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.
Having absolutely loved Beartown (originally published as The Scandal in the UK) and Us Against You, there was no way that I was going to miss out on The Winners when it published last year. That said, I did put off reading it for a while due to its size – at almost 700 pages, it felt a little daunting! – but having now made the time for it, I regret leaving it for so long. It is an absolutely outstanding book, and once I started reading it, and I couldn’t get through it quickly enough. You really do need to read the first two novels before tackling this one, however – I don’t think it would work as a standalone as you need to understand the background of these characters, the setting and community of Beartown, and the rivalry with nearby Hed to get the most out of this novel.
The Winners is set some two years after the events of Beartown, and life has moved on for the town and its inhabitants. Some characters have moved away – Maya to go to college while Benji has become something of a nomad, moving from place to place with no real plan other than to get as far away from Beartown as possible – while others have stayed put. As is so often the case, it’s a funeral that brings everyone back together following the death of a much loved and highly regarded individual. Friends are reunited (and for some it’s as though they never left), some demons are laid to rest, and it’s a chance to catch up with family and friends.
As with the previous novels, one of the real strengths of The Winners is the characters. They are the sort that stay with you and that steal a little piece of your heart. While there are some that I like more than others, it really is a pleasure to catch up with them all, however cliched that may be. This novel does introduce some new characters, while others who were previously on the side lines become more fleshed out and central to the plot. Of course, the core group – Maya, Ana, Benji, Amat etc. – are all reunited, and I loved finding out about what happened to each in the intervening years. I found Amat’s tale to be particularly moving, and while I don’t want to spoil it for anyone by going into it here, I couldn’t help but feel for him.
The plot does unfold relatively slowly. Backman takes his time in building up to the denouement, showing how small, seemingly inconsequential events can build up to something momentous. Despite the detail, I found it absolutely gripping, and this is partly because the reader knows what’s coming from quite early on, even if they don’t know exactly how it comes about. And to be honest, knowing what was coming made it all the more poignant. I found myself in the position of both wanting to know exactly how events would build up to that ending whilst not wanting to get to get there because I knew that it was going to be devastating. Talk about a rock and a hard place. I don’t often shed a tear at novels, but The Winners had me in pieces by the end.
As an ice hockey fan, I absolutely love that these novels are, ostensibly, centred around the sport, although I do wonder if it’s slightly off-putting for those who aren’t as familiar with it. If you do find yourself in that category, please don’t let it put you off. Ice hockey does feature in the novels, but they are about so much more than that. These novels are more about community, connections, and ordinary lives – the good, the bad, and the ugly. Ice hockey just happens to be the glue that binds everyone together and that gives them common ground.
I honestly can’t recommend this book and series enough. I’ve loved every single page, and I’m going to miss Beartown and it’s wonderfully, brilliantly quirky residents.
The Beartown series, with links to my reviews:
- Beartown (aka The Scandal)
- Us Against You
Jo's Book Blog 
Fab review Jo, glad you enjoyed it so much! Unfortunately I’m in the minority and didn’t enjoy Beartown, so didn’t carry on with the other books. x
That’s a shame, but you can’t love them all! x