more than one person from self-destruction. A thoroughly empathetic examination of the fragile human spirit, Backman's latest will resonate a long time.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940171293710
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster
Publication date:	04/25/2017
Series:	Beartown , #1
Edition description:	Unabridged
Sales rank:	430,156

Read an Excerpt

Chapter 1 1
Late one evening toward the end of March, a teenager picked up a double-barreled shotgun, walked into the forest, put the gun to someone else’s forehead, and pulled the trigger.

This is the story of how we got there.

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