The Winners (Beartown #3) by Fredrik Backman

The long-awaited conclusion to the beloved New York Times bestselling and “engrossing” (People) Beartown series—which inspired an HBO series of the same name—follows the small hockey town’s residents as they grapple with change, pain, hope, and redemption.

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.

Paperback, 688 pages

Published September 27th 2022

by Simon & Schuster CA

5/5 stars

The Winners is Book 3 in Fredrik Backman's Beartown series. Although Books 1 and 2 continue right after each other, there is a two-year gap between them and The Winners. However, it doesn't take long for Backman to fill in those gaps and write an emotionally compelling finale. Even five months after reading the final pages, I still vividly remember the story.

When The Winners was released, I had the privilege of attending an author event. It was one of my favourite events, with Backman baring his soul as he talked about his writing, the emotional impact it had on him, and how it affected his personal life. This made the story even more fascinating.

The Winners is a story about community, family, and invisible hurts. It is wonderfully written and hard to put down. Because of the book's mass size, I did a combo read and audio. I highly recommend both options; the story is so good that the time just flies by. The audiobook is 21 hours and 22 minutes long, and it is a worthy investment of time.

This is a series I can see myself rereading but for the time being I will get caught up on the author's backlist.

This book was part of my 2022 Reading Off My Shelf Challenge.