The book was very good, written from many, many people in the town's perspective. Some you will hate, others you will just feel ashamed of, some you will love.
The beginning is very, very slow. I am a hockey fan and I was losing interest, but it picks up. It is obvious what the Event is going to be and what the town is going to do. So much of it was just blatantly obvious at what was going to happen I had to remove the first star.
When we get closer to the climax and we see what choices each individual makes, some make you so proud and some make you so angry. I live in a sports town, so I know how true this is.
The vagueness of some of the endings lost the other star. Some were very clear, while other were eluded to or straight out made into a freaking puzzle. I I'd not like that at all.
Everyone is saying that this is such an amazing book and how poignant the subject matter is, but I just didn't read it that way. I thought it was very good. But a lot of the perspectives were so vague and trying to be deep or profound or telling stories that weren't relevant. I sort of skimmed some of those. I would recommend it though!
The beginning is very, very slow. I am a hockey fan and I was losing interest, but it picks up. It is obvious what the Event is going to be and what the town is going to do. So much of it was just blatantly obvious at what was going to happen I had to remove the first star.
When we get closer to the climax and we see what choices each individual makes, some make you so proud and some make you so angry. I live in a sports town, so I know how true this is.
The vagueness of some of the endings lost the other star. Some were very clear, while other were eluded to or straight out made into a freaking puzzle. I I'd not like that at all.
Everyone is saying that this is such an amazing book and how poignant the subject matter is, but I just didn't read it that way. I thought it was very good. But a lot of the perspectives were so vague and trying to be deep or profound or telling stories that weren't relevant. I sort of skimmed some of those. I would recommend it though!
If the subject matter seems cliche, it is with good reason. Whether hockey or football, where is the line between lessons learned and the sport taking over until it reigns, esp. in a small town. Backman's characters are well-fleshed and the story is real. His foreshadowing is spot-on, just enough to retain interest and then dropped when the reader needs to be in the moment. I did not want to put this book down.
I love hockey, but you don't have to be a hockey fan to enjoy this book. It is heartbreaking but ultimately uplifting. I read and read to finish it until I felt like my eyes were going to bleed, just like a player's teeth after getting slammed into the boards.
