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{{short description|2016 novel by Fredrik Backman}}
{{Infobox book| <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Novels or Wikipedia:WikiProject_Books -->
{{Infobox book| <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Novels or Wikipedia:WikiProject_Books -->
| name = Beartown
| name = Beartown
Line 16: Line 17:
| pages = 418 pp (US)
| pages = 418 pp (US)
| isbn = 9781501160769
| isbn = 9781501160769
| followed_by = Us Against You
| followed_by = [[Us Against You]]
}}
}}


'''''Beartown''''' (original title in {{lang-sv|Björnstad}}) is a novel by Swedish writer [[Fredrik Backman]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/fredrik-backman/beartown/|title=KIRKUS REVIEW: BEARTOWN by Fredrik Backman|accessdate=2020-02-07}}</ref> The novel, noted as hockey literature,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/12/books/review/a-different-kind-of-sports-novel.html|title=A Different Kind of Sports Novel|last=Cowles|first=Gregory|date=2017-05-12|work=The New York Times|publisher=|accessdate=2019-10-17}}</ref> centers on a declining youth hockey team in a small town. The story follows the events leading up to the rape of 15-year-old girl Maya Andersson by the star junior hockey player Kevin Erdahl, and the consequences for Maya and Kevin, the players, their families, friends, and the community which has a long-standing reputation as a hockey town.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/jun/1/book-review-beartown/|title=Dreaming of economic revival in a small Swedish town|accessdate=2020-02-07}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.startribune.com/review-beartown-by-fredrik-backman/427310313/|title=REVIEW: 'Beartown,' by Fredrik Backman|accessdate=2020-02-07}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/books/2017/04/26/beartown-a-novel-fredrik-backman-book-review/100714576/|title=In Fredrik Backman's 'Beartown,' hockey rules|accessdate=2020-02-07}}</ref> It is the first book in the ''Beartown'' series, followed by ''Us Against You''.
'''''Beartown''''' (original title in {{langx|sv|Björnstad}}) is a novel by Swedish writer [[Fredrik Backman]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/fredrik-backman/beartown/|title=KIRKUS REVIEW: BEARTOWN by Fredrik Backman|accessdate=2020-02-07}}</ref> The novel, noted as "[[ice hockey|hockey]] literature",<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/12/books/review/a-different-kind-of-sports-novel.html|title=A Different Kind of Sports Novel|last=Cowles|first=Gregory|date=2017-05-12|work=The New York Times|publisher=|accessdate=2019-10-17}}</ref> centers on a declining youth hockey team in a small town. The story follows the events leading up to a violent incident involving two teenagers and the consequences that they face, the hockey players, their families, friends, and the community which has a long-standing reputation as a hockey town.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/jun/1/book-review-beartown/|title=Dreaming of economic revival in a small Swedish town|website=[[The Washington Times]] |accessdate=2020-02-07}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.startribune.com/review-beartown-by-fredrik-backman/427310313/|title=REVIEW: 'Beartown,' by Fredrik Backman|website=[[Star Tribune]] |accessdate=2020-02-07}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/books/2017/04/26/beartown-a-novel-fredrik-backman-book-review/100714576/|title=In Fredrik Backman's 'Beartown,' hockey rules|website=[[USA Today]] |accessdate=2020-02-07}}</ref> It is the first book in the ''Beartown'' series, followed by ''[[Us Against You]]'' and ''[[The Winners Novel|The Winners]]''.

The book was removed from the reading list of a high school in [[North Carolina]] when parents described it as "vulgar" and "graphic".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.heraldsun.com/news/state/north-carolina/article219721610.html|title=NC school district pulls honors class book called ‘vulgar’|last=Duncan|first=Charles|date=2018-10-09|work=The Herald Sun|accessdate=2019-10-17}}</ref>


==Plot==
==Plot==
The junior hockey team is the backbone of the small town of Beartown, where a win in the national games would mean more resources given to the team. The star of the team is 17-year-old Kevin Erdahl, whose talent is so outstanding that the entire junior team has been built around him since he was about seven years old. Peter Andersson is the General Manager of the team, and the new coach is David, after the previous coach was fired by the council for not focusing on winning enough. Peter's family consists of his wife Kira, and his children Maya and Leo. Maya is close friends with another girl, Ana.
Peter Andersson, in his forties, is the general manager of the ice hockey club in Beartown, a small town located somewhere in Sweden. Peter grew up in Beartown and was a junior hockey star. He went to [[North America]] to play in the NHL, but injuries stopped his career short.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781501160776|title=Beartown (Paperback) A Novel|accessdate=2019-10-17}}</ref> He married Kira, a lawyer from a big city, and their first-born son, Isak, died when he was just a baby. Peter and Kira decided to return to Beartown, with their other children, Maya and Leo, when Peter was offered the job with the ice hockey club. Kira continued to work as a lawyer in a nearby city. Maya and her best friend, Ana, have different interests, but are devoted to each other. Because Ana lives with her father and her mother has left, Ana spends a lot of time with the Andersson family.


