The #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove and Beartown returns with an unforgettable novel “about people–about strength and tribal loyalty and what we unwittingly do when trying to show our boys how to be men” (Jojo Moyes). Have you ever seen a town fall? Ours did. Have you ever seen a town rise? Ours did that, too. A small community tucked deep in the forest, Beartown is …
A small community tucked deep in the forest, Beartown is home to tough, hardworking people who don’t expect life to be easy or fair. No matter how difficult times get, they’ve always been able to take pride in their local ice hockey team. So it’s a cruel blow when they hear that Beartown ice hockey might soon be disbanded. What makes it worse is the obvious satisfaction that all the former Beartown players, who now play for a rival team in the neighboring town of Hed, take in that fact. As the tension mounts between the two adversaries, a newcomer arrives who gives Beartown hockey a surprising new coach and a chance at a comeback.
Soon a team starts to take shape around Amat, the fastest player you’ll ever see; Benji, the intense lone wolf; always dutiful and eager-to-please Bobo; and Vidar, a born-to-be-bad troublemaker. But bringing this team together proves to be a challenge as old bonds are broken, new ones are formed, and the town’s enmity with Hed grows more and more acute.
As the big game approaches, the not-so-innocent pranks and incidents between the communities pile up and their mutual contempt intensifies. By the time the last goal is scored, a resident of Beartown will be dead, and the people of both towns will be forced to wonder if, after everything, the game they love can ever return to something as simple and innocent as a field of ice, two nets, and two teams. Us against you.
Here is a declaration of love for all the big and small, bright and dark stories that give form and color to our communities. With immense compassion and insight, Fredrik Backman–“the Dickens of our age” (Green Valley News)–reveals how loyalty, friendship, and kindness can carry a town through its most challenging days.
more
Where does one begin when it comes to describing an author whose books constantly amaze you to the point you cannot easily put them down for any reason other than an emergency? Fredrik Backman has struck gold with the second book in the Beartown series, Us Against You. After I survived a book daze last year with the series debut, I read another of his works which catapulted Backman into my top 5 of favorite authors. Once I learned he had written a second book in the Beartown series (they are all translated from Swedish) recently, I had to read this next one… and his publisher, Atria, contacted me to see if I was interested. How lucky can a guy get? When I finished it, Backman is now sitting pretty, completely unreachable for a good while, in my top 3 all-time favorite authors.
At first I was a little worried, I must admit. I’m not a big sports fan, and while I loved the first book, could I really become immersed in hockey again? I worked at Madison Square Garden for 10+ years and spent many a night with NY Rangers fans and players. Once I started reading the new book, I also realized the first 15% was a re-hash of the earlier book. It’s extremely well-written, so it was easy and smooth, but what did that mean for the rest of the novel? Well that concern quickly disappeared because enter a smooth-talking politician playing games in the background to re-ignite the flames between Hed and Beartown all in the name of getting himself more power. All the earlier characters are back in action, fighting to save the Beartown hockey team, protect Maya AND Kevin (her rapist). What??? What’s wrong with people is all I have to say. The words on the pages truly push readers to ask a simple question. Is the attack of one girl worth losing someone who could save an entire town from bankruptcy and possible dismay. Hopefully we all think FIRST about poor Maya, but then you wonder: Do you allow 1 person to keep suffering all in the name of saving the rest? Should the Anderssons just leave Beartown and start over, despite never having done anything wrong? It’s questions like this that plague you as you read the book — yet never ONCE does any character actually ask that. It’s all subtle. And I’m not weighing in with my opinion as it’s fiction… all meant to transport us to a world of torment and shock.
Enter my favorite character, Benji. He’s tragic. He’s powerful. He’s weak. He’s lost. He’s yearning for something he can’t control. He is trapped between right and wrong. The story focuses on him this time in the same respect as it did Maya last time. While he’s not attacked in the same way as she was last time (as he’d kill anyone who tried to hurt him), Benji is abused on so many more levels. But don’t worry, he gives back just as much as he gets, and that’s why I adore him. He makes mistakes, but he fixes them. He hides, but he’s got a plan to emerge more victorious. He loves his sisters and is an honorable man (boy? he’s 17/18) we all should respect. But he’s gay, and well, you know what that means: Beartown can’t support him. Hed will do everything to hurt him. They constantly chant “Fags. Whores. Rapists.” Yet deep down, you know they all want to support him. I’m not giving away any spoilers, as we learned he was gay in the first book. I just didn’t expect the second to focus on him.
