I enjoyed my latest foray into Backman's work, an author I've become familiar with over the past couple of years. I don't expect Beartown to find its way onto my "best of 2021" list, and I am in no hurry to pick up the sequels to this work, but the urgency with which I finished the book implies that I found it well worth my time. Given that the book is a little longer than some may prefer (and possibly expect, if you are familiar with his other writing), I suggest sticking with it until the central event because I thought the story found its mark starting from that point.
Beartown by Fredrik Backman (April 2021)
It's intriguing that this book inspired a highly-rated TV series, which at first glance feels appropriate - Beartown paints the portrait of a struggling small town with a wide range of characters, each moving through his or her own intriguing story arc. However, as I think about it I realize that my favorite aspect of Backman's writing is not only the way he brings his characters to life, but also in the manner he introduces an otherwise unseen or unacknowledged humanity to their experiences. It could be that books such as A Man Named Ove resonated more with me because of its narrower focus on a smaller number of characters, suggesting that my muted reaction to Beartown should be taken with the proverbial grain of salt.
A few items from my book notes stood out when I returned to them a couple of months after my reading. I liked the insight that a major challenge of old age - or as I would say, merely getting older - is finding a way to admit the mistakes which can no longer be made right, a thought that felt a bit like a callback to some of his prior works. I was amused by the note regarding how people tend to irrationally hope that the things they are forced out of will collapse behind them, having both witnessed this feeling in others as well as felt a version of the same in myself; the fact is that organizations rarely collapse due to the fact of a departing individual, though of course the intangible loss to the culture of a place is an entirely separate matter. The observation that people never become used to being bullied, teased, or rejected is a lesson that, were it internalized by all, would surely make the world a better place.
TOA Rating: Three forechecks out of four.
