Anxious People: A Novel

"This is a story about a bank robbery, an apartment viewing and a hostage drama. But even more it's a story about idiots. But perhaps not only that." (Chapter 27)Fredrik Backman is one of the most gifted contemporary Swedish storytellers and he is widely known for his novel, A Man Called Ove, which has been adapted into a film by Hannes Holm, starring the veteran actor, Rolf Lassgård as the grumpy, borderline misanthropist, Ove. Both the book and the movie gained critical acclaim and there is also an American remake coming soon, with Tom Hanks as the protagonist. What fascinated the audiences was Ove's peculiar idiosyncrasy as well as the great outline of the secondary characters, a kind of trademark for Backman. He is an author that is oriented towards the lives of the ordinary people, their struggles, anguishes and questions that remain unanswered no matter how often they are being raised during a lifetime. In Anxious People, Backman uses the crime element as a facade to tackle several universal and amaranthine themes such as depression, suicide, what it really means to grow up, how hard it is for the average man to meet the standards that the postmodern societies set in order to distinguish the successful from the failure and many others. All the above are presented through a gripping prose that is full of hilarious dialogue and remarks made by the main characters in this odd story of a botched bank robbery that leads to an odd hostage situation where the role of perpetrator and victim often interchanges. If one reads the synopsis of the book, he will think that this is a typical crime story, full of action and suspense but this is not the case here. Backman, once again, delves into his fictional characters' deeper thoughts that are instantly discernible by the reader who himself had often had the same thoughts and concerns. Nevertheless, you should keep in mind that Anxious People is primarily a comical novel, sometimes downright hilarious, and you will laugh many times reading the exceptional description and dialogue.The story sets off when a first-time bank robber chooses to storm into a cashless bank to get the limited amount of six thousand and five hundred Swedish Kroner. Soon he realizes his mistake and when is evident that the bank has no banknotes, he attempts to escape in a nearby building. In his fury, he gets in an apartment where a viewing is held for prospective buyers. Holding a pistol in his hand and wearing a balaclava to hide his face, he looks terrifying enough in the beginning, though very quickly he proves to be a rather unstable individual with no experience as a criminal. The hostages, who are the people that happened to be inside the apartment for the viewing at that time, are a rather distinctive group of people and each one of them has some unique character traits that will be revealed as the story progresses. The police officers that are charged with the investigation of this parody of hostage-taking are Jim and Jack, father and son, who both work in the small town's precinct and are thirsty for an opportunity to show to their bosses and their colleagues in Stockholm that they can handle cases of larger magnitude like this one. Jack and Jim have a rather dysfunctional relationship and their communication is often terminated due to a wrong choice of words, or an inappropriate remark made by one of them. Their blood relation doesn't help them much in their professional lives and besides, they are completely different as characters.Backman uses a mixed narrative style that begins chronologically from the end of the hostage situation and in the following chapters talks about the events and interactions that took place inside the apartment after the failed robbery attempt. Furthermore, he interposes witness statements taken from the hostages by Jack and Jim. The small chapters add to an already fast tempo, that makes reading smoother and highly engaging. What is most remarkable about this book is the vast number of insights on the human condition that are scattered throughout the text and I couldn't stop making notes on my Kindle from the beginning till the very end. This was my first reading experience with this author, I've already seen A Man Called Ove in the cinema, and I'm literally thrilled by his craftmanship as far as both characterization and dialogue are concerned. Backman's writing style is refreshing and stimulating and I cannot think of another writer that comes even close to his ingenious prose. Another novel of his, Beartown, has been adapted into the television and I will immediately check it out. If you aren't familiar with his body of work, Anxious People would be an ideal start.

… comes from many sources. Sometimes they are the unexpected places that catch us, and help us to understand love in a whole new light. In so doing we catch ourselves remembering events andexperiences, the floating strands, of which, weave the fabrics of our lives…

By the time you find the rabbit, you should be laughing. Some very deeply thought out personalities who inevitably become a group. A support group even. But what a strange ride to get there.

