Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Winners by Fredrik Backman

79 reviews

mmccombs's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

3.0

So this book was basically exactly the same as the other two, so I should have loved it, but mostly I felt over it by the time I was only halfway through. It had the usual good writing, good characters, and bonkers domino effect of a plot, but this one felt especially over-the-top, repetitive, and long. Every bad thing that hadn’t already happened in the first two books happened in this one, and it wasn’t exactly compelling. When I finished Us Against You, I was like “ah ha! These towns have finally remembered the power of hockey and friendship!” And then this book was like, “hm, no, let’s make it much worse but in a way that doesn’t feel as natural as it did before!” There were quite a few bits where I was hit with a feeling of Deja-vu, where it seemed I was reading the same exact scene/inner character thought I had earlier in the book. I just couldn’t stay as interested and the drama was just too much, so for that reason the simpler, more down-to-earth (if still cheesy) character work I loved so much in the first two books felt a bit lost.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Murder, Mass/school shootings, Animal death, Death, and Grief

Moderate: Fatphobia, Child death, and Racism

lavendcr's review

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

We try to just live our lives, live with each other, live with ourselves. Accepting joy when we find it, bearing grief when it finds us, and being amazed at our children's happiness without falling apart when we think that we can never really protect them.

i have been emotional asf recently, so when i opened to the first page of the book, I STARTED SOBBING! i was intimidated by the page count but i feel like it was an appropriate length for everything that happened here. it was steady for most of the book, and then during the final quarter it just started getting really tense.

i don't think i've experienced this much anxiety and chest pain while reading a book. it was intense and even as im writing this i feel so uneasy. numb.
i am completely gutted.

benjamin ovich i love you so much. you deserved everything and more in the world and i hope with my entire heart that you are safe and happy.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gun violence, Sexism, Sexual assault, Death, Drug use, Grief, Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Violence

bealittlebrave's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This one hurts too much to touch with words.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug use, Grief, Bullying, Child death, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Car accident, Rape, Addiction, Death, Murder, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

karenperry93's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Animal death, Death, Drug abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Bullying

sbookreader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Bullying, Murder, Violence, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Gun violence

Moderate: Addiction, Pregnancy, Classism, Cursing, Vomit, Blood, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Suicide, Child death, Chronic illness, Toxic friendship, Drug use, Homophobia, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Rape

hannasandmann's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Gun violence, Grief, Car accident, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Suicide, Child death, and Homophobia

Moderate: Rape and Child abuse

Minor: Religious bigotry, Addiction, and Self harm

sandysmith's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

What a ride of a book. It was a tad long at nearly 700 pages, but this I overlooked to reunite with my favourite characters and some new ones. The author writes them so beautifully, and in such a way that the ending is heartbreaking. "This hurts too much to touch with words", you do need to have read the previous 2 books in the trilogy, but the investment is so worth it. Friendships, politics, town rivalry, family relationships, religion, kindness, happiness, love, and so much more than ice hockey teams. It is an emotional, big-hearted, clever, and simply delightful. I absolutely loved it. Go Beartown.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Homophobia, Self harm, Sexual assault, Bullying, Child death, Drug use, Grief, Murder, Animal death, Blood, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, Hate crime, Violence, Gun violence, and Rape

lizziaha's review against another edition

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

I worry that I might hold Fredrick Backman to too high of a standard, and that a 4.5 for him might be a 5 for most other authors. The way that he writes is so compelling that it might just outweigh my (limited) critiques. His maelstrom of characters is just a bit overwhelming in this book. It’s realistic, of course, to two little forest towns. But the trajectories of all of these characters doesn’t quite all come to a head. There is no good ending because the characters are so fleshed out that they demand a life story beyond the capacity of the book, and the ending began to feel like a recitation of other book’s summaries; that’s how big these characters are. Because of this, I think the book might’ve been more cohesive if the focus had been narrowed on fewer characters, even if they all still played their roles. But oh! These characters have gotten into my heart. I’ve been thinking a lot about Backman’s flavor of found families. Some found families can become saccharine, but Backman’s are all undercut by something a little darker. There’s a poetic justice to it. After all, humanity is loathe to come together except in times of crisis. But there is so much love in the face of that, and Backman manages to put that into words in a way that it feels less like words and more like a feeling. (and because of that, i’m off to read fanfiction and cry now) 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Grief, Sexual harassment, Gun violence, Violence, Rape, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Blood, Classism, Drug use, Miscarriage, Addiction, Vomit, Self harm, Drug abuse, Xenophobia, Alcoholism, Bullying, Suicide, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Misogyny, Toxic friendship, Racism, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Child abuse

samiamiam's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

All of these books are phenominal but this one was my favorite. It's a longer read but it's well worth it. I cried like a baby all the way through the end. If I could physically rate it higher I would

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Death, Grief, Rape, and Drug use

emalillah's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Death of parent, Blood, Grief, Cancer, Gun violence, Violence, Terminal illness, Outing, Drug abuse, Addiction, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Racism, Mass/school shootings, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Murder, Mental illness, Suicide, Hate crime, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Car accident, Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Chronic illness, Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Drug use, Child death, and Bullying