Book Review: The Winners by Fredrik Backman

About:

The Winners by Fredrik Backman is the third novel in the Beartown trilogy. The novels take place in a small Swedish hockey town.

• 688 pages
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Atria Books
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1982112794

My rating for The Winners – 5
Buy The Winners from Amazon.com*
More Books by Fredrik Backman*

Thoughts:

This was an outstanding ending to the Beartown trilogy of Beartown, and Us Against You. It is difficult to end a popular series, with beloved characters, but The Winners by Fredrik Backman managed to do it in style and flourish as well as an emotional ending to this beloved series.

All of the beloved characters from the previous novels are back, and certainly, others who are just as engrossing. Usually, in books with so many characters, the reader gets lost, but somehow Mr. Backman managed to make each character a real person which I found myself caring about. The mark of a gifted writer, if nothing else

The plot, or actually multiple plots, is engrossing as they are complex, just like life itself. However, I never found myself lost or losing interest. The narrative is straightforward and easy enough to keep track of the concurrent narratives.  As with the other two books in the series, as well as with the author’s other books, there are foreshadwing of events that make one wants to keep on reading until the end.

The writing is powerful, engrossing, yet easy to read. The translation is expertly done, which is much harder than it sounds, to bring us a dramatic, and satisfying novel with a sense of humor.

Synopsis:

Two years after Maya Anderson’s rape by Kevin, a hockey star, which has turned the town against her, she finds herself far away in college. Benji Ovich, her friend has also left Beartown to find himself but is living a life full of drugs and alcohol.

The death of Ramona, the beloved barkeeper of the Bearskin Pub, brings the whole town together for the funeral. However, events quickly spiral out of control when the Beartown vs. Hed hockey rivalry leads to more than just two Swedish teams on the ice. Politicians, business-people, lawyers, and gangsters all get involved, and the citizens of both towns find themselves fighting for their clubs, towns, and humanity.

Buy The Winners from Amazon.com*
More Books by Fredrik Backman*

Zohar — Man of la Book
Dis­claimer: I got this book for free.
*Ama­zon links point to an affil­i­ate account, the money is usually spent on books