"Everyone has a thousand wishes before a tragedy, but just one afterward."
Of all the atrocities of mankind, I find rape and molestation the worst. I can read or watch crimes related to murders; even the psychotic nasty serial killing kinds without pondering over them much after the fact. But physical abuse is something that continues to linger in my head for a while.
Maybe because it truly is worst than murder as it doesn't end with the act. It continues to live and breathe till the victim is alive. 10 days, 20 months, 40 years or even 6 decades later, it doesn't fade.
And to describe that act, is a delicate matter in itself. Backman does an amazing job at this. The way he brings future reflection of past into the present, delicately brushing on the minutest detail yet resonating that horror, I was moved. He did not have to describe the gory details of the act, but just enough for us to feel the victim's pulse, I think that is the piece that touched me the most in this book.
"That most people don’t do what we tell them to. They do what we let them get away with."
The beauty of this book is, it throws light on all the evil without really making anyone a monster. In the end, you won't find a single culprit, they all are regular people, like you and me. And Backman does this through a small town called Beartown and Ice Hockey as the medium.
The harsh reality of today's world - "We cannot protect our children".
The beginning of the novel is a bit slow, I had to force myself not to put down the book, and am glad I did not, but that also shows Backman could've done better to keep the readers engaged in first couple of chapters.(hence my 4.5 rating, else this one would be a 5 star). If you get that feeling, I strongly urge you not to stop reading. You won't be disappointed.
Of course Benji is my most favorite of all characters, his personality does attracts us all. "Sad eyes with a wild heart."
Beartown is a beautiful novel that questions simple principles of society - should you really keep sports strictly business? Will you call yourself successful if you are a great player but a failed human? What's the importance of teaching basic values to kids as they grow? How maintaining silence in some matters is as worse as taking the wrong side, how you believe there's evil out there but somehow you are out of it's reach, when that monster turns out to be someone you have trusted your entire life how you try to rationalize it, what's the role of good friends in life etc...etc..
"And when enough people are quiet for long enough, a handful of voices can give the impression that everyone is screaming."
In addition to all this, he sneaks in some deep philosophical thoughts wrapped in simple sentences, typical Backman style. Some of my personal favorites -
"Big secrets turn us into small men."
"Sometimes life doesn’t let you choose your battles. Just the company you keep."
"You can't look a gravestone in the eye and ask it's forgiveness."
"Time always moves at the same rate, only feelings have different speeds."
In a nutshell - a melancholic read that invokes deep self reflection. You won't stop asking yourself, what would you do if you were Benji or Kira or Ana or Kevin or Peter or Maya or all those 30 odd other Beartown characters - every single one of them makes you question, would you have done anything different?
Of all the atrocities of mankind, I find rape and molestation the worst. I can read or watch crimes related to murders; even the psychotic nasty serial killing kinds without pondering over them much after the fact. But physical abuse is something that continues to linger in my head for a while.
Maybe because it truly is worst than murder as it doesn't end with the act. It continues to live and breathe till the victim is alive. 10 days, 20 months, 40 years or even 6 decades later, it doesn't fade.
And to describe that act, is a delicate matter in itself. Backman does an amazing job at this. The way he brings future reflection of past into the present, delicately brushing on the minutest detail yet resonating that horror, I was moved. He did not have to describe the gory details of the act, but just enough for us to feel the victim's pulse, I think that is the piece that touched me the most in this book.
"That most people don’t do what we tell them to. They do what we let them get away with."
The beauty of this book is, it throws light on all the evil without really making anyone a monster. In the end, you won't find a single culprit, they all are regular people, like you and me. And Backman does this through a small town called Beartown and Ice Hockey as the medium.
The harsh reality of today's world - "We cannot protect our children".
The beginning of the novel is a bit slow, I had to force myself not to put down the book, and am glad I did not, but that also shows Backman could've done better to keep the readers engaged in first couple of chapters.(hence my 4.5 rating, else this one would be a 5 star). If you get that feeling, I strongly urge you not to stop reading. You won't be disappointed.
Of course Benji is my most favorite of all characters, his personality does attracts us all. "Sad eyes with a wild heart."
Beartown is a beautiful novel that questions simple principles of society - should you really keep sports strictly business? Will you call yourself successful if you are a great player but a failed human? What's the importance of teaching basic values to kids as they grow? How maintaining silence in some matters is as worse as taking the wrong side, how you believe there's evil out there but somehow you are out of it's reach, when that monster turns out to be someone you have trusted your entire life how you try to rationalize it, what's the role of good friends in life etc...etc..
"And when enough people are quiet for long enough, a handful of voices can give the impression that everyone is screaming."
In addition to all this, he sneaks in some deep philosophical thoughts wrapped in simple sentences, typical Backman style. Some of my personal favorites -
"Big secrets turn us into small men."
"Sometimes life doesn’t let you choose your battles. Just the company you keep."
"You can't look a gravestone in the eye and ask it's forgiveness."
"Time always moves at the same rate, only feelings have different speeds."
In a nutshell - a melancholic read that invokes deep self reflection. You won't stop asking yourself, what would you do if you were Benji or Kira or Ana or Kevin or Peter or Maya or all those 30 odd other Beartown characters - every single one of them makes you question, would you have done anything different?
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