Us Against You

By: Fredrik Backman

Narrated by: Marin Ireland

Length: 14 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's Summary

From the "Dickens of our age" (Green Valley News) and New York Times best-selling author of Beartown and A Man Called Ove, a heart-wrenching story of how loyalty, friendship, and love carry a town through its darkest days.

After everything that the citizens of Beartown have gone through, they are struck yet another blow when they learn that their beloved local hockey team will soon be disbanded. What makes it worse is the obvious satisfaction that all the former Beartown players, who now play for a rival team in Hed, take in that fact. Amidst the mounting tension between the two rivals, a surprising newcomer is handpicked to be Beartown's new hockey coach.

Soon a new team starts to take shape around Amat, the fastest player you'll ever see; Benji, the crazed lone wolf; and Vidar, a born-to-be-bad troublemaker. Bringing this team together is a challenge as old bonds are broken, new ones are formed, and the enmity with Hed grows more and more acute.

As the big match approaches, the not-so-innocent pranks and incidents between the communities pile up, and hatred grows deeper. When the last game is finally played, one of Beartown's key players will be dead, and residents of both towns are forced to wonder whether, after all they've been through, the game they love can ever return to something simple and innocent.

Us Against You is a declaration of love for all the big and small, bright and dark stories that form and color our communities. Compelling and heartbreaking, it's a roller-coaster ride of emotions with Fredrik "Backman's pitch-perfect dialogue and an unparalleled understanding of human nature" (Shelf Awareness).

©2018 Fredrik Backman (P)2018 Simon & Schuster Audio

Critic Reviews

"You'd be forgiven for comparing narrator Marin Ireland and author Fredrik Backman to the great hockey tandem Mark Messier and Wayne Gretzky. Like Messier and Gretzky, Ireland and Backman are quite the formidable pair... [Ireland] once again gives an unforced, nuanced take on characters that include adolescents struggling to find their way, a crusty old barkeep, a power-hungry politician, and a married couple hoping to reconnect after terrible tragedies. If you enjoyed Ireland's work in Beartown, you will not be disappointed hearing her read Us Against You. (AudioFile) 

Why Did It Have to End?

This book and the first in the series, Beartown are two of my favorite books of all time. The story, writing style, characters and narration are sensational. I couldnt stop listening while simultaneously dreading the moment the book would end.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

It’s not supposed to be easy

I’m becoming a huge fan of Fredrik Backman, he writes complicated and interesting characters and stories that challenge my thought processes. I feel so connected to the people of Beartown. For most of this book I feared none of them would get the happy ending they deserve and it was torture. In the end, I still feel like I want to know more of their stories but am okay with where they are.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

A perfect compliment to Beartown as well as another great read

With the same empathy and awareness, Backman has crafted another great read. I would encourage one to read Beartown first and follow up with Us Against You. This is the fifth novel of Backman’s that I have read. Beartown , Us Against You, and A Man Called Ove, are my favorites. I am continually impressed with the author’s ability to craft his characters. One feels as if she knows these people, and there are many. Backman is able to have the multiple facets and characters of the story remain as independent tales, yet all of them coalesce into one epic story. I love the characters he builds, and how he allows them, or doesn’t allow them, to grow and change. Characters from the Beartown novel are integral in this novel, and other characters from the first book become the newer story. I learn to care about the new characters as much as I did the older ones. It’s just a great read and well worth the time and energy. I hope there are more stories in this series.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

So much more than a hockey novel...

This book, the follow up to Bear Town, is so much more than a hockey novel. If you haven't read/listened to this or any of Fredrick Backman's other novels, I highly suggest them all.

4 of 5 people found this review helpful

What happened??? I LOVE all of Fredrick Backman's

What happened??? I LOVE all of Fredrick Backman's novels. I don't even like hockey and Beartown is one of my all time favorite books. After I read Beartown I said I didn't want to read anything until I could read the sequel to Beartown. Well now I have and I want to know, what happened?!?!? The writing is in no way on a par with Beartown or A Man Called Ove or any of his other books. It repeats sentences over and over and over and over and over and over and OVER!! The same sentence, the same sentiment, over and over and over and over and over and over and over and OVER. I was listening to this as an audio book, so perhaps it was worse because I couldn't skip over the words, We Will Look back on this and remember violence, we will think this story is about violence, but it is also a love story.... we will think violence came to Beartown, but it was already there, Hockey is hockey, hockey is always fair, hockey is always unfair.... I mean, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, please do not repeat sentences and sentiments over and over and over and over. That is not how you write Fredrick Backman! Of course I am going to be waiting for the 3rd in the series, and I will read or listen to it, because I am vested in these characters, and I hope you skip all the repetitiveness next time around. I know you are sad, I know that this book was way to sad and violent for some, but for me, it was the constant repeating that did me in.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Respect your audience

Interesting cast of characters and relationships, obvious point of view. Author never secure enough to let the story make the point: characters spell it out, then narrator beats you over the head with it.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Not My Favorite

This is probably my least favorite Frederik Blackman book. I don’t know if it’s the subject matter or the story itself. Beartown was a tad better but I certainly didn’t think it required a part two. I read/listened to Us Against You just because. And now that it’s behind me, I’ll never listen to it again.

Also, the reader read way too slow. I was glad I could speed it up by 25%; it was more bearable...

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

One of the greatest books about hockey ever

I absolutely loved this book. The author obviously knows what it is like to be a hockey player and a hockey parent. Each character and storyline resonated with me on so many different levels that it was difficult to stop listening. My emotions were all over the map, rejoicing one moment then crying the next. I cannot recommend this book enough for those who love the game of hockey or just want to gain a deeper understanding.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Brilliant!

What I love about this book is not only the brilliance of Fredrik Backman in how he creates a world where I find myself caring about the characters, but the way he invokes the emotions of the characters from me, the reader, as well. This was a great sequel to an awesome book, Beartown. I will not give anything away, because I personally feel everyone should read both of these books. I will say Backman continues on with the themes from the first book and shows us how the dominoes fall in Us Against You. Brilliant!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Excellent follow up

Such a good book! I loved Bear Town, and this was a perfect sequel. The characters are so well described, you truly feel you know them and can empathize with their lives. I’d 100% recommend this book. Love this narrator also. This is one of those books that I’m sad I finished it! I wanted it to keep going!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful