Book Review | THE WINNERS by Fredrik Backman

THE WINNERS

BY FREDRIK BACKMAN | PUBLICATION: SEPTEMBER 27, 2022
ATRIA BOOKS | GENRE: LITERARY FICTION
RATING: ★★★★★

"The most profound and complex portrait of community Backman has ever created."

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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?

Everything.

The long-awaited conclusion to the beloved New York Times bestselling and “engrossing” (People) Beartown series—which inspired an HBO series of the same name—follows the small hockey town’s residents as they grapple with change, pain, hope, and redemption.

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Obviously, I’m a huge Fredrik Backman fan. I love how his books explore groups of people whose lives intertwine—whether by circumstance or coincidence. Only he has these ideas of an old man, a cleaner, an orphan, or a burglar that can change peoples’ lives in strange unexpected (sometimes awkward) ways. It is both clever and deeply insightful.

The Beartown trilogy is, in my opinion, the most profound and complex portrait of community Backman has ever created. Beartown and Hed are hockey towns in every sense. Their lives revolve around the sport—it brings out the best and the worst in them. And in THE WINNERS, the trilogy’s final installment, Backman maps out tragedy, rivalry, friendship, politics, and belonging with astonishing depth. There’s no inch of either town untouched by the sweeping events.

Some residents tried to leave, only to discover that hockey isn’t something you can shed. Others moved in, believing they were separate from it, only to find themselves drawn into the game’s orbit. For most players, hockey is the very air they breathe. They believe that it is life itself. There are resentments, conflicts, and intrigue—but also compassion, compromise, and accountability. That’s how Beartown raises a child: with ice beneath her feet and the limitless sky above her.

This story isn’t about a forest town or the landscape. Hell, it’s not even about hockey. It’s about people—a community that felt pain but had no words for it. So, it manifested in different ways. Backman gave them those words. I wish these people knew that readers understand. That we felt it. And despite the distance between reality and fiction, I hope they felt the love we’re sending.

The story may have started with Peter or Maya and ended with Alicia—but the silent, beating heart of this trilogy is Benji. Benjamin Ovich. I love this boy. Beartown once expected Benji to be their messiah. Something they once expected from Peter long ago. But Benji never asked for honor or fame. He simply wanted to be loved and accepted—to be needed, just because. Maybe he found that in the end. I hate to think of Beartown moving on without him. But I also marvel at its ability to move forward at all.

I braced myself for pain throughout the book, and the bittersweet feeling never left me after finishing it. Even now, I can still hear a puck hitting a wall, a guitar playing softly, and a beautiful boy sitting up in a tree, facing the wind. I know life continues in that forest town.

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About the Author:

Fredrik Backman is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove, My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry, Britt-Marie Was Here, Beartown, Us Against You, and Anxious People, as well as two novellas and one work of nonfiction. His books are published in more than forty countries. He lives in Stockholm, Sweden, with his wife and two children. Connect with him on Facebook and Twitter @BackmanLand and on Instagram @Backmansk.
Photograph © Linnéa Jonasson - Bernholm/Appendix fotografi

*Thanks to Simon & Schuster Canada for the printed ARC
in exchange for this unbiased review.

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Book Review | ANXIOUS PEOPLE by Fredrik Backman

   

ANXIOUS PEOPLE by Fredrik Backman
Publication: September 8, 2020
Publisher: Simon & Schuster CA
Genre: Contemporary Fiction/Mystery/Humor
Rating: ★★★★★

This is a poignant comedy about a crime that never took place, a would-be bank robber who disappears into thin air, and eight extremely anxious strangers who find they have more in common than they ever imagined.

Viewing an apartment normally doesn’t turn into a life-or-death situation, but this particular open house becomes just that when a failed bank robber bursts in and takes everyone in the apartment hostage. As the pressure mounts, the eight strangers slowly begin opening up to one another and reveal long-hidden truths.