⚫
The novel opens with the team and the community preparing for a key semi-final game. Recognizing that lack of speed is a weakness, senior team coach Sune and David agree to add underage junior Amat to improve their chances. Amat is grateful to be on the team, especially for his mother, who works as a cleaner. Beartown wins the semi-final, at least partly because the opposing team was not prepared to defend Amat's speed.
Amat is a 15-year-old who immigrated to Sweden when he was a little boy, with his mother, Fatima. Fatima struggles on the edge of poverty and works as custodian at the arena run by the Beartown ice hockey club. She supports Amat's devotion to ice hockey, and he displays remarkable ice skating speed. He often goes to the rink with Fatima before it opens and practices his skating techniques and ability. This catches the attention of Sune, the veteran coach of the A-team, which is the highest level team operated by the Beartown club.


⚫
On the night of the semi-final victory, Kevin's parents are out of town. This gives Kevin the opportunity to host a big party for his team and many other teenagers from the community. At the party, many of the teenagers are drinking and indulging in marijuana use and the team members boast about having sex with the supportive female fans. Maya and Kevin sneak off to an upstairs bedroom to make out. Maya resists Kevin's advances, and he proceeds to rape her. Amat, himself drunk and harboring feelings for Maya, stumbles in to witness the rape. Maya takes advantage of Amat's intrusion to free herself from Kevin.
Kevin Erdahl is the star of the Beartown junior team, which consists of players who are 17 years old. Kevin's talent is so outstanding that the entire junior team has been built around him since he was about seven years old. David is the current coach of the junior team, who has moved up to coach the players in each successive age group as Kevin and his cohort have come through. David, Sune, Peter, the president and directors and sponsors of the ice hockey club, all expect Kevin's team to succeed.


Maya has had a crush on Kevin for some time and is devastated by his attack. She struggles to cope for a week, knowing that reporting the crime will tear the town apart. After a week from her rape, she tells her parents, who are furious and immediately report the crime to the police. Kevin is pulled from playing in the final happening that day, to the anger and shock of the rest of the team. They play the final without Kevin and lose.
⚫
The novel opens with the team and the community preparing for a key semi-final game. Recognizing that lack of speed is a weakness, Sune and David agree to add Amat to the team as an underage junior to improve their chances. Beartown wins the semi-final, at least partly because the opposing team was not prepared to defend Amat's speed.


As the news spread of Maya's accusation and the team's loss in the final, many people in the town turn against Maya's family. Kevin's father believes that Maya's accusation is a lie and that Peter, out of jealousy, intentionally reported it the day of the final to cause the team to lose. Kevin's father pushes the sponsors and the council board to fire Peter. He also attempts to bribe Amat into silence by giving his mother a better job, but his mother refuses, telling him to be honest.
⚫
On the night of the semi-final victory, Kevin's parents are out of town. This gives Kevin the opportunity to host a big party for his team and many other teenagers from the community. At the party, many of the teenagers are drinking and indulging in marijuana use and the team members boast about having sex with the supportive female fans. Maya and Ana attend the party, but argue about how to enjoy themselves. Eventually, Maya and Kevin sneak off to an upstairs bedroom to make out. Maya resists Kevin's advances, and he proceeds to rape her. Amat, himself drunk and harboring feelings for Maya, stumbles in to witness the rape. Maya takes advantage of Amat's intrusion to free herself from Kevin.


The hockey club holds a vote to decide whether Peter should be fired from his position as General Manager. Amat testifies as a witness on how he saw Kevin rape Maya, much to the anger of the rest of the team. The town's barkeep believes Maya and Amat's story and convinces a large group of hockey fans to vote in Peter's favor, resulting in Peter keeping his job. However, David is frustrated with Peter's “mixing of politics and hockey” and moves to a neighboring town, bringing with him Kevin and most of the team, along with the town's sponsors. Only Amat, and three other players stay back to support Beartown.
Maya has had a crush on Kevin for some time and is devastated by his attack. She struggles to cope for a week, then finally tells her parents what happened. Kira is enraged. Because Peter is the general manager of the hockey club, he appreciates that reporting the crime will remove Kevin from the team and destroy the team's chances in the subsequent game, the final, which is to be held that day. Nevertheless, the family does report the rape and Kevin is taken from the team bus just before it departs for the road trip to the game. The team is not told right away what has happened. They play the final without Kevin and, even though they have a 3-2 lead after two periods, they lose.


