Anxious People

Fredrik Backman is a talented writer and I simply adored A Man Called Ove several years ago. He set the bar exceedingly high with that book, but since then his work has been a little hit and miss for me, so I went into this book eager but a bit cautious. I suppose you could say 'anxious'. 😉 

After reading this latest book, I have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, I loved Backman's dry humour and how he tackles issues about relationships and imperfect people. He introduces his readers to a gaggle of unique individuals who find themselves thrown together by fate and an odd situation.

I especially loved how Backman plays on the fact that readers have initial perceptions and regularly make assumptions. He skillfully turns things on their heads a few times by scattering amazing twists which were brief, with a subtle feel to them yet packed quite a wallop, making me gasp under my breath 'Oh no you didn't!' a few times.

I'd suggest going into this book knowing that it will be a quirky ride requiring the reader to suspend disbelief. The first half of the book is a slow go and there were a few things that didn't sit well with me. The haphazard crime, the repetition of details and the sometimes disjointed feel of the storytelling. My main irk were the bumbling cops (were there only 2 cops in the entire town?) and their interviews at the police station. The dialogue in these interviews felt forced and each interviewee was frustratingly and excessively obtuse and uncooperative to the point of belligerence. After reading the book, I understand why it was done that way, but it was annoying in the moment.

I definitely warmed up to this book the more I thought about it. It may start off slower in the beginning and have a few oddities I wasn't fond of, but the way Backman pulls everything together with an ending that wraps up snugly, yet satisfyingly, made this story a unique mix of odd and touching moments and a great message for readers to take away: Good people can be idiots. They will sometimes make stupid decisions, but they're still good people.

My Rating: 4 stars

Author: Fredrik Backman

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Type and Source: Trade Paperback from public library

Pages: 341

Publisher: Simon and Schuster Canada

First Published: September 8, 2020

Opening Lines: A bank robbery. A hostage drama. 

Book Description from GoodReads: From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove and “writer of astonishing depth” (The Washington Times) comes a poignant comedy about a crime that never took place, a would-be bank robber who disappears into thin air, and eight extremely anxious strangers who find they have more in common than they ever imagined.

Viewing an apartment normally doesn’t turn into a life-or-death situation, but this particular open house becomes just that when a failed bank robber bursts in and takes everyone in the apartment hostage. As the pressure mounts, the eight strangers begin slowly opening up to one another and reveal long-hidden truths.

First is Zara, a wealthy bank director who has been too busy to care about anyone else until tragedy changed her life. Now, she’s obsessed with visiting open houses to see how ordinary people live—and, perhaps, to set an old wrong to right. Then there’s Roger and Anna-Lena, an Ikea-addicted retired couple who are on a never-ending hunt for fixer-uppers to hide the fact that they don’t know how to fix their own failing marriage. Julia and Ro are a young lesbian couple and soon-to-be parents who are nervous about their chances for a successful life together since they can’t agree on anything. And there’s Estelle, an eighty-year-old woman who has lived long enough to be unimpressed by a masked bank robber waving a gun in her face. And despite the story she tells them all, Estelle hasn’t really come to the apartment to view it for her daughter, and her husband really isn’t outside parking the car.

As police surround the premises and television channels broadcast the hostage situation live, the tension mounts and even deeper secrets are slowly revealed. Before long, the robber must decide which is the more terrifying prospect: going out to face the police, or staying in the apartment with this group of impossible people.

Rich with Fredrik Backman’s “pitch-perfect dialogue and an unparalleled understanding of human nature” (Shelf Awareness), Anxious People’s whimsical plot serves up unforgettable insights into the human condition and a gentle reminder to be compassionate to all the anxious people we encounter every day.