This reminded me of a grown-up version of The Westing Game, with its quirky mystery, interlocking backstories, red herrings, and fragmented storytelling style that ultimately came together with a focus on relationships and human warmth. My first Backman book but I'm curious to read some others by him now. Thanks to Netgalley for providing a copy from the publisher for review consideration.

This book is about a bank robber. And some hostages. And a bridge. And subprime mortgages. And the worldwide economic meltdown of 2007. And aging. And relationships. And suicide. And mental illness. And about idiots and anxiety and assumptions we make. And...get my drift? Can you tell it is a hard one to describe? On the surface, it begins with two policemen, a father and son, who are attempting to interview the hostages of a bank robber. But talk about water skiing across a subject! This book, as always with Backman, is about so much more. This book is witty, propulsive, addictive, heartfelt, provocative, aggravating, eye-opening, and ultimately so satisfying. If you begin and you're wondering "what the heck?', just keep going, trust me - you will arrive at an amazing destination. Another hit from a favorite author!

Fredrik Backman has become one of my favorite authors, so I was thrilled to learn that he was releasing a new book, and that I had received an advance copy to review. I always enjoy his dry wit and humor, ‘Anxious People ‘ did not disappoint. Backman has a knack for coming up with insightful tidbits regarding the human condition. I came away with several bits of wisdom after reading this book.
One of the things that I always enjoy in a Frederick Backman novel, is the way he connects various characters together. I really enjoyed the relationship between Jim and Jack, as well as the relationships that emerge among the hostages.
This story is many things. It is a story of a bank robbery gone wrong, it is the story of a hostage situation, it is a story of a rabbit, but what really stands out, is that it is a story about lonely people, strangers who are forced into a situation and become vulnerable to each other, and then try to help one another.
Backman is a great storyteller. His books always have a unique cast of characters, and he does a great job developing each one. His dry wit had me laughing out loud, I will never think of ‘Stockholmers’ the same way again. The story is a page turner with many twists and turns. This was a beautiful story that will have you laughing and crying and yearning for the next Fredrick Backman novel. Highly recommend.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Backman's works always evoke the most genuine and deepest emotions from me and Anxious People certainly did not disappoint!

The plot was unique and I felt mimicked how our brains sometimes operate when we find ourselves in stressful situations (which the characters are experiencing in the story). In Anxious People, Backman captures how everyone experiences life differently, but our humanity and need for connection can unite us. The anxieties that each character feels helps the reader understand how diverse mental health struggles can be and feel seen if a character struggles similarly. I really enjoyed Backman's use of intertextuality with other literature and the contrast between the prose and the character interviews.

The resolution of the novel felt like the strongest writing and most powerful for the reader. I will savor the last 50 pages!

Three and a half stars. My feelings on this book went back and forth over the course of the story. At first I was drawn in immediately and loved it. Towards the middle I felt a bit confused by the writing style and some of the author's choices in identifying characters and revealing information. Then by the end I was loving it again.

This is a story about an attempted bank robbery that turns into an unintentional hostage situation. 90+% of the book takes place in a single day, over the course of several hours. I liked how that timing gave the story even more urgency.

Backman is a master at writing characters that are fully human, with flaws and positive attributes all on display at once. Ultimately this story is about connection, and the way we interact (or choose not to) with strangers on a daily basis. It's about how finding something in common with a stranger forges connection and understanding.

Backman fans will enjoy this story. It's emotional and full of quirky characters, as is his standard.

Oh Fredrik Backman, how I do love you!! I fell in love with this book from the first line second paragraph:

"This story is about a lot of things, but mostly about idiots"

From there we are taken on a ride with a failed bank robber who escapes into a building where an open house is taking place, with the potential buyers all assuming they are now hostages? Add to that a father and son cop duo who have to google what to do in hostage situations, and you just can't help giggling your way through everyone's trials and tribulations. Ultimately the hostages are freed, and the transcripts of their police interviews had me guffawing once again! Lest you think this book sounds a bit too silly, let me assure you that mixed in with the witty humor, is a commentary on people from wildly different backgrounds who all have issues to get off their chests. And what better time than when you think you may only have moments to live? No spoilers, but it even has a heartwarming ending to put a big ol' goofy smile on your face as you read the last page! As always with Backman, it is not necessary to comment on the stellar writing, flow of the story (although if I absolutely had to pick on something I would say it does drag just a bit after the midway point), and overall readability. 

I can't gush enough about this one! It's THE perfect book to read during these tense times. Will definitely make one of my top reads of 2020!

In Anxious People, Frederick Backman shares with us a story where all the loose ends are tied up at the finish and nice guys don't all finish last.