Yet Backman nearly killed me about 2/3 through when disaster happens and I thought for a moment, I can’t finish this book. After what he’s done to Benji, I’m just done. But I trudged on and I’m so glad I did. I can’t think of another author right now who can let me down and build me up so many times in a book… to the point where they could be talking about hockey or pencils and I still feel a passion I rarely feel in life about most things outside of books. I want Beartown to win. I want Peter to get his dignity back. I want the new coach to prove women can be better than men at things. I want it all… and Backman delivers it all — just never in the way I expect.
Someone loses. A few people actually. And it’s harsh. You will cry. You will throw the book. But you will pick it up again because it’s become part of you. This must become a movie. I will be the first in line to watch it, and I don’t often go to the movies.
There’s very little to dislike in this book. You may hate certain characters, but they make you love the story all that much more. You might disagree with a plot line, but it will lead you to the right ending. You may want to strangle a few teenagers, and honestly, it may be okay in this instance. I’m not advocating killing kids, but there are just some people who need to be punished for the things they say or do . (Don’t quote me on that!!!)
I’m really left with… PLEASE give us a third book of equal power and humility. I will do anything.
Who knew that a book about hockey could be so good?
My book club selected US AGAINST YOU for our November discussion. They said you didn’t need to read BEARTOWN (the book that precedes it) first; that it was fine as a standalone. And while that might be true, I’m so glad that I read BEARTOWN first. It laid a solid foundation for the US AGAINST YOU—the gripping storyline riveted me to my seat. And I cried (and cried!) through the last part of the book. It’s an excellent read. I loved it. Absolutely loved it!
A gorgeous wonderful book.
Intense! Ostensibly about hockey, this book is really a revelation about the dynamics between people — love and hate and violence that we are all capable of.
Backman is a master storyteller with a unique writing style. We know from the beginning that someone is going to die, but who and how? And knowing does not detract from the suspense.
READ Beartown first to appreciate fully this sequel.
Blurb:
After everything that the citizens of Beartown have gone through, they are struck yet another blow when they hear that their beloved local junior hockey team will soon be disbanded. What makes it worse is the obvious satisfaction that all the former Beartown players, who now play for a rival team in Hed, take in that fact. As the tension between the two towns simmers, a surprising newcomer is handpicked to try to save the Beartown club.
Soon a new team starts to take shape around Amat, the fastest player you’ll ever see; Benji, the intense lone wolf; and Vidar, a born-to-be-bad troublemaker. But bringing this team together proves to be a challenge as old bonds are broken, new ones are formed, and the enmity with Hed grows more and more heated.
As the big game between Beartown and Hed approaches, the not-so-innocent pranks and incidents between the communities pile up and their mutual contempt grows deeper. By the time the last game is finally played, a resident of Beartown will be dead, and the people of both towns will be forced to wonder if, after all they’ve been through, the game they love can ever return to something simple and innocent.
Us Against You is a declaration of love for all the big and small, bright and dark stories that form and color our communities. Compelling and heartbreaking, it’s a roller-coaster ride of emotions and a showcase for “Fredrik Backman’s pitch-perfect dialogue and unparalleled understanding of human nature” (Shelf Awareness).
http://www.darlenejonesauthor.com
At times sad and depressing, and at other times filled with love, loyalty and friendship, Us Against You is destined to be another beloved book by Fredrik Backman. The pre-amble at beginning of Us Against You kept me on edge and turning pages. The story tension starts high and remains as taut as an over-tightened guitar string that is ready to break on the next hard strum.
The cast of characters is very broad, and Mr. Backman skillfully shows the breadth of the ripple effect from the traumatic events in his prior novel, Beartown. The Andersson family and Beartown are torn apart from the prior spring’s scandal. Us Against You is told in a third person narrative. The transitions between scenes within chapters are choppy. In some cases it felt like I was concurrently watching security footage from different cameras on multiple screens. However, those scenes are how we readers are able to see into the souls of many of the Beartown inhabitants.
Hockey and the feud with the neighboring town of Hed infuse almost every life, conversation, and relationship in Beartown. Hockey is the oxygen the townsfolk breathe; therefore it is easy to manipulate multiple groups with political promises and threats by intertwining sports, medical care and employment. In addition to a delivering a healthy cautionary regarding politicians, Backman passes along lessons on rivalry, surviving, perseverance, loss, loneliness, compromise, and responsibility.
Backman is a good storyteller. However, I did not feel that the level of emotional intimacy matched that of book one, Beartown.
While I was invested in this sequel from the first page, it wasn’t until the story was building up to crescendo that I decided I liked this book. Us Against You was not one of my favorites from Backman, but the power and worthiness of the story continue to grow on me.
