Anxious People

Backman is a superior writer, with excellent insights into human nature and human frailty. Such a wonderful read!
“Estelle smiled feebly. If you’ve lived with teenagers, you know they only exist for themselves, and their parents have their hands full dealing with the various horrors of life. Both the teenagers’ and their own. There was no place for Estelle there, she was mostly something of a nuisance. They were pleased that she answered the phone when they called on her birthday, but the rest of the time they assumed time stood still for her. She was a nice ornament that… show more.

I've only recently discovered the delight that is Fredrik Backman, and I particualrly love listening to his books on Audio. Anxious People is a clear winner for my 2024 books due to its mix of laugh-out-loud observations on how people behave combined with a sometimes serious, sometimes satirical look at why we behave the we do and how the stresses of the world can affect us profoundly. The characters interact brilliantly and even though most of the characters are quite unlikable, I ended up rooting for them all in the end. This book is sad, happy, fun, and serious all… show more.

Is this a cozy mystery? I’m saying yes, but honestly, it’s so good I’d squeeze it into any genre just so I can talk about it. It has a crime, a small community, a couple of bumbling policemen, a locked room, a bunch of people trying, amateurishly, to solve a crime, and a lot of ‘keep the reader guessing’ elements.

So far, so cozy. It also has a lot of anxious people and explores their unhappy and complicated lives in a hilarious, satirical tone. It is also just a little bit sad, as well as funny and happy, so, all… show more.

This book blew me away. He gets under the skin of ordinary folk like no other writer today. The story of a hostage situation that may or may not have happened made me laugh. It actually managed to make me cry–and I’m notoriously made of stone.

Through accessible writing, Backman showcases an unparalleled talent for exploring the complexities of human nature. His imperfect characters each carry their own sort of sorrow and flicker of hope. It’s one of those books I go back to. Again and again.

I am recommending this book because it encompasses an inspiring theme about what people will do to protect their families. In a world where life itself can seem too hard to bear, Fredrik Backman captures the essence of blurring lines to help the ones we love.

This book made me laugh, cry, and outright drop my jaw on numerous occasions, and I recommend it to anyone who will listen.

I love this book because it’s a triumph of storytelling—and by that, I mean both the way that the story is narrated, as the audiobook frequently gave me chills, and the way that the story is told by the author. I love this book because it’s realistic enough to draw me in, unusual enough to keep me guessing, and rewarding enough for every single second I spent listening to it to pay off in the end.

I was inspired by this book in the very best way: when an author presents characters with realistic, messy lives and then provides them… show more.

This is a book where the author’s ability to draw you into a story without telling you all you need to know about the main character until the very end makes for lively discussions. A failed bank robber and prospective buyers at an open house for an apartment are brought together in such a way, it truly seems believable. Even the end! 

The quirky characters are real to life, and the journey they take together reveals true human nature, hope, and the bond of friendships, old and new, but ultimately, it’s the unique storytelling that makes this such a fun… show more.

I love finishing a book, knowing there is a film or limited series to watch. This book is written by the author who brought us A Man Called Ove. In this case, I stumbled on the program first and then read the book.

The book is set in a small Swedish town and centers around eight anxiety-prone strangers who are taken hostage while attending an open house. The story takes place inside the apartment, revealing the anxieties, secrets, and interconnected lives of each character.

The story made me laugh out loud. But, at its core, it made me stop… show more.

Fredrik Backman’s Anxious People kept me company on a long road trip to a conference this past year.

Backman introduces us to a clever mystery involving an interrupted bank heist, and a cast of incredibly anxious, absurd, and unlikeable characters. Backman takes on the seemingly herculean task of making us care about these self-involved individuals and in the end, actually succeeds.

This whimsical and humorous take on the human condition will make you laugh and remember the characters long after you’ve closed the book.

This was not my usual humor reading, but it was recommended to me as a clever piece of storytelling that I might learn from for my own writing.

The storytelling was indeed clever—Backman unfolds the mystery in filo-pastry-thin layers, with wonderfully well-disguised clues and misdirection. I was totally caught up in guessing the truth, and couldn’t do it.

The book was compelling from page one and hard to put down.