Beartown

“Everyone has a thousand wishes before a tragedy, but just one afterward.”

“Never trust people who don't have something in their lives that they love beyond all reason.”

I liked this more than “Man called Ove”. Loved the depth of the characters and the insights into different people's and community's behavior. Backman's writing ultimately draws you in. I could feel what each character was going through and was heavily invested in them. You can feel the pain every character undergoes, you can see every tree, every road, and every scar on everyone.

This book is dark and emotionally compelling. Being a parent, this book hit me harder in multiple places.

“Being a parent makes you feel like a blanket that's always too small. No matter how hard you try to cover everyone, there's always someone who's freezing.”