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This novel covered so much ground within its 410 pages.
It spans themes including community and belonging, loyalty and betrayal, forgiveness and redemption, violence and its consequences, isolation and its exacerbation of mental health issues, power and corruption and gender roles.

Fredrik Backman produces a most detailed story, that you can see slowly forming into a tapestry. He tells you the plot of the novel from the beginning, but it takes the book's entirety for you as a reader to see the full picture and truly grasp the weight of the words in these pages.

The cast of characters is vivid and full of people you would never expect to love. A new person is introduced, you may feel negatively towards them at first, and within the next few pages, you realise qualities in their characters, and your heart opens up to them.

I have not read a book by this author that I have not loved. His writing style is like no other, swift and clear, yet full of incredible nuance and observations which remind you of your humanity. Another home run (or goal - hockey pun) from Backman.

PS. Chapter 38 - The Game: holy heck it was one of the most moving chapters I've read in any book.