The Winners by Fredrik Backman

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

In this long-awaited third in the Beartown trilogy, we return to the scene of the 2-year truce between Beartown and its rival town, Hed. While the death of a teenager had forced everyone to acknowledge that things had gone too far, and everyone had united in mourning over that loss, it appears that unity could not possibly hold forever. The rivalry was as deeply ingrained in folks’ DNA as was hockey itself. The truce was just too fragile. Just a bit of a personal dispute among young teens over a sister with a history, a cover-up of some controversial bookkeeping of the city council, and some other very complicated alliances, and you have the coming apart of that very vulnerable truce. And who will show strength and who will show weakness is what we hold our collective breaths over throughout the whole story. And you can never be sure.

Yet again, Backman has brought us back to Beartown, reunited us with our dear friends and introduced us to a few new ones. Each one is so carefully drawn, so lovingly portrayed, that they feel as if they are actual humans that we can travel to Sweden and find in a small town just outside a forest. Their stories are similarly complex, layered over each other in an interconnecting web, just as you’d find in a small town. The suspense continues to build, and just when you think you see where the plot line is heading, there is yet another twist that throws you off its trail. Backman’s true gift.

One tip: I’d suggest spacing out the novels, because Backman does such a good job of reminding us of who the characters are and how they are related to each other, likely to create standalone novels. However, reading them too close together may feel a bit repetitive, because of these explanations.

Otherwise, this is a beautifully written trilogy – even if you don’t love hockey and even if you don’t come from a small town that does.

 

Us Against You by Fredrik Backman

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

In this second in the Beartown trilogy, we happily find ourselves back in Beartown, where we learn that the sacred hockey A team has lost its funding. That is, until a shadow company suddenly appears through the machinations of an ambitious politician, propping up Peter Andersson, the team’s general manager. There is one minor condition, however: the team’s most ardent (and most intimidating) supporters, the “Pack,” will lose their spot in the stands.  Because of Beartown’s small town interconnections, this stipulation has big implications, further dividing the population in mean ways.  As their games approach, their rivalry with the opposing team of Hed grows fierce, and what should be “just a game” goes far beyond.

Backman once again has kept this reader utterly glued to this novel, as it has everything one could want – complex characters with palpable hearts; a plot that is elaborate but clear; and writing that is insightful but not preachy.

The warm love Backman feels for his characters is contagious.   Backman has a way of showing the vulnerability of some who are troubled, where it may originate from, and how those who are labelled as “bad” may actually be so good, particularly when it really matters. The members of the “Pack,” for example, who, on the outside, appear as “hooligans” are fiercely loyal to each other and to so many folks in Beartown. When someone is in need or disaster strikes, they are the first ones there to help, to do whatever menial task is necessary. That is loyalty and that is what good people do. While they are described as having unconventional ways of expressing themselves, yes, and they may sometimes end up on the wrong side of the law, they are nevertheless the ones folks rely upon. 

This is a beautiful story, once again. And I look forward to when #3 comes out, next month – I am guessing we won’t be disappointed! 

Beartown by Fredrik Backman

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

If you don’t play hockey, or follow hockey, or at least tolerate hockey, you will not last long in Beartown. The entire population, intimate as it is, is consumed with it. Kids begin skating once they can walk, and everyone is on the lookout for those charmed few, those who have that natural gift, that drive, that will send them through to the A-team. Kevin certainly has it, and with Benji at his side, fighting off any opponent who might threaten his path, he is a sure shot. That is, until a crime is committed, which might just change everything.

Fredrik Backman is another writer who, by virtue of the beauty of his writing, has me convinced that there is no way I should ever even think of trying to write. He has the uncanny ability to weave complicated, layered, and realistic plot lines around complex and gorgeous characters.  And unlike with some novels with so many characters, we come to know each one so well that we never confuse any of them, never wonder who is whom, because we have fallen in love with most of them. The warmth with which he imbues them grants them their familiarity. They become our dear friends.

