Have you ever seen a town fall?

Beartown has had a rough few months. A small community in the middle of the forest, the factory that sustains its workers might be shut down, and the one thing they hold fast to more than anything – ice hockey – has been tainted by scandal. Their best player raped a girl and has now left town, the club has been left in ruins, and everyone is looking for someone to blame.

Those in the firing line include Peter, the general manager of the hockey team who is trying to mend what’s been broken; Benji, who stood against his best friend in order to tell the truth; the Pack, a group of so-called hooligans, one of whom happens to be the kind of goalie Beartown hockey is looking for; and Maya and Ana, best friends who endure the stares and whispers of their classmates because they have each other.

As the rivalry between Beartown and its closest neighbour, Hed, heats up, the more the violence escalates. It will end in death. Those left standing will wonder if hockey will ever be a simple game for them again.

I really enjoyed Beartown and was looking forward to seeing the story continued here, and happily I wasn’t disappointed. I’m still a fan of Backman’s writing style and of the characters he has created. It’s worthwhile to see how the events of the first book impact them and what they do with it. Maya, Ana and Benji are especially well drawn, but it would have been nice to see a bit more of Amat. He gets lost a bit here I think.

I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as the first but that’s mostly down to the political machinations in it than anything else. And those things are necessary to move the plot along. It’s also a little rougher on Peter. I think I liked him a lot more in the first, whereas he stumbles about a bit in this and is easily led. It would have been nice to see him stand up a bit more. I also didn’t love the portrayal of the new coach, Zackell. She’s someone who doesn’t do emotions and I never really bought it. It seems played more for humour than for how a person would really behave.

And if anyone can tell me why Kira’s colleague is only ever referred to as that, please explain. I had forgotten about it in the first book and it was still going on here and I don’t know why. I was expecting some reveal about who she is but it never comes. Why not give her a name? Is there gonna be a bombshell in a later book? That’s a fairly risky long game since it does become a bit irritating so not sure any pay off would be worth it.

Little criticisms aside this was a moving read and I still very much need to read his others.