Well, it’s Backman. I love his writing. The people are living and breathing. He warms my heart with the humanity of his characters. He ripped out my heart and made me cry so hard. I can’t give this book 5 of my stars only because of that. The Andersson family. The foreshadowing. The foreshadowing. Yes, I said it twice.
Thank you to Net Galley for letting me review this very good book.
#netgalley #TheWinners #FredrikBackman

The Winners by Fredrick Backman was everything I wanted the ending of this trilogy to be. While I did not want the story to end, I felt that Backman did a fantastic job concluding the story. I will read anything that Backman writes at this point and I am so glad that The Winners was a book that I loved and could not put down. It is a lengthy read though, coming in at 688 pages. You will need to put aside some time to finish The Winners, but in the end, it is worth it.

Beartown was for me a near perfect book. In a way it is interstate to keep visiting tye characters but I also think it diminishes the power of the original story. Also, this one was a little too sad for me.

Out of all of Fredrik Backman’s novels, this one was hardest for me to get into and I’m not entirely sure why. I’ve read all the others in the Beartown series. The one thing I will add is that the ending did make me tear up quite a bit so it was worth pushing through.

Frederick Backman is brilliant. Once gain we see Beartown and Hed, their citizens, and the human sides of them. He has such a way of conveying all the things one would feel through all circumstances.
UNREAL!!

The Winners by Fredrik Backman is book three in a trilogy. Beartown introduces us to the town. Us Against You becomes about the sport. The Winners brings the book back to the people. I want to love this book for how much how much I loved some of the other works by the author. Unfortunately, I enjoyed Us Against You a little less than Beartown, and I find myself even less the reader for The Winners. I will, however, continue to look for Fredrik Backman's books.

Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2023/11/the-winners.html

Reviewed for NetGalley.

The Beartown series is one of my favourites of all time. I love Fredrik Backman’s writing style so much. He made me care about hockey! But really he just writes about people in such a real, human way. The complexities of every character, they are flawed and lovable. I’ll miss you Beartown!
Thank you Atria Books for the copy through NetGalley!

Fredrik Backman strikes again with a heartwarming and heartbreaking book. His books are always so raw and human, and this one is no exception. I hadn't read the other Beartown books, so I don't know if that would enhance your enjoyment of this one. I didn't feel lost without that background information. If you don't like books that deal with serious topics or sad scenarios, this is not the author for you. A community is faced with a great deal of issues and has to come together to solve them and support each other. This book discusses lots of human relationships and things that can derail a person, and what they need to get back on track. This book has strong A Man Called Ove vibes.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick. Our library purchased and our patrons have been checking out and and enjoying the book. I see it is a popular book club choice as well we hope to have more oppurtinies to support authors like them

It's hockey season once again in Beartown, and tensions are high between rival clubs Beartown and Hed as one club faces closure, and the other unrivalled success despite both sides sharing the same amount of passion and grit fir their teams. As a storm rolls into town, someone will be dead and by the time the A-Teams play in a week's time, another tragedy will take place and more young lives lost.

The final book of Beartown and this one did no disappoint - it was full of all the emotional angst and torture I would expect from Fredrik Backman who has skillfully crafted a town and its neighbour to life so well, I felt like I was part if it all. The characters in this book are so sad, happy, lovely and tortured all at the same time - every single one of them is going through something whether they be at the end of their long lives like Ramona and Sune, the middle like Hannah, Kira and Peter or at the beginning like Maya and Ana.

We see events from Book One which revolved around Kevin and Maya come back into focus as we learn about another girl who wasn't as 'lucky' as Maya and a brother who was left alone to be tortured about what happened to his sister. Backman shows what makes a hero and what doesn't - in acts of true bravery such as forfeiting a life for others, and other small ones like paving the way for others behind, admitting when you're wrong and swallowing down long-held grudges for the happiness of your children.

I thought I'd might have been 'emotionally manipulated' out by the end of this book as we all know what's about to happen - we have been told constantly what's going to happen since the start of book one yet when it did happen I was still devastated. And seeing the pieces of everyone left behind, and the shadow that was left, the friend they always felt walk beside them but could never see UGH!

I really loved this trilogy - so expertly crafted and you can tell the author put everything he had into this and all the characters. I'm not sure I'll ever be emotionally ready to read the books again but I do know I'm not ready to say goodbye for good.

The most perfect wrap up to the Beartown series. I loved this so much because it focused on the characters story so much more than just the hockey atmosphere. I'm going to miss this series immensely.

