Can we ever cross the lines of our allegiances? 6. Do people at the bottom need to cheat to get to the top? 3. Is it possible to play by the rules and get ahead? 2. The Winners will provide thoughtful discussion possibilities for your book club! 1. Who are the winners? What do they win? Are the winners the team that scores the most points? Is a winner the person who runs toward danger or runs away? Is a winner the one who tries her best to care for others and do the right thing? Is a winner one who is a loyal friend or community member? Is a winner the one who saves a life? Is the winner one who is sacrificial? ThemesĪs I read, I kept a running list of themes, and by story’s end I had quite an extensive list! A few of the most riveting themes include protecting children, having your person, feeling useless (powerless, invisible, unheard, ignored, discarded), all-consuming sports, grief, feeling safe (PTSD), finding safety in a storm, parenting, coming home, winning at all costs, chosen family, caring for each other, pressure and expectations on young athletes, mob mentality, power, money, winning, individual expression, forgiveness, remorse, teammates, belonging, revenge, hatred, identity, allegiances, friendship, corruption, competition, and someone to believe in you. My brief review of Beartown and Us Against You.
While the second installment in the trilogy was a bit too pedantic and agenda-driven for my taste, The Winners is back to the story-telling I enjoyed in Beartown. Masterful and powerful, he’s my favorite contemporary storyteller because he is a keen observer of people, thinks about the kinds of issues that matter most in life, and bravely writes about them. I can say that I awarded it 5+ Stars and that it is profound, compelling, and thought-provoking in Backman’s usual manner. This is one of those books that’s impossible to review. “A kid needs money or skill to be a somebody in Beartown.” Overall “You want to understand this place? Then you need to understand its connections, the way everything and everyone is tied to everything and everyone else by invisible threads of relationships and loyalties and debts: the ice rink and the factory, the hockey team and the politicians, league position and money, sports and employment opportunities, childhood friends and teammates neighbors and colleagues and families.” My Thoughts: It is the story of family, loyalties, motivations, community, sports….and the big questions in life. The Winners is installment #3 in the Beartown series.
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Genre/Categories/Setting: Contemporary Literary Fiction, Hockey, Family Drama, Friendship, Community, Small Town, Sweden The Winners by Fredrik Backman is a compelling work of contemporary literary fiction with complicated characters, page-turning action, and thought-provoking themes.
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