I loved Beartown and Us Against You, so I was thrilled to get to read The Winners which revisits the villages pf Beartown and Hed and lets readers know what happened to all the wonderful characters from the previous books. Backman excels at telling stories about "ordinary unusual people and/or unusually ordinary people". Maya, Johnny, Peter, Hannah, Kira, Benji, Ana and all the rest could be any one of us. Yes, the focus is on hockey and the impact the sport has on the people in these 2 small villages, but don't let that fool you. The story is really about all of us trying to do the best with our circumstances and to cope with events that are sometimes out of our control.

The book starts slowly and is sometimes confusing since there are multiple characters and multiple references to events in the past, present, and future. I could not put it down, however, because every chapter hints at what is to come. At about the 60-70% point, I REALLY could NOT put it down!! Events that were percolating slowly on a back burner came to a rapid boil and seemingly unrelated people and events come together in one dramatic climax. What a great craftsman to set the stage so carefully and weave such an intricate plot into something that will break your heart and ultimately leave you with a strong faith in humanity. Backman is clearly one of my favorite authors, and I'm so grateful he took us back to Beartown for this final episode of the trilogy. LOVED IT!!!

The Winners by Fredrik Backman is well written as with all of Mr Backman's works. The story is quite lengthy with all the principle characters from the prior books in the series and new ones whose involvements are equally important to the story. A full range of emotions come to play loneliness, anger, disappointment, grief, denial, resentment, and hate, but also hope and love. While there are storms, funerals, hockey, corruption, sexual predators and a diverse range of emotions, the story is for me has a somewhat of a disappointing conclusion. Fans of Mr Backman will enjoy revisiting Beartown and it's residents, their trials and tribulations and of course, hockey.

Thank you to Frederick Backman, Atria Books, Netgalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

In Winners, the third book in the Beartown series, Bachman uses Beartown vs. Hed hockey as a metaphor for the realities of today’s society.

I don’t think anyone could say it better, so I’m using several quotes (that I hope are in the final copy since they are perfect!)

“as usual most of the stories won’t be about what actually happened, but about what people felt happened”

“We studied religious sects in school. About radicalization. The same thing as The ‘slippery slope’ and all that. No one starts out crazy, no one is born violent, they just do one little thing, then another. Radicalization is when all the sick shit gets normalized, everyone gets a bit more dangerous, one step at a time. That’s kind of what this town is like, everyone thinks they’re fighting for the right things. Everyone thinks they’re acting in . . . self-defense.”

“Show those (Star Wars) films to a hundred men with a hundred different political opinions, and every damn one of them will think he’s Luke Skywalker. No bastard ever thinks they’re that Darth Vader.”

“My dad loves history. Medieval, most of all. Whenever we went on holiday when I was little we had to go around looking at churches, and he would talk about every stone in them. I remember him saying that when a rich man had committed terrible sins, the priests would say he could get God’s forgiveness if he built a cathedral. Obviously that was just a way for the priests to trick someone into paying for their ridiculously flashy building projects, not altogether unlike the way hockey clubs exploit councils to build ice rinks these days, but when I was little it was . . . well . . . I don’t know . . . I still thought there was something nice about that. That powerful men at the end of their lives had to humble themselves by turning their money into stone.”

“We can’t fight against evil. That’s the most unbearable thing about the world we have built. Evil can’t be eradicated, can’t be locked up, the more violence we use against it, the stronger it becomes when it seeps out under doors and through keyholes. It can never disappear because it grows inside us, sometimes even in the best of us, sometimes even in fourteen-year-olds. We have no weapons against it. We h ave only been given love as a gift in order to cope with it.”

Life goes on. It doesn’t give us any other choice.”

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The length of this book surprised me and I went in without expectations because I enjoyed the first book. After reading this, I still prefer that somehow. Full review to come and rating m ay change

I do not know how he does it but the characters he creates stay with you for a long time. I have found that I cannot ever skip even one word because every word is a big part of the story. This is another great story about community, communities working together and sometimes not. A story of love and hate and forgiveness.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The third and final in the Beartown series takes place 2 years after US Against You, over the span of 2 weeks. What can happen in 2 weeks? Only everything!
Relationships, loyalties and debts will all be tested. Thisbis lengthy at 600+ pages, however, Backman gives a really nice recap of the first books and brings us right back, fully immersed in Beartown. New characters are introduced, and woven seemlessly with out beloved favorites. I can't say enough about this series. You just have to experience it.
Best character arc: Bobo
Best character ever: Benji
Next book focus: Alicia🤞

In true Backman style, this book made me cry repeatedly. There were points when I read pieces to my mom who had no connection to Beartown at all and she was sobbing next to me. It’s beautifully, poetically, and tragically written. It’s plot is poignant and timely, while feeling fresh and new. It’s both the oldest story in the book, and nothing you’ve ever read before.

