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.

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