This book is about how the incident from Beartown brought down not only the hockey league but the town too. The town slowly tries to rebuild everything thqat was torn down. The main focus is on the Hockey League, I’m not much into any sports. This book wasn’t my cup of tea but I finished listening to it. Something in this book angered me, nothing was done with Kevin. So what he moved, he deserved jail time. What message is that for girls. Too bad this kind of thing happens all the time. I’m not sure if I’ll ever read anything by this author again but never say never, It’ll be a while I know that.
The beautiful conclusion of beartown. A great story with amazing characters that show the multidimensional nature of humans in general. No one is all bad, no one is all good, no one is just one thing.
Backman wins again, even when one of his teams has to lose. I’ll admit that though I’m giving this sequel to Beartown the same 5 stars that I loved this book in much different ways. They say you can read this one on its own but there’s so much history in Beartown that sets this book up I can’t imagine trying to understand everyone’s relationships without it. The beginning of this one was slow for me and at time far too political. It focused much more on the adults than the previous book when I’d have much rather heard more about the kids and what they were going through. But, as always, Backman managed to steal my heart as the story continued snd I’m not ashamed to admit that I cried my way through the better half of the last few chapters. I love Backman’s style of writing. I love how real it all feels. So relatable! And I’ll miss Beartown terribly now that I’ve finished.
I am totally obsessed with this novel! It’s fast paced, full of well-crafted characters, and impossible to put down. I was amazed at how fast I was able to finish such a long book, which of course is a sign of an amazing book.
For my full review, please visit: https://www.krwardbookreview.com/2021/02/us-against-you-by-fredrik-backman.html
Wow, what a story. It was a bit confusing at first because I hadn’t read Beartown first and had to try to get all the characters straight, but the author did a great job with their introductions so you didn’t have to read the first book first. It was a different perspective than I’m used to as you really see the story from each of the characters’ perspectives. It was interesting to see what the motivation behind people’s actions were and where they were coming from. You could see when people were being real and when people were being manipulated. It was not really a book about hockey. It was about the human condition. I would highly recommend this book.
I waited nearly a year after reading Beartown before I dared to pick up Us Against You. The author had hinted vaguely at the futures of various characters in the story and I couldn’t bear to see some of them come to fruition. Also, Beartown was by far the best book I read last year and I wasn’t quite ready to come down off that high. This was only my second experience with Backman’s writing, but I’m now convinced that I’ll love everything he publishes. The writing style and it’s captivating third-person omniscient POV had me emotionally invested in every single character. My heart broke numerous times, but the author didn’t fail to end the story with an inspirational degree of hope. Like it’s predecessor, Us Against You is a top read and quite possibly, the author will hold my number one spot two years in a row. This book, it’s town, and it’s wonderfully diverse characters will stay with me for a long time.
This book is everything Beartown was, and more. Backman just gets better and better.
This is the sequel to “Beartown”.
I didn’t enjoy this book as much as the first one, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it, because I did. I love Benji’s characters and would happily follow his story to the end of the earth, but the other characters weren’t so compelling this time around. I found there was an awful lot of the same phrases around hockey and what it meant to everyone being repeated, and the book didn’t really take off until about 30% in (like book one). But I did enjoy the story overall, and I do recommend both this series and the author.
I didn’t enjoy this book as much as the first one, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it, because I did. I love Benji’s characters and would happily follow his story to the end of the earth, but the other characters weren’t so compelling this time around. I found there was an awful lot of the same phrases around hockey and what it meant to everyone being repeated, and the book didn’t really take off until about 30% in (like book one). But I did enjoy the story overall, and I do recommend both this series and the author.
Us Against You continues the story that began in Beartown. Once again Backman follows the characters and we see how decisions lead to events beyond their control. It looks as if the Beartown Hockey Club will fold with the loss of their best players and sponsors leaving for rival Hed. A manipulating politician comes to town and sets the stage for more intense rivalry between the two towns involving jobs at the manufacturing plant, healthcare and the hockey teams. A new coach builds a new team for Beartown and the competition burns between the towns even more. This is a complicated book of family, friend and team relationships that are tested by the events of the story.
Make sure you read Beartown before you read this. By chance, I picked this book up because I love Fredrik Backman’s work. It just happened to be the sequel to Beartown. Us against You is excellent! I didn’t realize how much I missed the characters and the town until I read this! I highly recommend reading this after you read Beartown.
In this sequel to BEARTOWN, Backman plumbs the depths of feelings for every character. It will enrich the experience if you read BEARTOWN first, but this novel stands on its own.
I never have the words to say when I am reviewing Mr. Backman’s books. They are always so imaginative, witty, entertaining , and now tragic. There are no words to describe his books. You will just have to see for yourself.