The Winners: A Novel (Beartown Series)
Book by Fredrik Backman
DETAILS
Publisher : Atria Books (September 27, 2022) Language : English Hardcover : 688 pages ISBN-10 : 1982112794 ISBN-13 : 978-1982112790 Item Weight : 1.87 pounds Dimensions : 6 x 2.2 x 9 inches Best Sellers Rank: #847 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #11 in Small Town & Rural Fiction (Books) #17 in Humorous Fiction #78 in Literary Fiction (Books) , A breathtaking new novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Anxious People and A Man Called Ove , The Winners returns to the close-knit, resilient community of Beartown for a story about first loves, second chances, and last goodbyes. Over the course of two weeks, everything in Beartown will change. Maya Andersson and Benji Ovich, two young people who left in search of a life far from the forest town, come home and joyfully reunite with their closest childhood friends. There is a new sense of optimism and purpose in the town, embodied in the impressive new ice rink that has been built down by the lake. 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 destruction caused by a ferocious late-summer storm reignites the old rivalry between Beartown and the neighboring town of Hed, a rivalry which has always been fought through their ice hockey teams. Maya’s parents, Peter and Kira, are caught up in an investigation of the hockey club’s murky finances, and Amat—once the star of the Beartown team—has lost his way after an injury and a failed attempt to get drafted into the NHL. Simmering tensions between the two towns turn into acts of intimidation and then violence. All the while, a fourteen-year-old boy grows increasingly alienated from this hockey-obsessed community and is determined to take revenge on the people he holds responsible for his beloved sister’s death. He has a pistol and a plan that will leave Beartown with a loss that is almost more that it can stand. As it beautifully captures all the complexities of daily life and explores questions of friendship, loyalty, loss, and identity, this emotion-packed novel asks us to reconsider what it means to win, what it means to lose, and what it means to forgive. Read more
REVIEW
Fans of the BEARTOWN trilogy were looking forward to seeing what happened to Benji, Maya, Peter and Kira Anderson, Ana, Maya’s best friend and Amat. What we got were even more characters and a rather choppy read. When on stage, none of them got to go any kind of distance without being interrupted. This being said, the book had its moments, especially when Ana was featured. There’s a terrible wind storm in the forest; a man and his pregnant wife are trying to make it to the hospital when they’re stymied by fallen trees. A new character, Hannah, a midwife, is called upon to rescue the mother and the baby. The only way for her to get there is for Ana to drive her. Ana knows the forest better than anybody except for her father who’s too drunk to drive. As Hannah says, Ana is the type of person who runs toward the fire. Another touching moment happens toward the end of the book when Ana gives Hannah a mother’s day card. Ana never had a mother, but she made mother’s day cards with her fellow students, and she gives one to Hannah as thanks for being the mother she never had. The climax of the story is another rape, and once again the girl, Ruth, isn’t believed. She leaves the forest only to die of a drug overdose, but her brother Matteo never forgets what happened to her and the boy who did it. He wants revenge. Readers will remember the little girl Sune, the A-team coach, was teaching to play hockey. Alicia forms a relationship with Benji, one of the mainstays from the first two books, when Sune’s dog is poisoned. They go to the hockey arena and he teaches her how to deal with stress. She will go on to be a national team super star. Benji and Alicia become implicated in the climax when Matteo seeks revenge. There is another sub plot dealing with an editor in chief on the Hed newspaper who discovers all kinds of shady goings on the hockey team that implicate Peter Anderson. Tails, the owner of the supermarket, is the real culprit there. Backman is a master of bringing so-called villains back from the depths. Tails proves he has a conscience, and a character named Lev whom we meet in connection with Amat’s attempt to get drafted into the NHL also proves to be misunderstood. Lev tries to make money by charging the various clubs for an interview with Amat. Amat isn’t drafted. Later Lev, who owns a junkyard near Hed, tries to stop Matteo when he finds out he has a gun. Backman also has a penchant for foreshadowing. For instance we know who’s going to get killed during the Matteo climax. Rather than provide an epilogue to give us info on what happens to the major characters and some of the minor ones, Backman intrudes on the ending and simply tells us. This will be the last Beartown novel, and he tries to fill in all the gaps, but a few characters, like Big City, just disappear.
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