“Inside every large story there are always plenty of small ones” (69).

Each of the small stories that are braided together inside the larger story of this single community is so captivating—gritty and emotional—and left me aching for all of them.

Like a classic Greek tragedy about loyalty and hubris and justice and revenge, Us Against You—allies against enemies, is a book about life told through the falling and rising of an underdog community. Even though the action and events center on sports and politics and violence and conflict, it’s really just a beautifully-simple story about the complex-simplicity of life—“Love and hate. Joy and sorrow. Anger and forgiveness” (333). ( )

I cannot rave enough about the writing style of this book, and the one before it, Beartown. I really feel like I am apart of this community, really understand what it means to live in a town like that. They characters he creates are memorable, complicated, likable even when they’re not, and so real. Definitely a favorite book...really hoping the story doesn’t end here. ( )

"Wir gegen euch" erzählt dort weiter, wo "Kleine Stadt der großen Träume" aufhört. Die Lektüre des Vorgängerbandes würde ich bei diesem Buch dringend empfehlen, da alle Charaktere und Geschehnisse dort lang eingeführt werden. Nach Mayas Vergewaltigung und Kevins Wegzug ist Björnstadt Eishockey am Boden. Nur noch wenige spielen für Björnstadt, die meisten Spieler sind nach Hed gewechselt. Majas Familie wird mit dem Erlebten nicht fertig. Da investiert über einen dubiosen Politiker jemand in Björnstadt Eishockey, es gibt eine Trainerin und langsam geht zumindest das Spielgeschehen wieder nach vorn.
Man muss sich für diese Serie auf die Parabel des Sports als Mikrokosmos einlassen, aber das funktoniert hervorragend. Ich bin überhaupt kein Eishockey-Fan, aber diese Serie liebe ich.Backmann schafft es sehr gut, dass wirklich alle Charaktere schwarz und weiß zugleich sind. Es liest sich super, man fiebert mit und es hat viele wirklich schöne Stellen. Ich möchte definitiv den nächsten Band auch lesen, denn jetzt bin ich infiziert. ( )

I really loved Beartown, so I was a bit disappointed with this one. It gave me all the feels, tears and everything, but it also felt forced. There was too much repetition of the events before and waaay too much foreshadowing. I really can't take so much foreshadowing. Then a few new characters were introduced and their stories together with all the repetition and foreshadowing, didn't leave enough space for the characters I loved and cared about from the first book. It kind of felt like Backman was trying to keep too many balls in the air and some kept falling all the time. But he is a master of great quotes. ( )

A follow up to to Beartown. A book of hating, loving, forgiving and hope.Kirkus:Shockwaves from the incidents in Beartown (2017) shake an economically depressed hockey town in this latest from the author of A Man Called Ove.Swedish novelist Backman loves an aphorism and is very good at them; evident in all his novels is an apparent ability to state a truth about humanity with breathtaking elegance. Often, he uses this same elegance to slyly misdirect his readers. Sometimes he overreaches and words that sound pretty together don?t hold up to scrutiny. This novel has a plethora of all three. Grim in tone, it features an overstocked cast of characters, all of whom are struggling for self-definition. Each has previously been shaped by the local hockey club, but that club is now being defunded and resources reallocated to the club of a rival town. Some Beartown athletes follow, some don?t. Lines are drawn in the sand. Several characters get played by a Machiavellian local politician who gets the club reinstated. Nearly all make poor decisions, rolling the town closer and closer to tragedy. Backman wants readers to know that things are complicated. Sure, many of Beartown?s residents are bigots and bullies. But some are generous and selfless. Actually, the bigots and bullies are also generous and selfless, in certain circumstances. And Lord knows they?ve all had a rough time of it. The important thing to remember is that hockey is pure. Except when it inspires violence. This is an interesting tactic for a novel in our cultural moment of sensitivity, and it can feel cumbersome. ?When guys are scared of the dark they?re scared of ghosts and monsters,? he writes. ?But when girls are scared of the dark they?re scared of guys.? Margaret Atwood said it better and with more authority decades ago.Backman plays the story for both cynicism and hope, and his skill makes both hard, but not impossible, to resist.