It's staccato prose and subject, a dying, desolate, and desperately cold hockey town, proved an initial obstacle to me. But once I got over that, the story really began to suck me in. I don't think I've had a book grab ahold of me like this in a while. All the characters were multi-dimensional. They all had their flaws and virtues. Just when I was ready to write off a character as unredeemable, he would surprise me. But the actual plot a bit to get going.
But once the central action took place, it was non-stop.
Except that what appeared to be the central action was not. The author keeps us up-to-date on the happenings of a secondary character, Benji, who appears to move "off-screen" as the plot really takes shape. In those glimpses, we see hints that this boy is a closeted gay student. But that is a distraction to the gripping story the town is facing.
Somehow the author manages to pull out a somewhat satisfying end. No one gets everything they want, but all get some satisfaction. That's the point we shift the focus back to Benji and his coach's discovery of the young man's sexual attraction to males. Suddenly the story becomes about acceptance and the appalling lack of sympathy the coach and players have displayed when it comes to same-sex attraction. The big takeaway seems to be, "Don't be a bigot to gay people."
This "moral of the story" left a bad taste in my mouth. Obviously, as Christians, we are called to love all people and treat all with dignity and respect. Acceptance of that bent is another story. But just as a matter of story-telling, the ending felt jarring. While one really big and intractable story is seemingly the focus, Backman pulls a bait-and-switch and seems to say, "And by the way, while I got you hooked on one compelling story, I'm going to use this time to shame the anti-gay bigots."
Anyways, I wouldn't recommend it. And I'm leery of reading his other novels. I don't need to be that invested to have the rug pulled out from under me.
It's really a shame.
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