Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
Genres: contemporary, fiction
TW: suicide, mentions of depression, panic attack, mentions of drugs abuse, mentions of domestic abuse, mentions of alcohol abuse
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.
I really don’t know where to start with this review! There are so many things I absolutely LOVED about this book that I just know I’ll forgot something *facepalm*.
The thing that is most prominent in Anxious People is its writing-style. It’s full of jokes and silly puns with a powerful message hidden underneath. I’ve read quite a couple of review on Goodreads to know what exactly did the people who didn’t like this book didn’t like, and most of them didn’t appreciate the writing-style–if you don’t like a book filled with jokes at every corner, I’m afraid this is not for you. I personally found it soooo beautiful!!
I also liked how despite being introduced to a lot of characters, they were so different from each other, BUT also connected and we discover these connections little by little throughout the book.
This is definitely a book I highly recommend and I would really love to read more of the author’s books!!!… Are there any books by Fredrik you’d recommend?!?
librorum in sempiternum 