sorcha_leabharlover 's review for:

The Winners by Fredrik Backman

5.0

challenging emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

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Some years have passed since we were last in Beartown. Some people have moved on, leaving Beartown and their past behind, but many remain in the town that holds all their memories. In some ways, everything has changed, and, in some ways, everything has stayed the same. The characters are so loveable – not because they are happy and perfect, but because we have come to know them so well, we can understand their flaws. A sudden loss brings everyone together, calling the runaways back. The rivalry between Beartown and the neighbouring town of Hed is reignited, all in the name of hockey, but the consequences are felt throughout both communities. But despite the anger and the violence, people from both towns are thrown together in some unexpected ways and they begin to learn that have more in common than they realise. Isn’t everyone just trying their best; to be the best parent, friend, lover, athlete… to be a winner? 

This was such a rollercoaster of emotions. I was so happy to be back in Beartown because these are some of my favourite characters ever written. Not because they are anything extraordinary, but because they are so human. Backman has such a special way of perceiving human behaviours and emotions that gives his characters such depth and dimension. At the beginning I felt like I had come back to visit old friends and by the end, my heart was full, but sore. I can’t describe the way Backman reels you into his stories, but the feeling of jumping from one character to the next as you draw closer and closer to something monumental, is all consuming. Each interaction is meaningful, each conversation is important, but often its what is left unsaid that is the most impactful.   

What an ending to a fantastic series. I will never get over it, and I will smile and cry whenever I think of Beartown.