Beartown

by Fredrik Backman

[kimbacaffeinate]

Fredrik Backman takes us to a small rural town in Sweden known as Beartown. Hockey is the heart of this isolated town where winning is everything and parents pray their child will be picked up professionally. A place that when something dark happens involving the town's star player their world divides. Powerful and poignant Backman weaved a tale that will take the reader through an array of emotions.

The tale that unfolds revolves around hockey, and parents devoted to seeing their child succeed and escape their dead-end town. Sponsors, town politics and the hopes and dreams of their economy all rest on their teams and coaches shoulders. Backman skillfully characterizes the small-town and bringing key characters to life.

I went into this blind, and at first, I wondered what direction this story would take. Surely it couldn't be a whole book on hockey? If I had read the synopsis, I would have been on edge waiting for the "event, " but in retrospect, I am glad I went in cold because said event and the fallout offered a compelling read. Backman took us to the darker side of ourselves with a subject matter and subsequent reactions that reflected a relevant and timeless issue. It exposed the pain the victim feels and the painful accusations that follow.

BEARTOWN allows us to get to known individuals both young and old within the town. From them emerge, villains, prejudice, and quiet heroes. Some struggle between what the outcome means to the town's survival and others debate behind closed doors. Backman brilliantly captured all sides, exposing both the dark and the light of humanity.

Marin Ireland is a new to me narrator but she delivered a powerful interpretation of the tale and the characters. She captured emotions from tone to pacing offering the listener a delightful, captivating listen.

Audio provided by the publisher. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Book Reviewer