It’s been a while since a book has made me cry.
How did Backman write about this culture? I have never read a book that even tried. And he did it well.
It takes me a bit to get into his writing style. I wonder, did some of that change with translation? But once I get into it, it’s easy to read. And I start quite liking it.
I almost put the book down when I was barely into it because of the language & jokes & stuff. I’m pretty picky about what I read, for the most part. Then I settled for just not leaving a copy hanging around for my little siblings to get their hands onto. And I was hooked.
Why? Why did I like it? I read the reviews, some people say you don’t have to be a hockey lover to enjoy the book. I half ways come from a hockey line, so I think that helped me connect. And the culture. Guys, this culture.
It’s heartbreaking. I know.
I felt the shame. The “let’s deal with this internally”. The denial of pain, because pain is losing and you don’t lose. And then when you do—

Bang. Bang, bang, bang.