Beartown by Fredrik Backman
Posted Thu Dec 18 2025
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.
I adored Beartown by Fredrik Backman, even as it forced me to face some uncomfortable truths: how easy it is to look the other way when it's convenient and how easy it is to lose one's values under the pressure of others and oneself. It's a dark, introspective, and hopeful novel that explores the many issues plaguing the small town of Beartown.
What made the book so devastating wasn't just the violence, but also seeing characters I'd grown to understand make choices that I wanted to condemn but couldn't wholeheartedly. Backman develops the characters so thoroughly that even their worst actions feel human rather than monstrous. When Amat chose to keep quiet about the assault, I screamed in my head, but understood the desire not to cause trouble with his new teammates.
Many of Maya's perspectives brought tears to my eyes. There's one scene after she gets assaulted, where she burns her clothes to destroy the evidence, and can't make herself call her best friend because she doesn't want to involve anyone else. What killed me was her belief that she had to isolate herself to protect those close to her from someone else's violence. Backman illustrates how easily victims feel like a burden and internalize shame.
Not only were the characters well-developed, but the town of Beartown was also. Each character brought their own unique perspective, which was essential in painting a holistic picture of Beartown. It was interesting to see how ingrained hockey is with the culture and well-being of Beartown. I loved the underdog story, the training, and Benji and Amat stepping up to become a leader and a star, respectively.
Hockey in Beartown isn't just about the sport. Backman uses it to examine toxic masculinity. The book illustrates how boys are raised to believe they must win and seize what they want at all costs. Kevin has been told his whole life that he's special and the town's future relies on his success. When he assaults Maya, I saw how his community taught him to think that his desires matter more than someone else's well-being. I don't excuse his actions, but I see how his environment shaped him.
One stylistic choice that initially jarred me was how Backman often directly addresses the reader as the narrator, making observations about a character's backstory or what's on their mind, rather than through scenes. It frequently broke immersion with the story, but I came to appreciate the fourth wall breaks. They added depth to characters that dialogue alone couldn't capture.
Beartown didn't just entertain me. It changed how I see my own silence and complicity. It made me more aware of how many small compromises can accumulate into moral failure. Some may find the exposition heavy-handed or the hockey dull. However, if you've ever wondered how normal people can enable extraordinary harm or have ever stayed quiet when you should have spoken out, I strongly recommend Beartown.