The police decide not to prosecute Kevin for the rape because the available evidence is inconclusive, despite Amat's testimony as an eye-witness. Maya continues to suffer distress and decides she must either kill herself or kill Kevin to be relieved of the pain. Because Ana's father is a hunter and Ana has learned about guns from him, Maya asks Ana to teach her how to fire a shotgun. Without telling Ana what she plans, Maya steals a shotgun from Ana's father's gun cabinet and confronts Kevin. Kevin, also torn by the realization of what he has done, complies when Maya orders him to kneel in front of her. Maya then pulls the trigger. But, Maya has not loaded a cartridge into the weapon. Maya reasons that the fear Kevin feels at the moment she pulls the trigger will continue to haunt him for the rest of his life, just as the rape will haunt her.
The rape case against Kevin is dropped due to insufficient evidence. Maya continues to suffer distress and decides she must either kill herself or kill Kevin to be relieved of the pain. Late at night, Maya surprises Kevin with a shotgun and forces him to kneel in front of her. Maya thrusts the gun to a whimpering Kevin's forehead and pulls the trigger, but he doesn't die as she intentionally didn't load the gun. Maya reasons that the fear Kevin felt at the moment she pulled the trigger will continue to haunt him for the rest of his life, just as the rape will haunt her.


In the end, the events of the subsequent ten years are sketched out. Kevin eventually finds happiness with a woman. Maya becomes a popular guitarist and plays a concert in the city where Kevin and his wife live.
In the end, the events of the subsequent ten years are sketched out. Maya is a popular guitarist and has a chance encounter with Kevin (who is now married). Maya recognizes Kevin and realizes she can expose him in public but chooses not to. When he leaves shaken, his wife asks him who Maya is, and Kevin tells her the whole truth.


==Characters==
==Characters==
*'''Maya Andersson:''' a 15-year-old girl who loves playing the guitar and has mixed feelings about hockey
*'''Maya Andersson:''' a 15-year-old girl who loves playing the guitar and has mixed feelings about hockey
*'''Peter Andersson:''' Maya's father and General Manager for Beartown's Hockey Team, former team star turned NHL player, returned to Beartown as the hero
*'''Kevin Erdahl:''' an outstanding young hockey player who is the star of his junior team
*'''Kevin Erdahl:''' an outstanding young hockey player who is the star of his junior team
*'''Ana:''' Maya's best friend
*'''Ana:''' Maya's best friend
*'''Kira and Peter:''' Maya's parents. Kira is a lawyer and Peter is the General Manager of the hockey club
*'''Kira Andersson:''' Maya's mother, lawyer, married to Peter
*'''Kevin's parents:''' Neither parent is named in the book
*'''Kevin's parents:''' Neither parent is named in the book, but Kevin's father is one of the main sponsors of the hockey team.
*'''Amat:''' a speedy underage player who is promoted to play with Kevin's junior team
*'''Amat:''' a speedy underage player who is promoted to play with Kevin's junior team
*'''Fatima:''' Amat's mother
*'''Fatima:''' Amat's mother, who works as cleaner for the rink.
*'''Zacharias:''' Amat's friend, a bullied boy with lots of stored up anger
*'''Zacharias:''' Amat's friend, a bullied boy with lots of stored up anger
*'''Lifa:''' Amat's other friend, also Zacharias' friend
*'''Lifa:''' Amat's other friend, also Zacharias' friend
*'''Benji:''' Kevin's best friend
*'''Benji:''' Kevin's best friend, and “enforcer” defending Kevin on the ice.
*'''David:''' the coach of Kevin and Benji's junior team
*'''David:''' the coach of Kevin and Benji's junior team
*'''Bobo, Filip and William Lyt:''' team-mates of Kevin and Benji
*'''Bobo, Filip and William Lyt:''' team-mates of Kevin and Benji
*'''Sune:''' coach of the senior team
*'''Sune:''' Beartown's A-Team Hockey Coach (level above Junior team coached by David)
*'''Ramona:''' proprietess of the Bearskin, the local pub
*'''Ramona:''' proprietess of the Bearskin, the local pub
*'''Maggan Lyt:''' William's mother
*'''Maggan Lyt:''' William's mother
Line 62: Line 62:
*'''Leo:''' Kira and Peter's son
*'''Leo:''' Kira and Peter's son
*The unnamed president of the hockey club
*The unnamed president of the hockey club
*The unnamed bass player who becomes Benji's friend
*The unnamed bass player who becomes Benji's lover


