



Beartown
From The New York Times Bestselling Author of A Man Called Ove
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4.5 • 106 Ratings
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
Look out for ANXIOUS PEOPLE, the new novel by Fredrik Backman and INSTANT #1 New York Times bestseller!
***Beartown is now a MAJOR HBO TV series, coming to UK screens in 2021***
'I utterly believed in the residents of Beartown and felt ripped apart by the events in the book' JOJO MOYES
'I couldn't put it down. Heart-rending and engrossing' 5***** Reader Review
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In a large Swedish forest, Beartown hides a dark secret . . .
Cut-off from everywhere else, it experiences the kind of isolation that tears people apart.
And each year, more and more of the town is swallowed by the forest.
Then the town is offered a bright new future.
But it is all put in jeopardy by a single, brutal act.
It divides the town into those who think it should be hushed up and forgotten, and those who'll risk the future to see justice done.
Who will speak up?
Could you stand by and stay silent?
Or would you risk everything for justice?
Which side would you be on?
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'A mature, compassionate novel' Sunday Times
'You'll love this engrossing novel' People
'You know a book is good when you don't want it to end' 5***** reader review
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
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.
Customer Reviews
Amazing .... but ...
This was both a compelling and frustrating read. It was beautifully,almost poetically written and the stories, main and sub, were riveting. However, I found the constant digression from the main story to delve into each character, very frustrating. As if someone was trying to stop me enjoying the main story by repeatedly moving my focus away from it to a less interesting sub story. The book was too slow for my taste. I survived to the end largely by scan reading. Some of the sub stories were relevant but many were not. Never the less, deep respect for Backman for tackling the difficult subject of deep seated misogyny in male dominated sport.