Backman sticks to what he does best: being philosophical while still weaving a tale that seems so real, that after three books I felt I truly knew these characters and mourned, cheered, laughed, and longed with them.

If you haven’t read the previous Beartown books, you MUST before you pick this one up, and if you have read them, I’d try to google a thorough synopsis of the others so you remember who is who and what is what, as I felt myself having to really think about who certain characters were.

The only thing I would change if I could would be the title, while I understand why they switched it to The Winners, the original title “Those Who Run Toward Fire” feels more genuine to the story overall.

This book slides right in with its predecessors as being in my top five ever. Thank you Fredrik Backman for telling a story I won’t ever forget, and one that has taken up ample space in my heart.

And to Benji Ovich, thanks for being my literary hero.

We are back in Beartown where hockey is king, winning is everything and us against them (Hed) still reigns. The joys, sorrows and struggles at being good at hockey, parenting, marriage, friendship and love. Mother Nature unleashes a storm that ignites another storm of hate when Beartown and Hed's feud blazes again. This story could happen in Sweden or in Michigan as the characters and their situation speak to all of us where the parents are trying so hard to make their children's lives better than their own and their dreams reality and the kids are trying just as hard to become worthy of those dreams. In a way only Fredrik Backman can deliver, you will sigh, cry and try to memorize whole paragraphs of text. This one is a winner in every way. While you should go back and read all the Beartown books this one is the icing on the cake. This will appeal to hockey and small town junior sports fans as well as readers of deep family dramas. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.

I've loved Fredrik Backman since reading 'Ove.' I also really enjoyed Beartown. This is the next book in that series and it continues to build on the great characters/storyline from that book. Great story full of hope and grit, showing what its like to be young and involved in sports.

The Winners is the third and final novel in the Beartown series. The rivalry between Beartown and Hed is still going strong, this time, Beartown is on top, with Hed suffering all sorts of misfortunes.

The omniscient narrator employed by Backman works splendidly, it allows us to get into the head of so many characters. We are back with Maya and her parents, Peter and Kira; her best friend, Ana. We’re back with some of the hockey guys, they’re all young adults now: Amat – the boy from the poor neighbourhood, is an NHL prospect, and Bobo is still playing. Benji is returning to Beartown for a funeral. He’d been travelling the world trying to forget the past. There are other peripheral characters making an appearance, arguably, a few too many. Some side characters and some other issues kind of bog down the novel in the middle, but with some digging (ie patience), I was back on steady ground.

'The Winners' has funerals, a huge storm, hockey games, corruption and another tragic event. The full range of feelings is on display - loneliness, anger, disappointment, grief, denial, resentment, and hate, but also hope and love. Backman is a masterful storyteller who creates realistic, three-dimensional characters, whom you come to love.

As always, I’m looking forward to reading whatever he writes next.

This book was sent to me by Netgalley for review…intrigue…mystery…going back…living in the present with others who have changed…family dynamics…love…careers…themes running throughout this novel…written by a talented author…

Fredrik Backman is perfection, every word and description is to be savored. Every character is beautifully written. Every relationship insight is spot on (note: the description of Peter and Kira’s marriage.) The Winners is the third in his Beartown series about love, family, friendship, community, sacrifice, addiction, rape, corruption, rivalry and hockey.

“The Winners,” by Fredrik Backman, translated by Neil Smith, Atria Books, 688 pages, Sept. 27, 2022.

The long-awaited conclusion to the Beartown series follows the small Northern Sweden hockey town’s residents as they grapple with change.

There’s an old rivalry between Beartown and the neighboring town of Hed, a rivalry which has always been fought through their ice hockey teams. “You want to understand hockey towns? Then you need to understand that here, sport is about much more than sport.”

