The Winners by Fredrik Backman

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.

Amazon.com Review

An Amazon Best Book of October 2022: One of the casualties of modern times is our waning attention spans. Getting lost in a novel, even though it’s such an exquisite pleasure, is something many of us now struggle with, which is why I was daunted by the prospect of picking up the 688 page conclusion to Fredrik Backman’s Beartown trilogy. I mean, soon the CliffsNotes version will be streamable anyway, right? But The Winners is one of those books that will expand your attention span, and your empathy. For those of you who have not read Beartown or Us Against You , fear not. The Winners can be read as a standalone. Nor do you need to be a hockey fan, although it continues the story of the bitter rivalry between two hockey-obsessed towns. But this is merely a backdrop for what Backman does best: mine the emotional complexities of parenthood, marriage, friendships, and the sucker punches in life that can lay us flat, or make us more resilient. With The Winners , Fredrik Backman has added another winner to his beloved oeuvre. —Erin Kodicek, Amazon Editor –This text refers to the hardcover edition.

About the Author

Fredrik Backman is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove , My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry , Britt-Marie Was Here , Beartown , Us Against You , and Anxious People , as well as two novellas and one work of nonfiction. His books are published in more than forty countries. He lives in Stockholm, Sweden, with his wife and two children. Connect with him on Facebook and Twitter @BackmanLand and on Instagram @Backmansk. –This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.