The captivating and moving follow-up to the international bestseller Beartown,from the 18 million copy bestselling author of Anxious People and A Man Called Ove'I utterly believed in the residents of Beartown,and felt ripped apart by the events in the book'Jojo Moyes on Beartown___Can a broken town survive a second tragedyBy the time the last goal is scored,someone in Beartown will be dead...Us Against You is the story of two towns,two teams and what it means to believe in something bigger than yourself. It's about how people come together - sometimes in anger,often in sorrow,but also through love.And how,when we stand together,we can bring a town back to life.___Praise for Fredrik Backman:'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
Publisher: Penguin Books LtdISBN: 9781405930239Number of pages: 432Weight: 298 gDimensions: 198 x 129 x 26 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
Praise for Beartown and Fredrik Backman I utterly believed in the residents of Beartown,and felt ripped apart by the events in the bookSurrounded by impenetrable forests,it recreates the stifling atmosphere of a dying community. This is a mature,compassionate novel
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
As popular Swedish exports go,Backman is up there with ABBA and Stieg Larsson.Friday Night Lights for SwedesA kind of problem play that moves extremely skilfully near the melodramatic without derailing. Its originality is substantial and the book credibly conveys the dual faces of everyday life. An impressive novel,like no otherPraise for Us Against YouA story about families,about friendship and loyalty,inequality,female vulnerability,male back-slapping,and parenthood...No person's story is too little to be told,Backman includes them all. A novel with a big heartEvident in all (Backman) novels is an apparent ability to state a truth about humanity with breathtaking eleganceThis is a tale of the pitfalls of group mentality as well as the loss of an innocence we all take for granted-and it will grip you from start to finishBackman is the Dickens of our age,and though you'll cry,your heart is safe in his handsBackman is a masterful writer,his characters familiar yet distinct,flawed yet heroic...There are scenes that bring tears,scenes of gut-wrenching despair,and moments of sly humor. . .Like Friday Night Lights,this is about more than youth sports; it's part coming-of-age novel,part study of moral failure,and finally a chronicle of groupthink in which an unlikely hero steps forward to save more than one person from self-destruction. A thoroughly empathetic examination of the fragile human spirit,Backman's latest will resonate a long time.A light hearted,deeply moving novel about a grumpy but loveable curmudgeon who finds his solitary worldBackman's ability to tell stories in pictures is one of his strongest merits,not least how he describes relationships . . .It's rare that one cares about so many characters in a book,and seldom that one comes so close to a whole community. But the leading role in Backman's novels about Beartown is,after all,played by the sports community. It's a love declaration of the highest orderMr. Backman cements his standing as a writer of astonishing depth and proves that he also has very broad range plus the remarkable ability to make you understand the feelings of each of a dozen different characters....The story is fully packed with wise insights into the human experience causing characters and readers to ponder life's great question of who we are,what we hope to be and how we should lead our livesFredrik Backman writes wonderfully about men,with a love and understanding for the ones who would rather solve conflicts with their fists. It's hard not to love itA brilliant sequel . . .Backman writes about loyalty and love,but also captures the feelings of athletes in a vibrant wayBackman knows how to construct a thrilling plot,and what he writes engages...And when he hits his stride among the emotions,the sentimental turns into an asset - like a hockey puck straight to the heartIt's obvious that Fredrik Backman loves sports and no one is as good at evoking feelings as he is. You are thrown between laughter and tears in the space of one sentence to the next. At the same time,this might be his most earnest and serious,if you can understand what I mean,novel to date. It takes an even bigger grip on the world than the previous novel in the series did. Now we can only wait for the next chapterWhat you get in a Fredrik Backman work is wonderful writing andbrilliant insights into things that truly matter - right vs. wrong,fear vs.courage,love vs. hate,the importance and limits of friendship andloyalty,and more. Fredrik Backman is one of the world's best and mostinteresting novelists. He is a giant among the world's great novelists -and this literary giant is still growing.
