--- product_id: 61123949 title: "Beartown" price: "₨61584" currency: LKR in_stock: true reviews_count: 10 url: https://www.desertcart.lk/products/61123949-beartown store_origin: LK region: Sri Lanka --- # Beartown **Price:** ₨61584 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Beartown - **How much does it cost?** ₨61584 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.lk](https://www.desertcart.lk/products/61123949-beartown) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Buy Beartown Translation by Backman, Fredrik, Smith, Neil (ISBN: 9781501160769) from desertcart's Book Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Review: Excellently and tightly crafted novel - There are a few, special books out there that are so beautifully written that they feel like art at the same time as having a narrative and characters that pull you in and simply refuse to let go. Beartown is one of those books. I honestly found myself spellbound once more by the undeniable power that is held within these pages. Yet I'm still struggling to do it justice. But whatever else I can or cannot say, this reflects some of the greatest lights within humanity at the same time as it shines a glow on some of the darkest. It's mesmerisingly written and draws you alongside each and every one of these characters. It will haunt you. In many ways, Beartown is a novel about humanity. In other ways, it is a novel about ice hockey. In a handful more ways it is a novel about community and belonging, love and loss, hatred and despair, friendship and marriage. And throughout it, each character is intertwined and interwoven with another, making a beautiful, heart felt tapestry of words that never fails you. When I originally read this I said ‘maybe one day I will find the words to adequately review this book, but for now the following will have to do; spellbinding, beautifully intricate and unbelievably powerful.’ Perhaps it is the time to try and do better. On re-reading, this is undoubtedly still one of the best books I have had the pleasure of reading; the translation from Swedish into English is beyond compare. The translator has managed to take the essence of the meaning whilst still keeping a poetic and thoughtful tone; normally, I struggle with translations, finding them a bit too clunky. Never once did I feel that here. But if the translator has done a stunning job, then what more can be said of the author himself, because this is truly a magical book. With re-reading, you have the chance to savour some more of the details rather than rushing ahead with the plot, and I was amazed at how many small nuances I had missed first time round. Perhaps what says the most though, is that I currently have over eighty highlights from this book; some of them are wrenching scenes, many of them poignant and meaningful paragraphs. I don’t think I have ever had that many highlights from one book before. There are a number of reasons for that; firstly as I said, the writing is frankly superb. Secondly, the characters are utterly true and you can’t help but feel something for all of them, even those you are set against. Nobody is black or white, everybody is one of those infinite shades of grey. And the interactions between the characters throughout is so completely true. At no point did I find myself thinking, but that wouldn’t have happened. This is an author who has a full grasp of both the adolescent and the adult minds… with a fair few insights into the child. Most of all though, this book hit home. The puck went into the goal or whatever the ice hockey reference would be. I have no interest in the sport and yet I found myself cheering with these characters, playing with these characters, heart-broken with these characters. Even those who actions I could never condone… I could still kind of see why. It’s a special kind book that manages that level of empathy… it’s a special kind of author. I still find myself thinking that I have not done this book credit. That perhaps somebody will just read the blurb and think it’s a book about ice hockey and walk off. It’s not. It’s a book that transcends the sport, even whilst it depicts the greats and the lows of that very subject. It’s a novel of humanity; high and low, rick and poor, talented and not quite good enough. Because in Beartown there are no maybe’s, there are no nearly’s. You sink or you swim. You fly or you plummet. This was one of my greatest books of 2017. Hats off. It alone of my re-reads keeps that title and is also one of my greatest books of 2018. Review: It's just a game... only no one believes that - Beartown is a small community deep in Sweden's forested north. It's cold, dark for most of the year, there aren't enough jobs and the population is dwindling year by year. The people who live there are tough and clannish and obsessed with ice hockey. The events of the novel are set around the time of the junior team - boys aged 16 and 17 - reaching the national semifinals. It's the most exciting thing that's happened in the town for years, and the residents are full of pride and excitement. It might even offer opportunities to reverse the town's