Throughout the novel, Backman introduces us to the ways anxiety and trauma can manifest in different people. The best thing, in both situations is just to stay put. Then, inside the world of Anxious People, these strangers who just wanted to look at a nice little apartment, a place to live and dream and be, are suddenly forced to stay there because they are being held hostage. Here we were in the real world, stuck inside our homes, with our families or roommates, waiting out the hostile situation of a pandemic. Somehow, the eight strangers brought together in Anxious People felt too intimate, too much.

Backman’s novels often feature an ensemble cast, all of a hockey village in Beartown, the residents of an apartment building in My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She’s Sorry. That was one of the criticisms I saw over and over again, on social media and in traditional reviews: that Anxious People has too many characters. It’s messy, convoluted, funny, heartbreaking, and full of people. By signing up you agree to our terms of useĪnxious People is 2020. The bottom line is this book really touched me, and I was reminded that there can still be beauty and hope even in the most trying of circumstances.Thank you for signing up! Keep an eye on your inbox. My waterworks weren’t from the story being so sad, but because of the kindnesses shared within a group of strangers during one of the most anxiety-filled days of their lives. It has been many years since a novel made me cry. When I finished the book, I was moved to actual tears. This tragicomic tale of a really bad collective day resolves in the most unexpected and poignant ways.

Typically, my favorite books are character-driven stories that offer a deep dive into the people involved in the story, and Anxious People was just that. Jumping to different points of view-from the Swedish police officers, a father and son team in charge of the case, to the hostages-we get a variety of glimpses into the cross-section of humanity affected by this incident, the bank robber included.

What begins as an idiosyncratic book about a bank robbery-gone-terribly-awry unfolds into an astute and beautifully rendered character study of a random group of people who are thrown into a very stressful situation as a botched robbery suddenly turns into a hostage situation. As soon as I started reading, I knew I had made the right choice. I had also heard from a friend that Backman has a good sense of humor, and as a TV comedy writer, I love to laugh. I picked up Anxious People because, well, it seemed like reading about other anxious people might make me feel better about my own anxiety. First, a confession: I am not one of the millions of people around the world who read A Man Called Ove, Fredrik Backman’s previous best-selling book.

Anxious people fredrik