Book Review : Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

This blog post may contain affiliate/referral links. To learn more, please read my disclaimer

Sometimes a book finds its way to you at the exact right time and Anxious People by Fredrik Backman came to me at a time I needed it the most, all thanks to Michael Joseph Books.

Synopsis

This is a poignant comedy about a crime that never took place, a would-be bank robber who disappears into thin air, and eight extremely anxious strangers who find they have more in common than they ever imagined.

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 slowly begin opening up to one another and reveal long-hidden truths.

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.

MY REVIEW

About 2 weeks back, I went through a phase of stress, doubt and sleepless nights. That’s when Anxious People by Fredrik Backman landed on my mail. It bolstered me and gave me so much hope to move forward, knowing that I may fail but it would still be alright.

They say that a person’s personality is the sum of their experiences. But that isn’t true, at least not entirely, because if our past was all that defined us, we’d never be able to put up with ourselves. We need to be allowed to convince ourselves that we’re more than the mistakes we made yesterday. That we are all of our next choices, too, all of our tomorrows.

Anxious people, as the name suggests is about a bunch of Anxious people. It is the story of a botched bank robbery turned hostage situation where a bank robber gets locked in an apartment with the worst set of hostages ever and mayhem ensues.

The book started off terrifically with Backman’s characteristic quirky characters in wacky situations, that will make you laugh and think with plenty of quotable quotes and relatable passages. But somewhere along the way, the situation and the characters’ response to said situations becomes a little too forced and the pace starts slowing down as well. If it was anyone other than Fredrik Backman, I probably would have dnfed the book but I persisted and boy, was I rewarded!

That’s the power of literature, you know, it can act like little love letters between two people who can only explain their feelings by pointing at other people’s.

The second half delivered on everything I was hoping for. Backman deftly manipulates all of your heart strings to make you laugh, cry and feel all the feels.

This book is not perfect in any way but it made me feel good at a time I desperately needed it to and for that, this would remain my forever favourite. Backman’s books are relatable in a way no other book is and will leave you wanting to believe that humanity and goodness will persevere at the end. I would forever be recommending his books and making everyone I know read them.

Add to : Goodreads || Storygraph

Buy on : Amazon* || Bookswagon*

Some other posts you might enjoy: Book Review of Beartown || Book Review of Us Against You

Let’s Catch Up

Have you read any of Fredrik Backman’s books? Any favourites? Are you planning to read this one?