In his dark but warmhearted way,Backman is a psychologist,and hisinsights are on display again in Us Against You...he creates an astuteemotional world much bigger than a small Swedish town. It's a novel youcan sink into.
If Alexander McCall Smith's and Maeve Binchy's novels had a lovechild,the result would be the work of Swedish writer Fredrik Backman /.../ Backman's novels have wide appeal,and for good reason. Us AgainstYou takes a lyrical look at how a community heals,how families recoverand how individuals grow.
Deftly explores recovery and rebirth.Backman (A Man Called Ove) returns to the hockey-obsessed village ofhis previous novel Beartown to chronicle the passion,violence,resilience,and humanity of the people who live there in this engrossingtale of small-town Swedish life /.../ Backman's excellent novel has anatmosphere of both Scandinavian folktale and Greek tragedy. Darknessand grit exist alongside tenderness and levity,creating a blunt realismthat brings the setting's small-town atmosphere to vivid life.
There is even more potential for book group discussion here asBackman explores violence,political maneuvering,communities,feminism,sexuality,criminality,the role of sports in society,and whatmakes us all tick.
Readers,take a break from the heat this summer to visit the icy streetsof Beartown. Immerse yourself in Us Against You,for once you open thisbook,you won't be able to resist falling into the hockey town out in thewoods. Live among the residents for a few days. I guarantee that it willbe tough to say goodbye when you turn the last page. Fredrik Backmanhas a rare talent for reaching inside his readers and coaxing out theirdeepest emotions while weaving a riveting tale that stays with you for along time. Don't miss out on this phenomenal novel.
Through Backman's astute examination of humanity,Us Against You will elicit snickers and full-blown belly laughs. It will rip out hearts,thenreplace them stronger than before. Most of all,it is sure to promptreaders to examine their lives in order to be better people,if only inmicroscopic ways.
Dark and gritty,but peppered with moments of breath-catching hope.The sequel to Beartown is finally here,and it does not disappoint.This is a tale of the pitfalls of group mentality as well as the loss of aninnocence we all take for granted - and it will grip you from start to finish.
Just as the cult TV hit Friday Night Lights wasn't just about high-schoolfootball,this sequel to Beartown is about more than small-town hockey.Us Against You is a story of hopes,dreams,loyalty,friendship,and - aftersomeone is left for dead - the lengths people will go to for the love of the game.
We have a rare book for you. (Us Against You) is not only about hockeyand sports. It's about everything that makes a man a man.Backman uses an abundance of thrilling hints about upcoming events,and it works. You simply have to continue reading. The story iswonderful,deeply touching and very thought-provoking,and hats offagain to the author's ability to portray people and trends in society. Thenovel plays on your entire register of emotions,and you live and breathealongside the many different characters,all of which are precisely and empathetically depicted.
A beautiful and brutal drama."Fredrik Backman is one of Sweden's best authors. He's mastered howto depict a village and its citizens so that you both love and hate them./.../ Backman writes with emotion,and it goes straight to your heart. /.../As always with Backman,there's still hope for humanity,because wherethere is violence and hatred,there is also forgiveness and love."
Us Against You is an excellent novel that's easy to read and skillfullyhandles great themes. /.../ The world created by Backman lives andbreathes and the characters are both human and complex.
Backman keeps you hooked from the first to the last page. For allBeartown fans,Us Against You feels like coming home.Fredrik Backman writes wonderfully about men,with a love andunderstanding for the ones who would rather solve conflicts with theirfists. It's hard not to love it.
Backman knows how to construct a thrilling plot,and what he writesengages. /.../ And when he hits his stride among the emotions,thesentimental turns into an asset - like a hockey puck straight to the heart.
Fredrik Backman
Fredrick Backman is a Swedish author and columnist,best known for his bestselling debut A Man Called Ove.
Visit the Fredrik Backman author page
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