I heard this was a story about hockey, and that is certainly true. But it's about a lot of other things as well: relationships, friendships, team building, loyalty, honesty, community, grief, betrayal, abuse. Living in a "hockey family" myself, the messages really hit home.
There are many different philosophies when coaching a sports team. I have experienced various philosophies about the best way to "run a team" over the years since all three of my sons were/are athletes. In this book, there are two main coaches. David is the coach of the junior team. He is a younger coach and well-loved. He focuses on the strength of the boys. He writes positive messages on hockey pucks and gives them to key players when he sees they need a "boost". The problem is, he dislikes the General Manager of the team, Peter. Peter was an extremely talented hockey player who moved to Canada to play with the NHL. When he was injured, not once, but three significant times, his hockey career was over. Eventually he is asked to come back to Beartown (a small hockey town in Sweden where he grew up) to be the General Manager. I never really understood why David doesn't like him. The second coach, Sune, is the coach of the A team (the upper team). He has been around a long, long time. He used to coach Peter when Peter was the star of the town. Sune is set in his ways, old, and "old school". The hockey board wants Peter to ask him to resign. Since it's a small town, there really aren't any secrets, so Sune knows what's coming and makes his peace with it before Peter even talks to him.
The star of the junior team is Kevin. His best friend, Benji, isn't the best hockey player, but he plays first line with Kevin because he makes plays that allows Kevin to shine - and score. The entire town of Beartown has their hopes set on Kevin. He is elevated to hero status. He will bring their team - and town - back into the limelight, which is where they were when Peter was the star. They have made it to the Nationals semi-final. All they have to do it win the semi-final game and then play in the final. Winning in the final would bring prosperity to the town once again since the win would guarantee a new hockey school being built there.
Now that I have explained, very briefly, the "hockey stuff", I can tell you that there are many, many layers in this story. Each and every character is multi-faceted. Many of them have a history of trauma of one sort or another. Some come from loving homes. Some have been severely neglected. Some are bullied because of their nationality or life of poverty. Some have suffered loss that has deeply affected them. The key mantra of this town however is "Hockey will save us. Just stay silent". When a girl is raped by a hockey player, everyone takes sides. Most of the townspeople side with the hockey player. Because. He. Is. A. Hockey. Player. I had to put the book down a couple of times just to take a break from the brutalness of this. Basically, she gets raped again - by the town.
This is a very well-written book. I found myself getting out my small post-its to mark certain passages. It's a deep dive into this small town and all the people who live there and their inner characters. At one point, Sune comments, "For me, culture is as much about what we encourage as what we actually permit." A very significant insight considering all this is happening in this town. I really loved the depth of this book.
Wendy's Rating: *****
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