Anxious People
by Fredrik Backman
Available in audio
This is the story of a bank robbery turned hostage crisis, but it isn’t really about that. It is really a story about people trying to find their way in the world, the unseen connections between people and the kindness of strangers.
This book is a perfect gem of a story; it one of these books that I just wanted to hug when I finished it. In this novel Fredrik Backman has created another heartwarming story like the one that I, and so many readers, adored in A Man Called Ove. And, it has easily surpassed
Ove as my favorite of his books and become
one of my top reads of the year.
You get to know this eclectic cast of characters as the story unfolds who are incredibly endearing even when they are dealing with all their drama. Backman weaves the different threads of the plot together brilliantly and his distinctive, witty style perfectly compliments the story. Your, and the characters, understanding of what happens constantly shifts as you get a new bit of information some of it seemingly minor details and some of it jaw dropping.
There was one moment about halfway through that had me questioning everything I had known about the story so far and had me wanting to go back and check that I had not misread earlier parts of the book. I had not seen this twist coming at all, it gave me chills (the good kind), which I think is a good sign of how brilliant a storyteller Backman is and how incredible this story is that he has managed to create.
Premise: A hostage crisis was never the plan, the plan was to rob a bank, but as luck would have it the bank was a cashless bank so now here this would-be bank robber is holding an apartment full of people hostage. And the hostages are not cooperating at all they are unquestionably the worst hostages ever. But this unlikely group of people, brought together by circumstance, may just turn out to be the people you need.
Readers Note: This book does address some tough topics, including suicide, but it is not nearly as dark as Beartown, it is much more along the lines of Ove, which also talks about suicide. So, if you enjoyed Ove, but Beartown was too much for you, you can feel confident in picking up this book.
Also don’t bother with the flap copy; it really doesn’t do the story justice at all, just read the first paragraph of chapter 1 (or the first paragraph of any chapter really) to get a real feel for the book.
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