The Winners: A Novel (Beartown Series)

Highly recommend! I have now read all of Fredrick Backman's books. He is a great writer. His characters are flawed and sometimes quirky, but I came to love them all. His books tell a great story and touch the heart.

This is my third Fredrik Bachman book (A Man Called Ove and Anxious People are the others). I was swept away into a world I know nothing about - hockey in two small towns in northern Sweden. The story is captivating, largely because Mr. Bachman draws his characters in such a bold, clear, yet deep manner. But most of all, the writing style is unique in my experience; it is at once casual (not formal and off-putting nor pro forma as in many fiction books), almost conversational, yet has a depth that is almost never to be found in fictional books. The story and its characters are instantly relatable, and I was drawn into the towns, their rivalry, the hockey, the people, the atmosphere - all of it. The other books by Mr. Bachman which I have read are similar in style and in their ability to capture character, mood, place and relationships. I very much enjoyed the hints dropped casually throughout this book about what may or may not happen to the characters and their relationships. There is not a single false step in what is nearly a 700 page book. I was quite teary-eyed over the last several pages, as events unfold and the futures of the characters are revealed. Mr. Bachman is a truly wonderful and unique author; without reservation, I highly, highly recommend this and the other books of Mr. Bachman's that I have read.

Backman has such beautifully developed characters. His attention to detail makes the empathy much more necessary. The exploration into two small forest towns helps the author school us in a set of community awareness. The climax of the book is rolling. This builds tension as one keeps expecting the worse in the story line, like a good game of chess you knew you’d never win. The only negative would be the redundancy in the writing style. However, in contrast to many other authors, Backman is able to weave a complex plot while also introducing an unusual number of well-studied characters. Good read!

I’m a big fan of backman’s style and the Beartown story, and this was the perfect ending. Heartbreaking and beautiful.

What a brilliant finish to Beartown story. I feel like I am saying good bye to part of me. The characters of this trilogy became like part of my family. Crazy, dangerous, dysfunctional family of bears. I cried when Banji got killed, I sobbed through the ending of this book. I loved this trilogy more than I could describe. LOVED IT!

What a great way to end the series!!! Upon arrival of the book, I was already overwhelmed by the size of it lol. Although the story was long, it was everything we needed in the trilogy and more.The characters we all loved all came full circle, we even saw new ones in this last book. Each and every character is described in such detail that you just feel like you know them personally, as if the author knows how to reach our souls. Each of the characters stories are unique and touching. I knew the ending would be sad, but still was caught off guard. The book was touching and heartfelt, the end had me feeling so emotional, even shed a tear.The authors way of describing just about anything is so amazing! I truly love his style of writing. I can't wait for his next book/series to release. A must read.

OCT 2022 : 4 STARS.DESCRIPTION: 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.REVIEW: The first 2 books of this series, Beartown (‘17) & Us Against You (‘18) both received 5 stars from me. Other books by this author were all over the charts for me: Anxious People (‘20 - 3 Stars), My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry (‘15 - Read ‘17 - 2 Stars) and A Man Called Ove (‘14 - Read ‘17 - 4 Stars).Be ready to commit to this book; it’s 684 pages! As soon as I started, I remembered the great writing. It flows so smoothly. Definitely a lot to “set-up” between the old characters and new ones. I do wish it was written closer in time to the other 2 books, which were 4&5 years ago. At 75% I feel nothing has really happened. If there was any sort of plot, I didn’t get it so far. At this point the narrator starts hinting something is going to happen - well it sure took a long time. I think this book could have been cut in half. I do think we have seen the main characters mature and change for the better. The writing is definitely what kept me reading, Mr. Backman has such a way with words and feelings. His writing is definitely what got this book 4 stars, not the story itself. I was happy with the ending.BY THE WAY, A Man Called Ove is becoming a movie on 12/14/22 with Tom Hanks called A Man Called Otto. I can’t wait !

Every single word feels perfect. Backman is fantastic at bringing us high highs and low lows. The whole series is phenomenal and worth all the pain it causes to your heart.

"The Winners" is the third book in a trilogy by this author. I've read all three books and have laughed and cried over all of them and am bitterly sorry to have to say goodbye to the characters. These books are about hockey on one level but on a different level about parents and children and being old and young and love and hate. But all told with real heart. Please read the trilogy in order and have patience to let the author tell his story.Highly recommended

this..this hurts too much to touch with words.  there are stories that fill you up and then there are stories that punch you in the gut the moment you're full of hope, light, and, oh, so much love. this story is both. its hard to say goodbye to characters that you have loved with all your heart; no amount of foreshadowing can ease the pain of that blow. the winners for me marked the end of an era, one that i will love forever, despite the heartbreak. or is it because of the heartbreak? same thing, really.  with this behemoth of a book, backman finally closes the gates to my favourite snowy beartown. before he says goodbye, he lets you in one last time to feel it all. the crunch of snow under your boots as you walk through the wreckage of the storm, the warm glow of golden light streaming through the frosted windows of bearrskin pub, the unruly laughter coming from inside it, and the cold wind that chills you to the bones. you huddle around a campfire with your favourites, a misfit piece finally fitting in, sharing smoke, giggles, and remnants of youth till your eyes get blurry and sleep cocoons you like a safety net. a menagerie of memories, the treasure of a lifetime.

SPOILER ALERT! Do not read this book in the company of others! You could be embarrassed! After the first two books, Beartown and Us Against You, I was really looking forward to the rematch where Beartown and the down to earth kids were going to come back triumphant against the Hed team. Instead I've had to get up and walk away from the café where I sit and enjoy breakfast, while having a quiet read, due to finding it too hard to mask the tears running down my cheeks. I've also had the opposite whilst reading this book. Suddenly busting out with a big chuckle, spluttering coffee all over at the one liner quips and hoping no one thinks I'm just a nutter.Fredrick Backman is one of my favourite authors. I started his works with A Man Called Ove and it grew from there. The follow on from this gets you hooked. Absolutely brilliant writing, his descriptive way is top notch. It's almost sad to reach the ends of his books and I look forward to reading more of his brilliant work.

Chegou rápido em perfeitas condições.

Ich habe viel gelacht, viel geweint und manchmal war mir vor Spannung auch schlecht. Man weiss ja knapp, was geschehen wird, das aber dennoch zu lesen, war manchmal fast unerträglich. Viel Weisheit reingepackt, ich mochte vor allem, dass man gute Eltern ist, wenn die Kinder leben und genug saubere Unterwäsche haben. Er schafft es einfach, so zu schreiben, dass man nicht mit lesen aufhören will. Man hätte das Buch schon kürzen können, vieles wird wiederholt, aber es wird aus verschiedenen Perspektiven wiederholt und das macht es wichtig. Jede einzelne Person der Geschichte hat ihr Gewicht und bekommt auch genug Aufmerksamkeit. 5 Sterne.