The Winners (Beartown, #3)

by Fredrik Backman

People say that age brings wisdom, but for most of us that really isn’t true, when we get old we’ve just accumulated more experiences, good and bad. The result is more likely to be cynicism than wisdom. When we’re young we know nothing about all the very worst that can hit us, which is just as well, because otherwise we’d never leave the house. And we would definitely never let go of those we love.

“You get success by having extremely high integrity but absolutely zero prestige. Because integrity is about who you are, whereas prestige is only about what other people think of you.”

Maya empties her wineglass and contemplates throwing it at him. When she moved here she thought she’d find a thousand different types of men, but they’re all the same here as well, only they’re the same in a different way to where she comes from. They like soccer instead of hockey, they vote for different political parties, but they’re just as convinced that their own worldview is the only one that exists, they think they’re worldly when they actually live in the same narrow-minded little village as everyone else.

“One day you will be one of the people who lived long ago,”

Parents always think they have to talk to their daughters about guys. We shouldn’t wear short skirts and shouldn’t go out alone and shouldn’t get drunk and shouldn’t let guys like us too much. But you don’t have to talk to us about guys because we already know all that, for fuck’s sake, because we’re the ones they rape!! Talk to your damn sons instead!!! Teach them to talk to one another and teach them to stop one another. Raise just one fucking boy somewhere who can become a head teacher who understands that when boys pull girls by the hair, it’s the fucking boys there’s something wrong with. Tell your sons that if they have to THINK about whether or not they’ve had sex with a girl who didn’t want it, then they HAVE!!! If you can’t understand if the girl you’re having sex with wants it or not, then you’ve never had fucking sex with a girl who wants it. Stop telling your daughters. We already know it all.