The Winners

★★★★★★★★☆☆ 8.0/10

What’s it about?

This book is the third and last installment in the Beartown trilogy.  It takes us back to the forest to witness the rivalry between the towns of Hed and Beartown.  A rivalry that begins in the hockey arena but spreads throughout the towns.

What did it make me think about?

What constitutes a community- and wow this book is almost 700 pages...

Should I read it?

I am not sure how Frederik Backman does it, but I always end his books feeling much different than I do after the first 50 pages.  With The Winners I turned page 690 and I had to reach for a Kleenex.  Which is a pretty amazing finish- because halfway through I was annoyed with all the platitudes and the side plots.  Somehow the characters and the story brought me along for the ride.  At some point I just gave in and become completely immersed in this book.  Any fan of Fredrik Backman's earlier novels will be glad to have read this.  If you are not a fan- then I would skip this 690 pages as this book is quintessential Backman!

A passage I marked

"Do you want to understand people?  Really understand them?  Then you need to know all the best they are capable of."