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The Winners

4.6(51)
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About the book

FROM THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF MY FRIENDS.'I utterly believed in the residents of Beartown, and felt ripped apart by the events in the book' JOJO MOYES

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO STAND TOGETHER? 

'It's often said that winners write history, but there are no winners here'

This is a small story about big questions.
It's a story about family, community, life. 
It starts with a storm - and a death. 
But how does it end?  

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 residents continue to grapple with life's big questions: What is a family? What is a community? And what, if anything, are we willing to sacrifice in order to protect them?

As the locals of Beartown struggle to overcome the past, great change is on the horizon. Someone is coming home after a long time away. Someone will be laid to rest. Someone will fall in love, someone will try to fix their marriage, and someone will do anything to save their children. Someone will submit to hate, someone will fight, and someone will grab a gun and walk towards the ice rink.

So what are the residents of Beartown willing to sacrifice for their home?

Everything.


PRAISE FOR THE BEARTOWN BOOKS:

'This is a stunning read that plunges you into another world. Backman writes with incredible sensitivity and insight. Every one of the characters is real and multi-faceted, having you breathlessly turning the pages, following their fears and hopes, fretting for their futures. This is storytelling at its best: Emotional, vivid, wise and utterly brilliant' HAZEL PRIOR

'Surrounded by impenetrable forests, Beartown recreates the stifling atmosphere of a dying community. A mature, compassionate novel' SUNDAY TIMES

'Backman can tickle the funny bone and tug on the heart strings when he needs to, and is a clever enough storyteller to not overindulge in either' INDEPENDENT

'As popular Swedish exports go, Backman is up there with ABBA and Stieg Larsson' THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW

'Backman is a masterful writer' KIRKUS REVIEW

Editions (8)

ISBN9781398516380
PublisherSimon + Schuster UK
Publication Date06/22/23
Pages673

Reviews & Ratings

51 ratings

9 reviews

4.6

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  • man_dy
    man_dy

    45 Followers

    5.0

    Herzzerreißender Abschluss 🥹💔

    Mit schwerem Herzen lasse ich die Trilogie hinter mir... Backmans Worte lassen sich für mich nicht zusammenfassen. Wer noch nie eins seiner Bücher gelesen hat, sollte das dringend nachholen. "At first we run around street corners giggling and explore every inch of each other´s skin, over the years we get to know every cobblestone and strand of hair and snore, and the waters of time soften our passion into unfailing love, and in the end the eyes we wake up next to and the horizon outside our window are the same thing: home." "At a party a few months ago one guy asked Maya why she never drank more than two glasses of wine, and what could she say? Because of guys like you. Because you´re everywhere." "That now every day is like any other, the job is just a job, but hockey was an obsession for him, and a life without obsessions feels like sitting in a waiting room without any doors. No one´s going to call your name. You´re waiting for nothing." "I don´t know anything about marriage. But I don´t think you´re supposed to have sides." "The end of a life is as unstoppable as its beginning, we can´t stop the first and last breaths we take any more than we can stop the wind." "She´s thought so much about him. The wildest, loneliest person she knows." "Time is unreliable when it comes to those we love. When they leave us it feels like a lifetime, as if they´ve become strangers, but the first morning after they come back it feels like they´ve never been gone." "The forest and the lake, the wilderness and snow, it´s unbeatable." "She has wine in her coffee cup, he has whiskey in a glass that she can´t bring herself to tell him is actually a tea light holder." "You´re love was like organ donation. You and dad and Leo gave me parts of your hearts and lungs and skeletons so I could put myself together again. And now you hardly have the strength to stand up and keep breathing yourselves." "He always thought he was the bad guy in all stories, the real heroes always do, that´s why stories about boys like him never end with them growing old."

    Herzzerreißender Abschluss 🥹💔

    Mar 16, 2026

  • nicole.305
    nicole.305

    41 Followers

    5.0

    I don't even have the words to explain how deeply this book touched me. The entire series is forever engraved into my soul and takes up a little space of my heart. No one can write just like Fredrik Backman does. No one can capture so many perspectives on life, hatred, love, sorrow, despair, anger, grief, motherhood, purpose, parenthood, violence, friendship, peace, standing against each other and united as one. You understand every single one of his characters, you will hate them and love them at the same time. Ana, Maya, Benji, Amat, Bobo, Peter, Kira, Teemu, Ruth, Matteo, Tess, Hannah, Johnny, The Ovich sisters, Mumble, Lev, Ramona, Alicia, Sune, Zackell, Aleksandr and so many more will stay with me and their stories will touch me over and over again. I will for sure comeback to this series because as much as it hurt me and broke me and took my breath away - I also found comfort and joy and love in it

    Sep 6, 2025

  • keep.turningpages
    keep.turningpages

    78 Followers

    5.0

    5⭐️

    Die Beartown-Reihe hat mich über alle drei Bücher hinweg komplett überzeugt. Die Geschichte und die Charaktere werde ich nicht so schnell vergessen. Für mich ist die ganze Reihe ein Fünf-Sterne-Read. Der letzte Band war besonders gegen Ende sehr emotional, auch wenn man ahnt, was passieren wird ❤️‍🩹.

    Dec 30, 2025

3 of 9 reviews

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