Maya Andersson and Benji Ovich, two young people who left in search of a life far from the forest town, come home and joyfully reunite with their closest childhood friends. They can see how much Beartown has changed.

Two years have passed since the events that no one wants to think about: Maya was raped by Kevin Erdahl. He was the best hockey player anyone had ever seen in those parts. Kevin and his family moved away. Maya left to study at the College of Music. Everyone has tried to move on, but there’s something about this place that prevents it.

Benji was once best friends with Kevin. Benji, now 20, drinks too much and smokes too much. Men like Benji die young. And they die violently. In Hed, Johnny, a firefighter, and his wife, Hannah, a midwife, have four children.

Maya’s parents, Peter and Kira, are caught up in an investigation of the hockey club’s murky finances, and Amat—once the star of the Beartown team—has lost his way after an injury and a failed attempt to get drafted into the NHL. Nearby, Matteo, 14, is not interested in hockey. He is mourning his sister Ruth’s death.

Then a severe storm hits both Beartown and Hed. And people return to Beartown when another beloved member of the community dies.

Fredrik Backman’s writing is outstanding. These characters are so real they jump off the page. At its most basic, it is a story of community and survival. You will follow the story better if you first read “Beartown” and “Us Against You.” Fans of the series will savor every page, and you don’t need to be a hockey fan to like it. Don’t let the length deter you; you’ll wish it would go on longer.

In accordance with FTC guidelines, the advance reader's edition of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a review.

All the Feels. This is truly a work of art, each word in the book had a purpose. The characters are flawed and felt like friends. Perfection. This book is absolute perfection.

wonderful book. 5 stars! Frederik Backman never lets you down! An extremely powerful story. left me speechless ! This is dreamy reading journey for the bookworms who get used to lose themselves inside a well written story.

The Winners is a novel which weaves so many of the character arcs from the previous two novels (Beartown + The Winners) in such a way that reminds the reader how complicated community and personal growth can be. I appreciated the variety of relationships Backman wrote into the novel, from romantic to friendship to familial to professional. Each character is dynamic as they progress through the novel and are faced with internal and external conflicts. The alternating perspectives reminds the reader that there are deep complexities behind the decisions and actions (or lack thereof) which have short- and long-term effects on the character and their community.

The Winners
by Fredrik Backman
Pub Date: Sept. 27, 2022
Atria
Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. Two years have passed since the events that no one wants to think about. Everyone has tried to move on, but there’s something about this place that prevents it. The residents continue to grapple with life’s big questions: What is a family? What is a community? And what, if anything, are we willing to sacrifice in order to protect them?

As the locals of Beartown struggle to overcome the past, great change is on the horizon. Someone is coming home after a long time away. Someone will be laid to rest. Someone will fall in love, someone will try to fix their marriage, and someone will do anything to save their children. Someone will submit to hate, someone will fight, and someone will grab a gun and walk towards the ice rink.

So what are the residents of Beartown willing to sacrifice for their home?
So many things have changed in two years.
The only thing that didn’t change is lifelong rivalry and hostility between Beartown and Hed. Great book! 5 stars

can't really write how I'm feeling about this book because of major spoilers. But Fredrik Backman, I am just gutted. Backman's writing style is difficult for me - a lot of words, and back and forth. The other thing is seeing how many times people laugh - it is used so many times in the story that it felt repetitive to me. The story of Beartown and Hed continues, and the themes of trauma, dealing with sexual predators, rape, and anger override the story of hockey. There are no real games played in this novel. Although the series comes to a believable conclusion, and I feel that Backman probably agonized over some of the plot lines, I was not 100% satisfied. I wish it could have ended differently. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an Advanced Reader Copy.

Phew I feel like I just went through an emotional marathon. Cue the book hangover. I was happy with this conclusion of the Beartown series. While I thought it was too long, I think the payoff was necessary. I didn’t jive with one story line but again, minor. So well written per usual and I’m so sad it’s over.

THE WINNERS is a winner. The author shows humanity at its best and its worst. You don't necessarily have to read the other two Beartown books first, but for those who have, it brings closure to so many issues. It will break your heart, but also give you hope. Paraphrasing one quote that stuck with me: life doesn't go on, life just starts over again with new possibilities and realities. Way too long but still highly recommended.