The conclusion to the New York Times bestselling Beartown series follows the small hockey town's residents as they grapple with change, pain, hope, and redemption.
This is a dramatic and highly satisfying novel, building on themes introduced in the first two books and brilliantly drawing the reader deeply into the story. The translation by Neil Smith (who has also translated novels by Lars Kepler and Liza Marklund) is nimble and idiomatic, perfectly conveying Backman’s love of language and his wonderful sense of humor. If this really is the last Beartown novel, it’s a hell of a conclusion to an outstanding series.
... satisfying if overlong ... Backman’s narration often feels heavy-handed, and his aphorisms alternate from opaque to obvious ... Moreover, many of the chapter-length asides are entirely too aside and lead nowhere. The tension, however, remains palpable after a former hockey player returns to Beartown and everyone assumes he’s out to settle a score, and a series of threats escalate into explosive violence and a painful resolution. This will do the trick for insatiable Beartown fans, though others can take a pass.
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay[/caption]