As police surround the premises and television channels broadcast the hostage situation live, the tension mounts and even deeper secrets are slowly revealed. Before long, the robber must decide which is the more terrifying prospect: going out to face the police or staying in the apartment with this group of impossible people.

Ostensibly, ANXIOUS PEOPLE revolves around the investigation of a failed bank robbery, which led to an unplanned hostage-taking episode, during a scheduled apartment viewing a day before New Year’s Eve. However, the unraveling of this case also unravels the seemingly idiotic people involved.

Ever since A Man Called Ove, I try to read every Backman book. And so far, everyone surprised and engaged me like it was the first time. I cannot help falling in love with them. Backman has this uncanny ability to uncover our unspoken truths and give them words for all to read. And somehow, that is more than okay.

Equally poignant and witty, ANXIOUS PEOPLE, fleshes out people’s inner turmoil. Through these characters, Backman carries us into a narrative that allows us to see human vulnerability, including ours. It allows us to see our need for a connection and how a little compassion provides access, maybe, even in more ways than one. And with his humor, Backman cleverly sways us to look at the dreariest of circumstances in a different light and challenges us to pick the moral choice all the time. I sincerely want to thank him for that.

I also want to thank Neil Smith for translating and flawlessly conveying all this wisdom through. Marin Ireland read the book for Simon & Schuster Audio.

I can't wait for you, guys, to read this too.

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About the Author:

Photo by
Linnéa Jonasson Bernholm
Appendix fotografi

Fredrik Backman is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove (soon to be a major motion picture starring Tom Hanks), My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry, Britt-Marie Was Here, Beartown, Us Against You, as well as two novellas, And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer and The Deal of a Lifetime, and the nonfiction collection Things My Son Needs to Know About the World. His next novel, Anxious People, will be published in September in the US and Canada. His books are published in more than forty countries. He lives in Stockholm, Sweden, with his wife and two children. Connect with him on Twitter @BackmanLand or on Instagram @BackmanSK.

*Thanks to Simon & Schuster for the uncorrected proof in exchange for this unbiased review.
*This post is a part of the monthly linkups organized by Lovely Audiobooks! You can click here to check it out and be a part of it.

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A MAN CALLED OVE by Fredrik Backman

   

My first glimpse of this book, I didn’t get a copy, because budget ruled that I was not to purchase another book after just spending money on three. So I promised to purchase it next time, but you know what next time already means. Then, I saw the movie trailer, which reminded me to buy the book next time. And that was over a year ago, sadly. Like the rest of my failings, I realized I need to amend this.

In an NYT article, Backman revealed that this book was rejected several times before he finally had Forum to print him. And by October 2016, A MAN CALLED OVE sold 2.8 million copies.

Ove is that grouchy neighbor, who makes sure that everyone walks in line, all the time, in his neighborhood. He’s the one you can rely on to point a finger at whoever parks at the wrong place and argues hotly about the parking fee.  He is mighty suspicious of everyone and everything. His social incompetence is oftentimes cringe-worthy and hilarious. And his greatest achievement is failing at suicide, time and again.

Men are what they are because of what they do. Not what they say.

A man like Ove is tested by time -with ridicule, deceit, and pain. Underneath his façade, is a man with a huge heart (figuratively and literally), who allotted a space even for a stray cat. He is a man without preconception of race, appearance, or gender. Except, of course, if you're not driving a Saab. Ove’s story is a delightful exploration of one cranky neighbor’s significant impact on others. He’s an unlikely hero with an exceptional story.

People had always said that Ove was "bitter." But he wasn't bloody bitter. He just didn't go around grinning the whole time. Did that mean one had to be treated like a criminal?

I am so impressed with Ove’s story I intend to read more of Mr. Backman’s stories soon. And, I absolutely recommend this to everyone who wants an uplifting read.

Book details:
Title:  A Man Called Ove
Author:  Fredrik Backman
Publication:  July 15, 2014, Atria
Genre:  Contemporary Fiction

Rating: ★★★★★

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