A random group of people are taken hostage by an unlikely bank robber in a small Swedish town. Each person in the group has a backstory and, unknown to them, each person is interconnected to the rest in one way or another. A retired couple, some young soon-to-be-parents, an 80 year old woman who isn't what she seems, the bank robber, and even the investigating officers. While the town higher-ups want to 'call in Stockholm' to solve the case, the local police want to capture the robber on their own terms. They manage to evacuate the hostages, but the robber is not among them. They find blood and a have heard a gun shot, but no victim or bank robber can be found.

The story travels back and forth in time to explain all the chance coincidences that form the characters' connections. Backman gives us a moral tale in this one, with things actually working out for 'the good guys'.
Recommended.

Dr. Cheryl Youse

Fredrik Backman has done it again! ANXIOUS PEOPLE manages to be touching, funny, witty and thought-provoking, somehow all at once. When I was done reading this book I quite literally hugged it to my chest and wished that it wasn't over yet.

Eight strangers, all present for an apartment viewing on New Years Eve of all days, find themselves trapped together when a foiled bank robber bursts in to the apartment and declares them all to be their hostages. Far from being the scary situation that is usually envisioned when picturing a hostage situation, these eight strangers quickly start opening up to one another and revealing the very real parts of what makes them human.

Told from the viewpoints of those involved as well as the police investigating the situation, bits and pieces of the truth are tantalizingly revealed until the ultimate conclusion is reached. I enjoyed every single moment of this book and I love witnessing Backman do what he does best- telling the stories of flawed humans who make mistakes but are really just trying to make their way in the world.

I can't recommend this book- or honestly absolutely any book by Backman- highly enough. If you're curious about what makes humans human, this is a great place to start.

Find me a person who writes human emotion better than Fredrik Backman. Go ahead, I’ll wait.
If I had to describe this book in one word it would be Unique. His writing is lyrical but clunky and his stories are rarely linear, but there’s just something really special about being in Backman’s world. His characters are very real and he is so talented at finding all the grey within the black and white of a person’s soul. His real talent is that he makes you really root for a character. And not just because they’re good, but also because they’re messy and unreliable and annoying and inconsiderate and all those little things that make humans human.
Please read this unique little story. Because it’s not just about a bank robbery or a hostage situation or a bridge, it’s a love story to all the different kinds of love- the love shared by a father and son, the love shared between friends, the love we share with ourselves.
And if I had a nickel for all of the many times I had to lay the book down on my lap just to think about a phrase or paragraph that touched me, I would have a heck of a lot of nickels, and that’s pretty special!

Mr. Backman will shatter your heart... and then put it back together, better than new.. As devoted readers of his fiction know, Backman's unlikely but very human characters demonstrate that everyone, no matter how unlikable they at first seem, has a story, if we only give them a chance to tell it. From the bank robber that wasn't and the hostage situation that becomes almost a party to the young policeman who wants to make the world better, partly in memory of his mother, and the banker carrying a secret, I enjoyed every one of these people and their stories. I was moved to tears several times (and I'm not usually a crier, but Mr. Backman does bring on the waterworks), and laughed aloud at others. Highly recommended, as are the author's previous books.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books, who provided access to the eARC in return for an honest review.

Fredrik Backman's writing in Anxious People is sarcastic and witty. His sense of humor at times can be dark but then he sprinkles among the pages these heartwarming moments that are just fully human. His characters are "real" people trying to figure out how to do this life thing. Then he brilliantly ties them all together for an outstanding ending. This book is character driven. It focuses on how we connect with each other and how this strong human connection can impact our lives.

I have never read books from an author that can consistently make me feel all the feelings like Fredrik Backman. Cudos, sir! Anxious People has been on the top of my must read list from the moment that I heard it was being published. It was so good that I encourage people to run to their libraries and local bookstores to get on the waiting list or pre-order list for this title. I promise you that this book will NOT disappoint.

An open house for an apartment doesn’t go as planned when a bank robber - who isn’t very good at being a bank robber - takes everyone in the apartment hostage. Eight strangers, all living with their own anxieties, find they are more alike than different as they slowly share bits and pieces of their story with one another.