Also, there is a beautiful message here about the challenge of loyalty; whether that be loyalty to one’s family, to one’s friends,  to one’s team., or to one’s own values. Most of the characters find themselves wrestling here with conflicting loyalties. and some impress us and some disappoint us. But all of them are so stunningly human in their struggling. My favorite is Ramona, who is a bartender. She’s depicted as someone who’s seen it all, and who has been loyal to those who have lost the loyalties of most everyone else. She sees people for who they are, not who they profess to be. I would love to be more like Ramona.

This book has it all – characters, plot, warmth, important message – all the makings of a MUST READ!

 

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld
Amazon.com: Anxious People: A Novel (9781501160837): Backman, Fredrik: Books

Ostensibly, this is a story about a bank robbery gone bad, resulting in a hostage situation in an apartment showing across the street from the bank.  It is even authenticated by the presence of a gun, a police interrogation, and even hostage negotiators on the way. However, what we gradually come to learn is that the real story is in the details of how each of the characters were brought together by an uncanny coincidence of fate to the hostage situation.  As we learn their stories, we become held ourselves, invested in seeing each of them resolve their own personal crises.   

Few are able to captivate their readers in the way that Fredrik Backman is.  His warmth and his humor permeate his writing, and he has a magical way of creating characters that are deeply human, layered and vulnerable.  He also constructs a tale that is utterly engaging.  What starts as a seemingly simple story winds its way into a much more complex drama, twisting with surprises that come when you least expect them, and occasionally unmasking our inherent biases  and beliefs.  

I am reluctant to say more, as I don’t want to give any of it away.  Suffice it to say that reading this will be a wonderful gift to yourself – it is a gem with perfect writing, beautiful characters, and a plot that will hold you and keep you smiling until the very last word.  

A DEFINITE MUST READ!!

 

 

My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry by Fredrik Backman

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

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Elsa’s granny is certainly “different” –and Elsa knows how complicated, even burdensome, that can be.  But Elsa also knows that even while she can argue for hours, even days with her granny (mainly about the fairytale world they’ve constructed), she always knows that Granny has her back.  So what happens if something happens to Granny…?

Utilizing the world of fantasy, Elsa’s Granny helps Elsa escape a world in which she feels alienated and lonely because she is “different.” Unfortunately, because of how closely this is entwined with the actual storyline, there is vast description of this fantasy world, to which I personally felt disconnected.  These parts lost me a little.  On the other hand, the parts that were real pulled me back in.  And while I was not crazy about the fairytale parts, I do appreciate the brilliance of the author’s use of this as a vehicle to show Granny’s eccentric but steadfast show of love for Elsa.

What is most beautiful about this book are the characters.  They are real, imperfect, temperamental, sweet, and human.  And all are portrayed with such grace and subtlety in the course of the telling of the story.  The way the story is constructed, there seems to be a wall of characters built around Elsa, who function as a fortress to protect her and love her.  It is very moving and I have to confess that I did choke up at times.

All in all, it’s a beautiful story that slowly and very definitely works its way into your heart.

 

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

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Ove has lost the one person in his life who understood him (his wife) as well as the purpose for him to get up each morning (his job) and he’s now trying to take matters into his own hands.  All he wants is to be reunited with his only love, his wife, Sonja.  Unfortunately, each attempt he makes on his own life gets interrupted by his prying, needy neighbors.  Even the cat seems to need him.  Is everybody helpless?  In spite of his grumpy-old-man exterior, Ove endears himself to everyone around him who recognize that he is in fact the kindest of hearts and the truest of souls.

Because of the tone of the story, which is written through the prism of Ove’s cynical and rigid perspective, I found it, at first, hard to get engaged in this story.  But gradually, there grew moments of subtle tenderness that were so utterly sweet that I was reeled in.  By the end, I was just mush.  Teary mush, actually.

The writing in this story is really very beautiful.  I so admire a writer who can create such colorful and deeply genuine characters as these and who can create such subtly charming moments between them.  Even when Ove is ranting at another – and he does so at almost every  other character – you feel the affection that is exuding between them.  You cannot help either smiling or tearing up through much of the story.

I highly recommend this book.  Just stick with it – it’s worth it!