Everything revolves around politics and money and power, and a lot of the time, people suffer for it. I think it shapes our lives so much, whether or not we like to acknowledge that. We get different problems and different plot lines, but they all stem from the ones in the first book, and they are just as connected as they should be. The story moves on from the events of the first book, but still stays deeply grounded in them. You sort of get a rounded out story in the first book and sometimes authors tend to just recycle ideas from the first book. I think series or sequels in general fiction are tough to do. There’s nuance in all of the events and characters of this story and I am someone who deeply appreciates that. There are a lot of characters in here who don’t know right from wrong. It’s a tricky thing to nail, but Backman does it so well. I like morally grey characters, I like not really knowing what’s good or evil, even if I know what’s right or wrong. I really appreciate nuance in everything I read. I love small town stories, and Backman’s way of writing them is exactly what I love about them. Backman uses the concept of the collective mind so well, and manages to transfer it perfectly to the page. It’s a character of its own, more than the sum of the rest of the characters. It felt like a separate entity, in and of itself. This book was different to the first one in tone and in emotional coloring, but also because the town felt more alive here. Backman is so good at choosing the words that will elicit the hardest impact. So I spent my time with this, and I loved it. Each sentence, each word of this book seems like it was put there on purpose, like the author thought long and hard about each of them.

It took me a while to read this, because I was reading every sentence ever so carefully. If a book takes me too long to read, I am probably not enjoying it.

I am the kind of reader who devours books, and doesn’t read for too long. I am so surprised by how masterful of a writer Backman is. So I got the book and it was different than the first one. Thank you so much, Atria Publishing, I am forever grateful. Why are you limiting me? Anyways, I decided to write to the publisher directly and they provided me with the eARC. Because if you want a reviewer to rave about that book, I am that reviewer. And then it hit Netgalley US and I could only wish for it. Thus came a really dark period in my life when I was obsessively checking Netgalley EVERY SINGLE DAY to see if a review copy was available. So when I heard that there was a sequel coming out, I was thrilled, but also exasperated that I had to wait so long for it. I was and still am completely in love with it. It’s something that gets forced upon you.”Īs you all know by now, Beartown was my favorite book last year (you can read my review HERE). For some girls that isn’t something you choose.

Sequel to beartown by fredrik backman