== Television adaptation ==
== Television adaptation ==
In 2020, a five-episode miniseries adaptation ''Björnstad'' was added to [[HBO Nordic]].<ref>https://www.expressen.se/noje/blogg/tvbloggen/2019/01/28/fredrik-backmans-bjornstad-blir-tv-serie-pa-hbo-nordic-premiar/</ref> The series premiered as ''Beartown'' on [[HBO]] in North America on February 22, 2021. It has received generally positive reviews.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Beartown - Season 1 - Rotten Tomatoes |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/beartown/s01 |access-date=2021-03-04 |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]}}</ref>
In 2020, a five-episode miniseries adaptation called ''Björnstad'' was added to [[HBO Nordic]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.expressen.se/noje/blogg/tvbloggen/2019/01/28/fredrik-backmans-bjornstad-blir-tv-serie-pa-hbo-nordic-premiar/|title=Fredrik Backmans Björnstad blir tv-serie på HBO Nordic}}</ref> The series premiered as ''Beartown'' on [[HBO]] in North America on February 22, 2021. It received generally positive reviews from critics.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Beartown - Season 1 - Rotten Tomatoes |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/beartown/s01 |access-date=2021-03-04 |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]}}</ref> It is no longer available on HBO in the US.{{citation needed|date=July 2022}}

In 2022 with the occasion of the launch of Skyshowtime service streaming platform, [[Showtime (TV network)|Showtime]] gained from [[HBO]] over 20 TV series including the Beartown series.


== References ==
== References ==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb title|qid=Q100598118|id=tt9677638}}

{{Fredrik Backman}}


[[Category:2016 Swedish novels]]
[[Category:2016 Swedish novels]]
Line 74: Line 81:
[[Category:Swedish-language novels]]
[[Category:Swedish-language novels]]
[[Category:Novels by Fredrik Backman]]
[[Category:Novels by Fredrik Backman]]
[[Category:Novels about ice hockey]]
[[Category:Novels about rape]]

Latest revision as of 05:13, 21 October 2024

Beartown
First edition (Swedish)
AuthorFredrik Backman
Original titleBjörnstad
TranslatorNeil Smith
LanguageSwedish
SeriesBeartown series
GenreNovel
PublisherPiratförlaget (Sweden)
Simon & Schuster (US)
Publication date
2016 (Sweden)
2017 (U.S.)
Publication placeSweden
Media typePrint
Pages418 pp (US)
ISBN9781501160769
Followed byUs Against You 

Beartown (original title in Swedish: Björnstad) is a novel by Swedish writer Fredrik Backman.[1] The novel, noted as "hockey literature",[2] centers on a declining youth hockey team in a small town. The story follows the events leading up to a violent incident involving two teenagers and the consequences that they face, the hockey players, their families, friends, and the community which has a long-standing reputation as a hockey town.[3][4][5] It is the first book in the Beartown series, followed by Us Against You and The Winners.

Plot

[edit]

The junior hockey team is the backbone of the small town of Beartown, where a win in the national games would mean more resources given to the team. The star of the team is 17-year-old Kevin Erdahl, whose talent is so outstanding that the entire junior team has been built around him since he was about seven years old. Peter Andersson is the General Manager of the team, and the new coach is David, after the previous coach was fired by the council for not focusing on winning enough. Peter's family consists of his wife Kira, and his children Maya and Leo. Maya is close friends with another girl, Ana.

The novel opens with the team and the community preparing for a key semi-final game. Recognizing that lack of speed is a weakness, senior team coach Sune and David agree to add underage junior Amat to improve their chances. Amat is grateful to be on the team, especially for his mother, who works as a cleaner. Beartown wins the semi-final, at least partly because the opposing team was not prepared to defend Amat's speed.

On the night of the semi-final victory, Kevin's parents are out of town. This gives Kevin the opportunity to host a big party for his team and many other teenagers from the community. At the party, many of the teenagers are drinking and indulging in marijuana use and the team members boast about having sex with the supportive female fans. Maya and Kevin sneak off to an upstairs bedroom to make out. Maya resists Kevin's advances, and he proceeds to rape her. Amat, himself drunk and harboring feelings for Maya, stumbles in to witness the rape. Maya takes advantage of Amat's intrusion to free herself from Kevin.

Maya has had a crush on Kevin for some time and is devastated by his attack. She struggles to cope for a week, knowing that reporting the crime will tear the town apart. After a week from her rape, she tells her parents, who are furious and immediately report the crime to the police. Kevin is pulled from playing in the final happening that day, to the anger and shock of the rest of the team. They play the final without Kevin and lose.

