Beartown

February 27, 2017
The bestselling author of A Man Called Ove tells a poignant story of a hockey town paralyzed by scandal. Jobs are disappearing and Beartown is slowly dying, so for its citizens, hockey is everything. Backman asks, “Why does everyone care about hockey? Because hockey tells stories.” This is the story not just of hockey, but of a 15-year-old named Maya Andersson, whose father, Peter, the general manager of the hockey club, loves hockey, but loves his family more. Seventeen-year-old Kevin Erdahl is the star of Beartown, with a chance to go professional. One night, after a huge win, Maya goes to a raucous party at Kevin’s house and is thrilled at his attention, but things get out of hand, and what takes place changes Beartown forever. Lest readers think hockey is the star here, it’s Backman’s rich characters that steal the show, and his deft handling of tragedy and its effects on an insular town. While the story is dark at times, love, sacrifice, and the bonds of friendship and family shine through, ultimately offering hope and even redemption. Backman veers close to the saccharine, but readers may be too spellbound to notice.

June 26, 2017
Backman’s latest novel requires actor Ireland to portray small-town machismo with sensitivity, eschewing caricature and low-hanging fruit to reveal the vulnerable underside of the teenage players of Beartown’s youth hockey league (and their parents, who live vicariously through them). For the most part, she succeeds, and does so with memorable rigor. Her raspy alto switches believably among a wide range of characters—female and male, young and adult—as she gives voice to the emotions they face, from hidden loneliness to the anger of unforgivable betrayal. Ireland has had recurring roles on a number of noteworthy TV shows, including Homeland, Girls, and The Killing; while she hasn’t had a similar range of experience with audio narration, this doesn’t feel like a rookie outing. Her narration is at its best during particularly dramatic moments of the story, such as the crime that occurs amid a raucous victory party. Her passion during these scenes is such that the fictional residents of Beartown might say she “has the bear in her”—their highest compliment for a clutch player who gives everything to a performance, whether in hockey or in life. With luck we will see her as an audiobook narrator more often in the future. An Atria hardcover.