Review: Us Against You by Fredrik Backman

After reading Beartown by Fredrik Backman last month, I immediately requested its sequel Us Against You from the library. Obviously a lot of people in my life ask me what I’m reading on a regular basis, and when describing Backman’s work, I always say that his writing in completely hypnotic; it makes you feel the need to keep reading. 

When we last left Beartown, it is in emotional ruins. Maya is working through her new reality as a survivor of rape, Benji is coping with his constant suicidal thoughts and sexual identity, Peter and Kira are grappling with an unavoidable sense of failure as parents, Sune is retiring, Amat doesn’t know where his future is heading, and the town is completely split regarding who’s to blame: Maya or Kevin Erdhal, the star hockey player and rapist. 

Us Against You is about Beartown picking up the pieces and assessing who they truly are as a town and as a people. They are tough, resilient, and they stand by their own. It takes a long time to get that point, but by the end I felt like Beartown has reassessed its morals and figured itself out. 

Overall, I didn't love this one as much as the first book. I did love getting to learn more about Benji’s history and I felt his story as a young gay athlete was incredibly important to tell. I loved Amat and Bobo’s blossoming friendship and diving deeper into both of their stories as well. I still breezed through it and found it to be a profound work, but it didn’t engage me at the same level as its companion novel.

However, if you read Beartown I think you definitely need to read Us Against You. It’s fascinating to see how the town copes with their loss of identity and regains it in a new way. I loved watching Maya grow and work through her new identity. You get to know the characters on a deeper level, especialy Ana and Benji’s family. I also loved meeting Vidal and think he was a great addition to the story. Basically, I loved meeting more “regular” townsfolk and hearing their stories.

I’d give it 4 stars overall! Backman’s style seems to include a slow, quiet beginning and then he ramps it up towards the end. In Us Against You, I felt the structure was a little jilted; I couldn’t tell where the climax or apex of the story was so the ending felt like it was dragged out a bit, if that makes sense. I would love to know his motivation for writing a sequel!

Have you read both of these books? They’ve been out in the world for quite a while. June has been my catch up month for all the books I missed!