As the news spread of Maya's accusation and the team's loss in the final, many people in the town turn against Maya's family. Kevin's father believes that Maya's accusation is a lie and that Peter, out of jealousy, intentionally reported it the day of the final to cause the team to lose. Kevin's father pushes the sponsors and the council board to fire Peter. He also attempts to bribe Amat into silence by giving his mother a better job, but his mother refuses, telling him to be honest.

The hockey club holds a vote to decide whether Peter should be fired from his position as General Manager. Amat testifies as a witness on how he saw Kevin rape Maya, much to the anger of the rest of the team. The town's barkeep believes Maya and Amat's story and convinces a large group of hockey fans to vote in Peter's favor, resulting in Peter keeping his job. However, David is frustrated with Peter's “mixing of politics and hockey” and moves to a neighboring town, bringing with him Kevin and most of the team, along with the town's sponsors. Only Amat, and three other players stay back to support Beartown.

The rape case against Kevin is dropped due to insufficient evidence. Maya continues to suffer distress and decides she must either kill herself or kill Kevin to be relieved of the pain. Late at night, Maya surprises Kevin with a shotgun and forces him to kneel in front of her. Maya thrusts the gun to a whimpering Kevin's forehead and pulls the trigger, but he doesn't die as she intentionally didn't load the gun. Maya reasons that the fear Kevin felt at the moment she pulled the trigger will continue to haunt him for the rest of his life, just as the rape will haunt her.

In the end, the events of the subsequent ten years are sketched out. Maya is a popular guitarist and has a chance encounter with Kevin (who is now married). Maya recognizes Kevin and realizes she can expose him in public but chooses not to. When he leaves shaken, his wife asks him who Maya is, and Kevin tells her the whole truth.

Characters

[edit]
  • Maya Andersson: a 15-year-old girl who loves playing the guitar and has mixed feelings about hockey
  • Peter Andersson: Maya's father and General Manager for Beartown's Hockey Team, former team star turned NHL player, returned to Beartown as the hero
  • Kevin Erdahl: an outstanding young hockey player who is the star of his junior team
  • Ana: Maya's best friend
  • Kira Andersson: Maya's mother, lawyer, married to Peter
  • Kevin's parents: Neither parent is named in the book, but Kevin's father is one of the main sponsors of the hockey team.
  • Amat: a speedy underage player who is promoted to play with Kevin's junior team
  • Fatima: Amat's mother, who works as cleaner for the rink.
  • Zacharias: Amat's friend, a bullied boy with lots of stored up anger
  • Lifa: Amat's other friend, also Zacharias' friend
  • Benji: Kevin's best friend, and “enforcer” defending Kevin on the ice.
  • David: the coach of Kevin and Benji's junior team
  • Bobo, Filip and William Lyt: team-mates of Kevin and Benji
  • Sune: Beartown's A-Team Hockey Coach (level above Junior team coached by David)
  • Ramona: proprietess of the Bearskin, the local pub
  • Maggan Lyt: William's mother
  • Jeanette: a teacher at the local high school
  • "Tails": one of the sponsors of the hockey club
  • Ann-Katrin and Hog: Bobo's parents
  • Adri, Katia and Gaby: Benji's older sisters
  • Leo: Kira and Peter's son
  • The unnamed president of the hockey club
  • The unnamed bass player who becomes Benji's lover

Television adaptation

[edit]

In 2020, a five-episode miniseries adaptation called Björnstad was added to HBO Nordic.[6] The series premiered as Beartown on HBO in North America on February 22, 2021. It received generally positive reviews from critics.[7] It is no longer available on HBO in the US.[citation needed]

In 2022 with the occasion of the launch of Skyshowtime service streaming platform, Showtime gained from HBO over 20 TV series including the Beartown series.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "KIRKUS REVIEW: BEARTOWN by Fredrik Backman". Retrieved 2020-02-07.
  2. ^ Cowles, Gregory (2017-05-12). "A Different Kind of Sports Novel". The New York Times. Retrieved 2019-10-17.
  3. ^ "Dreaming of economic revival in a small Swedish town". The Washington Times. Retrieved 2020-02-07.
  4. ^ "REVIEW: 'Beartown,' by Fredrik Backman". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2020-02-07.
  5. ^ "In Fredrik Backman's 'Beartown,' hockey rules". USA Today. Retrieved 2020-02-07.
  6. ^ "Fredrik Backmans Björnstad blir tv-serie på HBO Nordic".
  7. ^ "Beartown - Season 1 - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
[edit]
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