by Fredrik Backman
324 pages
Right off the bat, I have to say that I didn't quite know where to put this book. There were three categories I felt that I could put it under and I'm not entirely sure that this is where it best fits, but it's where I hoped to put it before I began reading, so here it is. This book is set in a tiny village called Borg. Borg is in Norway, which is a country that fascinates me. I always thought Norway was so beautiful, but during the reading challenge last year, I happened to read two books that also included chapters that mentioned Norway and it's beauty. So, when I saw this book was set in Borg, I thought it would work. It does. I mean, it is set there. My only concern is that nothing in the book focuses on that fact. But oh well. Here you have it. I was given this book for Christmas and was so excited to read it because Backman is also the author of A Man Called Ove, which I loved!
In this novel, we meet Britt-Marie. Britt-Marie is an older woman (like in her 60s) who is starting her life over. She is looking for a job - her first job in 40 years. When asked why she wants to work now, she says her husband had a heart attack. He didn't die, but was with his mistress when it happened and she called to give Britt-Marie the news. So, Britt-Marie left.
In her search for a job, the employment agency finds her a 3-week long job at a recreation center in the run-down town of Borg. Britt-Marie packs up her stuff and moves to Borg. Something important to note about Britt-Marie is that she is quite quirky. She cleans obsessively and is very set in her ways. When she shows up at the rec center she gets to work cleaning it up. See, Borg is being hit hard by the financial crisis and there is very little left. The pizzaria is also the post office, grocery story, and auto shop. Everything is being shut down. It is only a matter of time before the rec center is gone too.
I don't really want to go into too much detail here because I really don't want to ruin this book, but it is in Borg that Britt-Marie truly finds who she is. She becomes the coach of the local soccer team. Of course this is just a rag-tag team of young teens who have more heart than any of the wealthy teams in the city. Britt-Marie is really turned off by the idea of soccer at first, but the kids win her over. We quickly learn that the kids aren't the only ones with heart. The entire town backs them when it's time to compete.
Ultimately, this book is about finding who you are. It's about not giving up. It's about people and what is really important in this life. I absolutely enjoyed this book. Of course I loved the characters, each unique. I loved the relationships Britt-Marie developed (including her relationship with a Snickers-eating rat). One other thing I really liked was how the characters knew so much about a person based on who their favorite soccer team is. Like supporting one team means you think you can always turn things around, you don't give up. Supporting a different team means you are used to always getting what you want. I thought these little adages offered a lot of insight into the community.
I would recommend this book. It is not a laugh-out-loud story but it's got a lot of heart. I even enjoyed it more than A Man Called Ove. Check it out.
4 Stars
P.S. If you aren't really into sports, you can read this for the category about A Book About or Involving a Sport. There is a lot of soccer in here, but you can be confused and annoyed by it like Britt-Marie. So a sport is a big part, but it isn't really want the story is about.