A review by notlikethebeer
Us Against You by Fredrik Backman

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I'm somewhat in two minds about a lot of this book... It was really beautiful, like really really gorgeous. But equally, it was so wordy! - at times the beauty of it felt maybe a little overdone, by labouring the points a it too much? I don't really know how that could be reconciled though, and I also don't know how much is a translation thing! It was, as with Beartown, an incredible exploration of a whole town - albeit with a few too many characters at times - and a really interesting look into a world I know nothing about. It was also fascinating in the ways that it looked at nuance, at the ways that good people do bad things, and how maybe there is no such thing as a good or bad person.
Spoiler I am, however, gonna die salty about that ending
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