What Is On My Nightstand

"Late one evening toward the end of March, a teenager picked up a double-barrel shotgun, walked into the forest, out the gun to someone else's forehead, and pulled the trigger.

This is the story of how we got there."

So begins Bear Town by Fredrik Backman. After reading A Gentleman In Moscow I kind of figured the next book would pale in comparison. Bear Town, thus, was the sacrificial lamb to follow what was one of the best, if not the best book I'd read for shear entertainment in years. Was I ever surprised when Bear Town held its own and provided a welcome two-in-a-row reading experience.

Set in a non-specified Nordic village it is a tale of what happens to a town when its only focus is its high school hockey team. A team that finally has a chance to win the national championship and the acclaim, glory and riches that come with it. It's been a long time since Bear Town had anything to be proud of and they are on the precipice of fielding the best in the region. If they win they may be able to persuade the powers-that-be to build a hockey academy in the dying village. They may be able to get businesses and people to come in once again. Bear Town may be viable again, if only it can win. But something happens with the star player - the real juice behind the team - that throws an errant puck into the works and hopes for the future.

Backman writes well and in a somewhat unorthodox fashion. Instead of the usual multi-page chapter format, he may throw in a single paragraph here and there. Sometimes several pages of single paragraphs with other peoples actions or thoughts to in a kind of real-time texture. That not only keeps the action at breakneck speed but helps tie up loose threads on the spot rather than having to wait 40 pages away.

What you learn if you read this novel is the expectation others have on success. You will also learn a bit about the obsessions we have on sports and its dynamic in our lives. Also learned will be the age-old willingness to turn a blind eye to things we know that are right in front of us. What I didn't learn is why hockey is so damn popular.

If you read Gentleman In Moscow and not ready for the inevitable mediocrity then get Bear Town for a pretty decent ride on a couple novelists who know what they are doing.

Comments

Flashback Friday

Class, Or Lack Thereof The Dwight Vice gravestone in Oquawka, Illinois. I bring this old chestnut out every so often just to remind me that class is classless. Dwight Vice was killed in his home near Oquawka in 2001. It was one of those things that can generate crime: two guys thought Dwight had a lot of money stashed at home because of his pot-selling sideline to supplement his fishing job. Not really one of those big drug deals gone-bad things. Marijuana was, according to the trial, about the only stuff Dwight sold. But these two guys barge into the house and killed Dwight and attempted to kill his 11 year old kid, Darryl, before they took off with what money they could find. His son, now 23, was stabbed in the back and left for dead. He survived and is wheelchair bound and has undergone several surgeries to repair his wounds. He will be paralyzed for life. None of this is pleasant. Reading the f...

The Mary Davis Home - Part 2

None of these pictures were taken by me, they came right from the MDH website. I am posting these so that friends who have never seen inside where I worked can gain access. After 27 years I have many stories, tales and acquaintances. But, I wouldn't know how to express them appropriately in a few paragraphs. I enjoyed 98% of my stay there and hope I made a difference in the lives of a fraction of the kids who entered. The original MDH at this site was just the front part. The large red-roofed area in back was added on in the 90's. This is the Jerry Carlton library. It was unofficially named after one of the counselors who truly loved the place. He passed away around 2002, I think. Mr. Farber looks like he is explaining a few things to a client. The classroom. Activity area with the gym behind the windows. Another shot of the classroom. It was a little different area to teach since we had 2 classes and 2 teachers i...

Flashback Friday - Cold Case - Part One

53 years ago today, Gordon "Peel" Duncan walked into the dark post office in Seaton Illinois and was brutally assaulted by an individual or individuals. He died two days later. The murder was never solved. Gordon Duncan was one of the publishers of the Seaton Independent, a weekly newspaper in town that started in the late 1800's and stopped publishing in the 60's. We boys were just young children when this took place, but we have been fascinated by it ever since. The imagination of kids, I suppose or maybe the fact that it was unsolved. Regardless, this was a big deal in our little lives. For our parents it tended to shatter the idea that Seaton, our town, was safe. That it could fend off the forces of evil in the world, that in our little universe we would be impervious to harm was gone forever. For us kids I don't suppose we were old enough to know real fear. Fear for us was not getting our list ...

Existing In BFE

Search This Blog