This is the third installment of Backman's Beartown series. As with the previous two books (and honestly all of his books) I was emotionally worn out after reading this book. I cried, I laughed, and as always I was astonished at his ability to capture the complexities of human existence. Even though you are told at the end of book one what was going to happen at the end of this book, I read it with the hope that it wouldn't happen.

One of the book's strongest assets is its multifaceted characters. Backman excels at crafting flawed yet lovable protagonists, and ""The Winners"" is no exception. The reader is invited into the inner workings of these characters' minds, witnessing their insecurities, regrets, and personal battles. Their struggles and personal growth throughout the story are beautifully portrayed, allowing readers to connect with them on a deep emotional level.

Backman's writing style is as engaging as ever, filled with his signature blend of humor and poignancy. He explores themes such as the pursuit of happiness, the masks people wear, and the complexities of human relationships. Through his witty prose and profound observations, Backman encourages readers to reflect on their own lives and the pursuit of their own dreams.

I would recommend this to anyone and everyone. Some might find the number of characters you need to keep track of daunting but I think it shows how many lives are affected by each other person in the world. "

I’m always worried at the beginning of a Backman novel that I won’t be able to keep track of all of the characters…but he just has a way to help you with that. He writes characters with so much heart and so much love that they leap off the page and into your own heart.

This was gorgeous and gutting, but had a weird problem with being both a) too long and b) having some under-baked storylines? It almost would've made more sense to split it into two books to give Backman more space to explore and beef up those stories. I'll read anything he writes, though, and this was still five stars for me.

I read this book not having read the first Beartown book. The simmering tensions that run through these 2 towns build for a "showdown". I love getting into the heads of everyone involved and yo will be in for some unexpected results

The Winners unfortunately did not “win” in my book. While I’m happy to have completed this series, I feel as if the book could have been edited heavily, cut heavily, and less new storylines that needed to get wrapped up while also wrapping up the other storylines. I also feel like the ending and what happens is unnecessary trauma. It was all too much trauma.

Oh Beartown... I miss you already. I put off reading this book as long as I could because I didn't want it to be over. I love Backman's writing style (I know not everyone does) and this was no exception. This book is told with a mix of narration... a bit of omnipresent narration, which tells us what will happen in the future and a bit of in the moment narration.

There are characters that stay unnamed because why introduce new names? I love it. I love these characters. They are flawed but in a way that makes sense. They make mistakes. They forgive and are forgiven. They love and they hate.

I love Benji. And Alicia. And Maya. And Peter and Kira. And Amat. And so many more. And I am so sad that I don't get any more of their stories.

Omg this book was amazing. I loved this whole series but this book will forever stay with me. I’ve never cried so much and felt this attached to characters. The growth of everyone and just the underlying message is amazing.

Fredrik Backman does it again. He is truly gifted in his storytelling.

The Winners is the 3rd book in the Beartown series. After a tragedy in the past the community tries to recover. We follow along as many face different life challenges. Benji carries on as we continue to watch him grow and change.

Beautifully done. Backman has such a way with words. He effortlessly tells a story that wraps you up like a warm blanket.

I've been a fan of Backman since I first read My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry back in 2015. Each of his books has given me something new to love, but none have touched me as deeply as Beartown in 2018. Reading that book was a revelation -- and I hadn't even been that excited to start it because of the sports-focused summary. But from the first two sentences, I was hooked. You can read my review of that book (https://www.soobsessedwith.com/2018/06/this-is-story-of-how-we-got-there.html) and its sequel, Us Against You (https://www.soobsessedwith.com/2018/06/have-you-ever-seen-town-fall-ours-did.html), to hear all the reasons why they became such beloved reads, for me and others.

So, it was with great anticipation that I re-read both in 2022 before diving in to the conclusion, The Winners. They held up on re-read, as I'd expected they would, and I was so glad that I'd gone back in time with this town and its inhabitants. Backman's thought-provoking trilogy is full of foreshadowing, and some of it is best appreciated on re-read. Now, I'll be honest and admit that The Winners got off to a slow start for me -- and did continue to have a few overall pace issues for me, personally. But I flew through the second half and loved how it all came together. These characters mean so much to me, and Backman does such a beautiful job of fleshing them out. It was hard to say goodbye when I closed the last page, but I loved every second I spent reading it. I would highly recommend all three -- but be prepared for the heavy emotions they'll evoke! I know I've barely written anything about the book or its plot, but what is there to say? If you've read the first two, you don't need me to sell you on this one. But if you haven't, you're in for such a treat with this series. Backman has done something remarkable with this trilogy, which I will absolutely re-read again and again. I'm So Obsessed With It.