Beartown

My review of the audio edition of BearTown, by Fredrik Backman:

Ingmar Bergman Meets The Mighty Ducks

How depressing! I would have given up on this downer at the midpoint, but for the fact that I didn’t feel I could review it without actually listening all the way to the bitter end. I wanted to review it to give readers a warning. This is the story of a dirty little town populated by despicable people with parochial views. Of the more than twenty characters, I found only three that were somewhat sympathetic, and even then I found it hard to care what happened to them. Backman’s writing style is hampered here by his choice of the present tense, which makes it read more like a synopsis than a novel; you’ll find no description here. On the positive side, Backman details the entwining relationships in this stultifying small town. It’s only made bearable by the excellent narration of Marin Ireland.