Us Against You (Backman) - Book Reviews

Book Reviews
If Alexander McCall Smith’s and Maeve Binchy’s novels had a love child, the result would be the work of Swedish writer Fredrik Backman.… With his wry acceptance of foible and failure, Backman combines a singular style with a large and compassionate perspective for his characters.… [His] novels have wide appeal, and for good reason. Us Against You takes a lyrical look at how a community heals, how families recover and how individuals grow.
Washington Post


What you get in a Fredrik Backman work is wonderful writing and brilliant insights into things that truly matter—right vs. wrong, fear vs. courage, love vs. hate, the importance and limits of friendship and loyalty, and more. Fredrik Backman is one of the world’s best and most interesting novelists. He is a giant among the world’s great novelists—and this literary giant is still growing.
Washington Times


[Backman] creates an astute emotional world much bigger than a small Swedish town.… A novel you can sink into.
Chicago Tribune


Deftly explores recovery and rebirth.
US Weekly


[E]ngrossing.… Backman’s excellent novel has an atmosphere of both Scandinavian folktale and Greek tragedy. Darkness and grit exist alongside tenderness and levity, creating a blunt realism that brings the setting’s small-town atmosphere to vivid life.
Publishers Weekly


There is even more potential for book group discussion here as Backman explores violence, political maneuvering, communities, feminism, sexuality, criminality, the role of sports in society, and what makes us all tick. —Mary K. Bird-Guilliams, Chicago
Library Journal


[E]vident in all [Backman's] novels is an apparent ability to state a truth about humanity with breathtaking elegance.… Backman plays [his] story for both cynicism and hope, and his skill makes both hard, but not impossible, to resist.
Kirkus Reviews