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Saturday, May 19, 2018

Us Against You by Fredrik Backman



This should not have been a book I picked up. I do not know anything about ice hockey and the paranoia almost that surrounded the game in this small town of Beartown was not something I could understand!

Having said that, the petty jealousies, the envy and finally the strong emotions that tie people down to a town, a thing or in this case to a sport was hard for me to understand. The town was overshadowed by the sport and the whole book is about how the sport controlled everyone's lives, their attitudes and how they wanted things to work out. That money was involved was obvious but the sport overshadowed it all.

That pranks and minor jealousies could erupt into this with one person dead is quite imaginable but the story did not do anything very much for me. It was almost a DNF but I plodded on. I get books with a lot of difficulty and I appreciate that publishers send them on to us, so I think it is an obligation to give it a fair go.

Sent to me by Netgalley for an unbiased review, courtesy of Atria Books. 

8 comments:

  1. Sorry this was a stinker for you.

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  2. I loved A Man Called Ove and Beartown (which sounds similar to this book) and am currently listening to My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She's Sorry. I plan to reading his other books soon. Sorry you didn't enjoy this book.

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  3. The pettiness doesn't sound like one I would like too. I try to finish review books for the same reason. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

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  4. I an't say I am aching to read it

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  5. I'm not a big hockey fan, but I do like books with sports in them. However, I don't think this one sounds like something I'd like.

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  6. Hmm this might be a tough one for me too. I don't really get how sports can be so all- consuming, but I guess some people do!

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  7. This is a sequel, did you read Beartown, the earlier book? I need to read that one first.

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  8. This is on my wish list. I liked Beartown, his previous novel about the hockey town and team.

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