fortunes and encourage investment. But then a crime is committed which threatens all of that, and the recriminations affect the whole town. The fallout from that incident and the moral dilemmas of the characters make up the rest of the book. Beartown has a large ensemble cast of characters and it is slow going for the first half as everyone is introduced and their characters established. It lacks the whimsy of some of Backman's other works, and there's a stronger streak of darkness in it. Although it's a different style from his other famous books (e.g. A Man Called Ove) he retains the same skill at showing the very best and very worst of humanity. The latter part of the novel is more gripping, once you know all of the characters and the drama of events ramps up. There are a number of really likeable characters here, and a great range. The game and the hype surrounding it touches everyone in the town - old, young, male, female, rich, poor, successful, unsuccessful. Although the sheer number of characters clogs up the book to some extent, by the end I can understand why Backman wrote it this way. The novel really is about the town and its residents, and without covering a good cross-section of people only part of the story could have been told. Backman isn't always subtle in how he writes, but he does show a good understanding of human nature. He has a good balance of sympathy for the human condition without having any illusions about the nastier side of human nature and behaviour. Overall, Beartown is an immersive, complex story with a host of good characters. If you are interesting in psychology and human behaviour it would be a very interesting book to read. It doesn't offer easy answers, and it makes you think. I'm keen to read the sequel as I want to know how all my favourite characters get on in their lives - he's created some really loveable characters here, and also some very intriguing ones. It does start slowly but is definitely worth persisting with. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | 600,392 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) 22 in Sports Fiction (Books) 227 in Literary Fiction (Books) 416 in Contemporary Fiction (Books) | | Book 1 of 3 | Beartown | | Customer reviews | 4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars (65,447) | | Dimensions | 15.56 x 3.05 x 23.5 cm | | Edition | Translation | | ISBN-10 | 1501160761 | | ISBN-13 | 978-1501160769 | | Item weight | 608 g | | Language | English | | Print length | 418 pages | | Publication date | 25 April 2017 | | Publisher | Atria Books | ## Images ![Beartown - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81cZJm3j5iL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Excellently and tightly crafted novel *by A***E on 6 November 2019* There are a few, special books out there that are so beautifully written that they feel like art at the same time as having a narrative and characters that pull you in and simply refuse to let go. Beartown is one of those books. I honestly found myself spellbound once more by the undeniable power that is held within these pages. Yet I'm still struggling to do it justice. But whatever else I can or cannot say, this reflects some of the greatest lights within humanity at the same time as it shines a glow on some of the darkest. It's mesmerisingly written and draws you alongside each and every one of these characters. It will haunt you. In many ways, Beartown is a novel about humanity. In other ways, it is a novel about ice hockey. In a handful more ways it is a novel about community and belonging, love and loss, hatred and despair, friendship and marriage. And throughout it, each character is intertwined and interwoven with another, making a beautiful, heart felt tapestry of words that never fails you. When I originally read this I said ‘maybe one day I will find the words to adequately review this book, but for now the following will have to do; spellbinding, beautifully intricate and unbelievably powerful.’ Perhaps it is the time to try and do better. On re-reading, this is undoubtedly still one of the best books I have had the pleasure of reading; the translation from Swedish into English is beyond compare. The translator has managed to take the essence of the meaning whilst still keeping a poetic and thoughtful tone; normally, I struggle with translations, finding them a bit too clunky. Never once did I feel that here. But if the translator has done a stunning job, then what more can be said of the author himself, because this is truly a magical book. With re-reading, you have the chance to savour some more of the details rather than rushing ahead with the plot, and I was amazed at how many small nuances I had missed first time round. Perhaps what says the most though, is that I currently have over eighty highlights from this book; some of them are wrenching scenes, many of them poignant and meaningful paragraphs. I don’t think I have ever had that many highlights from one book before. There are a number of reasons for that; firstly as I said, the writing is frankly superb. Secondly, the characters are utterly true and you can’t