I'm in withdrawal from this book. It's so surprising as each character worms their way into your heart. I'll say no more because i don't want to give anything away. Let this story unfold in its own way straight to your heart.

[spoiler alert]This book is never dearth of surprises and full of thoughts the author wants to say about the society. The author guides us throughout the book with his humorous writing of exciting episodes of a hostage situation, interspersed with dialogues of witness interviews which gives readers a fresh perspective into the hostages and even the policemen’s characters. He is so good at deceiving readers to think one way about the plot, and then mocking them by pivoting to another whole new dimension. The unexpected turns, the humour between the lines and in the characters, and the philosophical elements of the book are what gripped me in my seat for hours reading this book.The strongest message that I got after reading the book is that everyone is simply as ignorant as everybody else in navigating life, and everyone is probably struggling with something that no one knows about. Because who does not make mistakes in life? For instance, Zara, a middle-aged woman, may seem glamourous on the outside as she is a very successful banker (bank owner, to be precise) who has everything an average person ever wants – More money than she ever cares about, top-of-the-world social status that comes with her job title, and freedom to do whatever she likes because of her absurd amount of wealth. However, in reality, she is lonely, disconsolate, and miserable. The inability to connect and feel compassion for other people is so ingrained in her that she is seeing a psychologist regularly. And the “bank robber”, who is a mother to two children whom she loves dearly, has never thought about robbing a bank until she realizes if she doesn’t get exactly 6,500 kronor, her children would be taken away by her husband from her for good. Love pushes her to rob a bank in order to get back her children. And then it is life and a series of coincidences that directs her to “accidentally” end up in an apartment viewing event. In that situation, to be fair, what else can you think of doing, getting caught in such a shocking situation, besides pointing a toy pistol to some strangers in the hope you can escape from the police? The answer (at least my answer) is you don’t need to be a villain to make all these bad decisions. You just need some bad luck and a bad day.In addition, there are also a lot of other relationships highlighted in the book, such as Jim and Jack, the policemen who have a father-and-son relationship; Nadia and Zara, a psychologist and a patient; Anna-Lena and her husband Roger; Julia and Ro, a gay couple; and Zara and Lennart, who ends up together after the incident. To me, they are reflections of different problems people have going through life at different stages. I must admit that I can only relate to a lot of these issues at a superficial level because I have not gone through life as far as those characters have. I can only sympathize to a certain level. Nevertheless, they are good examples for reminding me that it is okay to make mistakes and feel that life is not perfect. It is the understanding that life is never perfect and the compassion to other people and yourself that makes everything okay and hopeful. It also gives us the strength to enjoy every moment we have and the bravery to face our difficulties head on. And then through connecting with others, we can find salvation.

I love this!This was so fun of a read. This shows you that you should never judge people because you don’t know what’s going on in their lives. Everyone has their own inner demon. I feel for every character in the books!! The only reason why it isn’t a 5 ⭐️ is because at some part, it felt repetitive and redundant ish.Definitely recommend this! I am gonna watch the TV show now hehehe

This is a book about lonely people finding each other. The writing style is clipped and the characters are many, but the story that unfolds is humorous and ties up nicely. Similar writing style to Lemony Snicket with a tight plot and descriptions. A good tea and cookies in the rain read.

I love his style of writing, the humor, handling of serious situations, and portraying the people’s different sides and emotions! And the humanity of his writing!

Estou muito animada para ler esse! Chegou bem rápido e gostei da versão de capa comum! O meu não veio com aquele adesivo chato da Netflix, então fiquei feliz ahhaha

Aunque puede ser predecible, los giros en la historia no dejan de sorprender de alguna manera, es tierno, divertido y reflexivo.

Nice reading

Lettura scorrevole

The book prompted me to see the show as well. Very beautiful stories with real human emotions and struggles.