Anxious People

Locations
Call Number: Fiction / Backman, Fredrik, Adult Book / Fiction / General / Backman, Fredrik
On Shelf At: Downtown Library, Malletts Creek Branch, Pittsfield Branch, Traverwood Branch, Westgate Branch

"Originally published in Sweden in 2019 as: Folk med ångest."--title page verso.
Taken hostage by a failed bank robber while attending an open house, eight anxiety-prone strangers--including a redemption-seeking bank director, two couples who would fix their marriages, and a plucky octogenarian--discover their unexpected common traits.

REVIEWS & SUMMARIES

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Anxious People submitted by jldetlefs on March 30, 2021, 10:53pm Fredrik Backman just keeps getting better and better. This quirky novel has it all - it is poignant, funny, yet deeply thought provoking about relationships, depression, suicide and society expectations. All wrapped up his incredible prose. It is almost like a play or a movie. It does go back and forth in time and is a bit disconcerting as to what is happening or what will - with exceptional plot twists, but all ends up well, but I loved it - so much so I am going to buy myself a copy - I want to highlight passages. Just a wonderful writer - best work ever. Laughed, cried and will reread it again.

Wonderfully touching submitted by Es Star on April 18, 2021, 2:59pm A great story. At first it seemed a bit silly, until you read further and realize what is going on.
I re-read it after I finished -- and loved it again. A marvelous fairy tale connecting us all.

Stupid? submitted by Linda Rama on July 27, 2021, 7:30pm It was a fairly silly read. I think there were so many stupid conversations going on and ridiculous characteristics of the people being written about , that maybe it should be the title. Is anyone really relating to these characters? Then yes go seek help! Good Luck!!!!!

Anxious people submitted by nmrhoads on July 27, 2021, 8:51pm This book was amazing. It made me cry. My favorite type of story is when all the people are connected and you slowly figure out how and why they all ended up in the same place at the precise time

Anxious People submitted by Margietime on June 15, 2022, 2:19pm This book hit home for me in so many ways. The author's descriptions of life were incredibly profound and, for me, entirely accurate. I laughed. I cried. I reflected. I highly recommend this book. You can find so much of yourself in the author's words.

Cast of quirky characters submitted by bjkoch on June 24, 2022, 11:19am fell in love with everyone. loved the story.

The BEST ending submitted by A2AE on June 30, 2022, 11:12am I actually didn't love A Man Called Ove, but I LOOOOOVED this book. I listened to the audio and loved the uniquely upfront unreliable narrator, the absolutely weird behaviors of characters (that were perfectly resolved as the book progressed), and the happy ending. Also, don't watch the television show based on this book. It's a downer and departs from the best parts of the book.

Funny but poignant submitted by Amy Vail on July 28, 2022, 9:37am This is a lovely mix of humor and pathos. The characters and their relationships drew me in. It reminded me of a lighter, funnier Bel Canto. I listened to the audiobook.

SO GOOD! submitted by ekalish92 on August 8, 2022, 11:33am This book was SO GOOD! At first, I thought it would be just a sarcastically funny book but it ended up being sarcastic as well as sweet and touching. As soon as I was done with it, I texted my sister and said this was a MUST-READ.

The way Backman writes the characters in this book makes them very relatable and you end up liking everyone. You'll root for a happy ending for all - a real rarity in modern fiction these days.

Enthralled with these chatacters submitted by leah karr on August 20, 2022, 10:04pm I couldn’t put this book down!

Fabulous book... But not sure they chose the best ending submitted by JTreadwell on June 17, 2023, 7:18pm I loved how this book is written in layers and from so many perspectives. It really teaches you not to judge a person before getting to know them, and even then you only know what they choose to expose to you and that might be different than what they expose to others. This book is a great who-dunit and keeps you guessing the whole time. Until the end. Then you wonder why they didn't put as much creativity in the ending as they did with the rest of the book. Worth a read!

A little disappointing submitted by zwachtel50 on July 12, 2023, 8:29am I love Backman and have read many of his books (highly recommend Beartown). It’s normal for me to dislike the characters at the beginning and grow to love them throughout the book. However this time I just hated most of the characters the whole way through. The ending was cute and the writing was great as always, but overall I wasn’t super impressed with this book.

Unique and Wholesome submitted by vtabor on July 17, 2023, 10:11pm Unique premise with a lot of lovely lessons and pieces of advice. I’d never read Backman’s books before but his style of writing is very humorous and entertaining. What confused me at first became a very wholesome story in the end!

Different from the usual submitted by emileeione on August 7, 2023, 2:48pm Loved how this story unfolded.