help but feel something for all of them, even those you are set against. Nobody is black or white, everybody is one of those infinite shades of grey. And the interactions between the characters throughout is so completely true. At no point did I find myself thinking, but that wouldn’t have happened. This is an author who has a full grasp of both the adolescent and the adult minds… with a fair few insights into the child. Most of all though, this book hit home. The puck went into the goal or whatever the ice hockey reference would be. I have no interest in the sport and yet I found myself cheering with these characters, playing with these characters, heart-broken with these characters. Even those who actions I could never condone… I could still kind of see why. It’s a special kind book that manages that level of empathy… it’s a special kind of author. I still find myself thinking that I have not done this book credit. That perhaps somebody will just read the blurb and think it’s a book about ice hockey and walk off. It’s not. It’s a book that transcends the sport, even whilst it depicts the greats and the lows of that very subject. It’s a novel of humanity; high and low, rick and poor, talented and not quite good enough. Because in Beartown there are no maybe’s, there are no nearly’s. You sink or you swim. You fly or you plummet. This was one of my greatest books of 2017. Hats off. It alone of my re-reads keeps that title and is also one of my greatest books of 2018. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ It's just a game... only no one believes that *by B***M on 27 October 2018* Beartown is a small community deep in Sweden's forested north. It's cold, dark for most of the year, there aren't enough jobs and the population is dwindling year by year. The people who live there are tough and clannish and obsessed with ice hockey. The events of the novel are set around the time of the junior team - boys aged 16 and 17 - reaching the national semifinals. It's the most exciting thing that's happened in the town for years, and the residents are full of pride and excitement. It might even offer opportunities to reverse the town's fortunes and encourage investment. But then a crime is committed which threatens all of that, and the recriminations affect the whole town. The fallout from that incident and the moral dilemmas of the characters make up the rest of the book. Beartown has a large ensemble cast of characters and it is slow going for the first half as everyone is introduced and their characters established. It lacks the whimsy of some of Backman's other works, and there's a stronger streak of darkness in it. Although it's a different style from his other famous books (e.g. A Man Called Ove) he retains the same skill at showing the very best and very worst of humanity. The latter part of the novel is more gripping, once you know all of the characters and the drama of events ramps up. There are a number of really likeable characters here, and a great range. The game and the hype surrounding it touches everyone in the town - old, young, male, female, rich, poor, successful, unsuccessful. Although the sheer number of characters clogs up the book to some extent, by the end I can understand why Backman wrote it this way. The novel really is about the town and its residents, and without covering a good cross-section of people only part of the story could have been told. Backman isn't always subtle in how he writes, but he does show a good understanding of human nature. He has a good balance of sympathy for the human condition without having any illusions about the nastier side of human nature and behaviour. Overall, Beartown is an immersive, complex story with a host of good characters. If you are interesting in psychology and human behaviour it would be a very interesting book to read. It doesn't offer easy answers, and it makes you think. I'm keen to read the sequel as I want to know how all my favourite characters get on in their lives - he's created some really loveable characters here, and also some very intriguing ones. It does start slowly but is definitely worth persisting with. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A must read *by L***B on 25 November 2025* This is an absolutely fabulous book. The start does build slowly as other reviews state but this is so you can fully appreciate the characters, the uniqueness of the situations and the emotions. I read the book in short sections so that I could give it my full attention and absorb the story. It is a roller coaster ride and not at all predictable. I loved the looking back in ten year references, sometimes it helped to ease my concerns for the people that had become so real to me. I want to read on and to spread the word. ## Frequently Bought Together - Beartown: A Novel (Beartown Series) - The Winners: A Novel (Beartown Series) - Us Against You: A Novel (Beartown) --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.lk/products/61123949-beartown](https://www.desertcart.lk/products/61123949-beartown) --- *Product available on Desertcart Sri Lanka* *Store origin: LK* *Last updated: 2026-05-23*