“Humanity has many shortcomings, but none is stronger than pride.”
Beartown is a book i went into without any forethought. I found one last piece and grabbed it. mainly, because the cover looked so darn beautiful, there was ice and snow and tiny swedish homes, homes that invited me to have soup with them and listen to their stories. Little did i know, that this book is not just a cozy seasonal read but something incredibly beautiful yet delicately intricate.
Set in a hockey town, Beartown houses some thousand people whose likes and dislikes all end up at one place: hockey. oh and the hockey star, Kevin.
An almost dead town with a pub and an ice rink as pastime activity is not enough to keep a town alive or seen. The only thing that can bring them light and tourism is hockey and their unhinged and unparallel love for it. Such love that blinds you, leaves you stranded in a forest with a loaded shotgun in your head, mere seconds away from pulling the trigger.
“Never trust people who don't have something in their lives that they love beyond all reason.”
― Fredrik Backman, Beartown
This story has a lot of characters but somehow, Backman has managed to fit in all in the right lock, somehow he has made us believe in his characters, fight with them and love them like they are our own.
I was struggling to get back into reading, whichever book i picked, it didn’t seem to make me feel what books made me feel before i got out of reading. This book did it, this made me have conversations with paper people, this book made me scream “UGH” 50 times whenever Amat took a step in the wrong direction, it made me want to grab hold of him, sit him down and knock some sense into him.
I got into this book because i needed a winter-themed read, something with woolen sweaters, mittens and snow. Beartown gave me exactly that but it portrayed everyday life in the most intricate manner, sewing each word with utmost intention and decadent prose.
Backman’s writing made me feel something, it made me think, it made me want to play hockey. His beautiful details and accurate descriptions of the game as well as the beauty of loving something so much that nothing else matters other than that, was a refreshing reminder of human nature, our ability to love something so much that everything goes back to it, every decision is made for it, factoring it in every small yes or no, even in the messy roots underneath the soft soil.
“Anything that grows closely enough to what it loves will eventually share the same roots. We can talk about loss, we can treat it and give it time, but biology still forces us to live according to certain rules: plants that are split down the middle don't heal, they die.”
―Fredrik Backman,
Being born in a country where sports is a major part influences you to love it as much as others do. Hockey isn’t something we play in Asia, we love to run around and hit balls with a stick and call it cricket. Cricket isn’t hockey, its different but the love behind it is the same. I remember when i first visited a cricket stadium. Hawkers selling foam hands, placards displaying the number six and four, people in green and red, some painted as a bengal tiger, others wearing masks screaming, yelling, jumping, toppling over the rails and then silence when a wicket falls, and cursing when the opposition team scores. When I used to skate professionally I could relate with the nerves when you’re in a tournament, the happiness when you score, the acceptance when you win, the status you gain is something everybody dreams of, everybody wants. While witnessing sports and being a sportsperson, one thing i noticed is that sports unite people but it also disperses them, it breaks their spine when it gets to their head, it makes them superior, unaffected by the consequences of their actions, it hides their ability to be found guilty, someone or something is always cleaning up after their messes, believing them blindly even when they have done the most heinous thing you can think of.
“Another morning comes. It always does. Time always moves at the same rate, only feelings have different speeds. Every day can mark a whole lifetime or a single heartbeat, depending on who you spend it with. ”
-Frederick Backman
This story spins within it’s multi-dimensional characters but also separates like sea and sky between two kinds of people. it’s phenomenon, it’s real and funny but it has everything a book needs - humour and love, love for sports, love for bestfriends, love for your passion, family, community, society, wrongs and rights, love for power and money, love for fake reality and dominance.
I would 100% recommend reading this book if you want a cozy yet honest read; something that’s going to shift your perspective or even arouse it. You need to read this book, i don’t often give out 5 star ratings for a book but this one, i am literally typing it out for you, read. the. book.
thank you for reading.
goodnight & good read :)
