by Fredrik Backman

A Contemporary, 2022 by Atria Books, 671 Pages 

What I Didn’t Like:

• A lot of the writing is poignant or important, but that gives the entire book a sort of slower quality that all has the same voice. When you try to write every sentence as if it was important and beautiful, it slows everything down. I don’t know how best to explain it, you’ll remember I said that when you read it. 
• The finance stuff made me hate everything about business men that cut corners. It had me FUMING and changed my sense of loyalty previously felt to the hockey clubs and towns. 
• The Andersons. They come across as dysfunctional but trying in the previous books. For some reason in this one that changed for me. They’re making conscious choices to avoid or leave each other out and they cause too much pain to each other. It feels spiteful. 

What I Did Like:

• Easily drop right back into Beartown and it’s like we never left. The strong sense of loyalty and dedication just sucks you right in. This series has done a remarkable job of making the TOWN a major character. 
• The short chapters cycle through many storylines and characters in a way that works. You keep your interest in all the storylines, you are able to remember every character, and you aren’t lost at all. This book is really a master study in how to write a book with so many characters and storylines. 
• The characters. Yes, there’s a lot. But they’re written so well that you fall in love with every single one of them. The banter, the emotion, the heartbreak. These ones will live with you long after you’re done reading. 

Who Should Read This One:

• Fans of the previous books, obviously. 
• Anyone who enjoys contemporary stories with a huge cast of characters would love this series. If you read to fall in love with characters who become real, get this trilogy (start with Beartown). 

My Rating: 4 Stars

• Backman has written a beautiful conclusion to the trilogy about an entire town and all the people in it.