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The Winners

From the instant international bestselling author of My Friends

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The Winners

By: Fredrik Backman
Narrated by: Marin Ireland
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FROM THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF MY FRIENDS.

'I utterly believed in the residents of Beartown, and felt ripped apart by the events in the book' JOJO MOYES

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO STAND TOGETHER?

‘It’s often said that winners write history, but there are no winners here’

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.

PRAISE FOR THE BEARTOWN BOOKS:

'This is a stunning read that plunges you into another world. Backman writes with incredible sensitivity and insight. Every one of the characters is real and multi-faceted, having you breathlessly turning the pages, following their fears and hopes, fretting for their futures. This is storytelling at its best: Emotional, vivid, wise and utterly brilliant' HAZEL PRIOR

'Surrounded by impenetrable forests, Beartown recreates the stifling atmosphere of a dying community. A mature, compassionate novel' SUNDAY TIMES

'Backman can tickle the funny bone and tug on the heart strings when he needs to, and is a clever enough storyteller to not overindulge in either' INDEPENDENT

'As popular Swedish exports go, Backman is up there with ABBA and Stieg Larsson' THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW

'Backman is a masterful writer' KIRKUS REVIEW Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Small Town & Rural World Literature Heartfelt Tear-jerking Inspiring Thought-Provoking Sports
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I listened to all the books in this trilogy back to back and absolutely loved them all. Frederik Blackman is a superb author with a gift for drawing out our understanding of what should be the most unlikeable characters. Unfortunately this last book was slightly spoilt by the change of actor reading it. Characters that had been so expertly realised by the first actor have been completely changed by drawling American accents that conjure up images of spoilt Californian teenagers rather than country kids from a forest! For me it showed a really shallow understanding of the book and it’s setting. Shame, it would have been so much better to stick with the original actor.

Fantastic and compelling conclusion to the trilogy

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I loved this series - never thought I’d enjoy a book about ice hockey but it is about so much more. The characters are so brilliantly crafted and brought to life - and Bear Town itself is so very real. Only complaint here is on the decision to change the narrator for the third book - she’s a great narrator and I’ve enjoyed other books read by her - but it seemed so strange at this stage in a series to have some of the characters’ names pronounced completely differently and with an entirely different accent. I really enjoyed the previous narrator and how he gave personality to the Bear Town residents. To have names seemingly change was weird and to hear the name Anna pronounced as Arna - even when the narration itself says it should sound like the name Hannah, was very odd - but it didn’t spoil a wonderful story with a thread of tragedy throughout it and full of wisdom and little joys too.

A fitting end to the trilogy

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Loved every one of the 3 books in this trilogy, but this one was the best. It was so sad to know I had finished it and would not be reading about Beartown tomorrow. Love this author and very glad I have found him.

Wonderful book

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There are books that make me cry. This one left me sobbing. What a weave of stories! Such complexity of characters. I will be thinking about Bear Town for a long time.

Absolute gem!

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What an amazing story, I loved this trilogy, happy, sad, awful and amazing, everything you want from a book and so beautifully written

Great end to a fantastic trilogy

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