Beartown – This book feels like a breeze, a far-off place untouched by the haste of the world yet seeking a piece of it. A place where hockey is sweeping lives through its throbbing presence.
A place where hockey is more than hockey. A place where the characters seek a home in you, word by word. A place you eventually feel familiar with because of the people that reside there.  A place that weaves hockey in a light I’ve never read.

I read some 30 pages till now but I can’t help but admit I’m calmed. Beyond measure. It’s perhaps because I’m fond of the way Backman weaves stories. Or because of the familiarity I could cling to. Either way, I’m engrossed & look forward to read more.

It’s just a game. It’s just a book. It’s just a word. It’s just reading. It’s just a song. It’s just a movie… It’s how we rob someone of something they cling to so dearly. It’s how we tell someone how they should not take something they love & find meaning in, seriously. It’s how we brush our opinions on anything & anyone we can.

Beartown, a hockey town. A town that perceives hockey in a light of recognition, a town that considers hockey as a new dawn, a game of hope. A town where children feel the weight of this game as they wade through life. A town where hockey is more than a game. Yet, a town whose fortunes & destination is moulded by their association with hockey.

Kevin, Amat, Maya, Sune, Peter, Benjamin – & others, yet in no way I’m confused. Ages apart. Bonded with passion, skills & the will to do something. The characters are sketched so well that you connect to each side of the story without feeling overwhelmed. Each character has something to say, & you’re wearing multiple shoes without wearing any. Even though hockey won’t be relatable but the thoughts, oh, the thoughts, placed between the hopes, sighs, dreams, despair – they make you hold to the book.

As of now, I haven’t finished it but I didn’t find any flaw worth adding here. Getting back with more.

‘Why do you care about hockey?’ This question is the heart of the book, with its heartbeat as a question for different characters, meaning something for everyone, powerfully or subtly.

Beartown – a hockey town, with hockey as a promise of spring, a healing of the heart, a new shade of color, a new life within a life, for its inhabitants. Each hoping that a win at hockey would hold Beartown in promising recognition. Filling the gaps of unemployment, making it more than a town lost in time.

For Amat, a 15 year old, it meant a relieved life for him & his mother, Fatima. For Kevin, his dreams & reality. For Peter, Sune & David – an aching, living, part of their skins..

This book, as it claims, time & again, reminds me how hockey, how the love of something we love beyond reason matters so much more than we can ever perceive.

I liked the characters. Even agreed with them. I felt Peter’s loss. Her wife, Kira’s loss, their love brewing with everything going on in their lives. The voids. Amat. Kevin. The ironies of some characters. The love of mothers for their children. The presence of coaches. Some ways of David with love at their centre. The lingering connection of everyone with hockey & each other’s journey & emotions.

And, it’s just the art of writing that even with so many characters in the book, I’m not confused or overwhelmed. Each has a story, a journey to share.

Beartown makes you imagine a place driven by hopes, ironies, hardwork, passion, love. It tugs at your soft corners and gives you much to consider & re-consider.

Having said that, someone who doesn’t like deep thoughts time & again could find it a bit too much sometimes. And, the mention of hockey in everything could irk some readers too.

As for me, I loved reading it, it was comforting. I liked the whiff of familiarity, the different characters, the smell of hope, love, dreams. The weaving of this book will stay with me. And, yes, this is not a review. Read it if you seek comfort, different thoughts to reflect upon & the love of something that drives people to give their all. 