Reading ANXIOUS PEOPLE was a no brainer for me. I previously read A MAN CALLED OVE and BRITT-MARIE WAS HERE (not related to this book, but the reason I knew I’d read this book even if I had no idea what it was about) and it was from reading those two books that I knew I stumbled upon someone special. Backman’s insight and deep understanding of the human condition, coupled with his ability to humanize people and highlight the connections among us is an extraordinary skill he has and it shines in this book. And while tackling a “darker” subject like anxiety and mental health, he pulls off elements of humor effortlessly. And what’s most impressive is that the elements of humor does not distract from the seriousness of the issues the characters face. It makes it more relatable. Backman’s personal experiences with mental health issues lend credibility and realism to his story filled with anxious people of various kinds. Reading ANXIOUS PEOPLE not only reminded me of the need to be empathic with everyone you meet, but also that sometimes we have to break tradition and rules to do what’s right.

We need a book like this right now. A book that shows us that while we may come from different backgrounds, have different life experiences, different goals and aspirations, at the end of the day, we’ll all just trying to make it through the day in front of us. And the next day. And the day after that. If you’ve read Backman before, I don’t even have to try to convince you to read this. If you’re new to Backman, fair warning. Read ANXIOUS PEOPLE and you’ll find yourself feeling anxious that you haven’t read all his other work yet. Seriously. He’s that good.

*Thanks to Atria Books who provided an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman. Thank you to Simon and Scuster for my free copy of this book. I don't think I have ever been more excited to open a piece of mail.

Fredrik Backman is one of my favourite authors, and the Beartown books are some of my favourite books of all time. I love the way Backman writes humour into heartbreaking situations without making it seem gauche. In Anxious People, a bank robbery goes awry and the robber mistakenly takes a group of people hostage at an apartment viewing.

In true Backman style, the characters are a varied cast whose stories all connect along the lines of similar themes and storylines. The first half of the novel takes time setting up the background of each character, but the second half is where the beauty in his writing really takes off. I adore that while reading his work I can be laughing one moment and sighing and tearing up over something the next. There were also some personal triggers for me in this one, which made the juxtaposition of the unusual with the usual all the more poignant.

For fans of Backman I would absolutely recommend this one, and know there is a bit more humour and quirkiness than the Beartown books but the same tender beauty. I finished it in one day and closed the back cover with a sigh, thinking how I will probably read everything Backman writes forever.

One day someone decides to rob a bank. The bank in question, however, is a cashless bank, which makes robbing it kind of pointless. Flustered, the bank robber runs across the street and into an apartment building. The first open door is an apartment where there's an open house, so the bank robber accidentally takes everyone there hostage. The hostage situation is resolved with no loss of life, but the bank robber is nowhere to be found. What happened to the bank robber?

First, this is not a riddle. It's the plot of Frederik Backman's new book, and his hands, this story is funny, touching, sad, and generally un-put-downable.

Second, lest you be like me, hear "hostage situation" and think Bel Canto, be warned: this book is not like Bel Canto. It's just as good (Backman and Patchett are two of my absolute favorite authors), but the tone is very different, as is the story itself.

Told in shifting perspectives of the bank robber, various hostages, and two police officers, we get the unfolding story of the investigation in the bank robber's whereabouts, the story of the incident itself, and the backstory of some of the hostages. Put together, it forms a beautiful tapestry of love, loneliness, and hope.

The score of me crying while reading a Backman book is 6/6, thanks for asking.

Anxious People is about a bank robbery gone wrong. Maybe it's a mystery novel, maybe a love story, or maybe a story about 'idiots'. But it is story that is so heartfelt that it is impossible not to feel things while reading this book. The first page itself felt like Backman knows the struggles of being an adult, of surviving. And maybe that's all you can do right now. Survive.

Backman has a penchant for writing unlikable characters and making you love them by the end of the book. He also describes the relationships between the characters so well that you feel like you have seen these relationships, or have been part of such relationships. The relatability that you feel with each and every character is not easy to achieve, but Backman does it effortlessly and you don't even realize it until the book has ended.

This review is seeming dangerously close to a love letter to Backman, but I can't help myself. Either way, you need to read this book if you have ever read a Backman book. If you haven't read a Backman book, you need to change that ASAP. Just know that you will love this book, but expect to be extra-destroyed (in a good way) if you are a parent.

TW: Suicide

I have loved every book I have read by Fredrik Backman and “Anxious People” is no different. So many great quotes in the book, complex characters, and a layered story that unfolded perfectly. I recommend this book to anyone of any age. The author understands people and their flaws and strengths like no one else. Great book. 5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. You can preorder your copy now or pick up one on September 8, 2020.

This novel is a different Backman, but at the same time, the same author most people grew to like reading. Just don't compare this novel to his others.

There were some funny moments, but there were also a lot of cringe-inducing ones. You need to read a good chunk to get the point of the novel, to familiarize yourself with all the characters (and there are plenty), and to see how things connect. After the initial curiosity, I became a bit bored and I was just reading to see where the story will lead. The first part seems silly, it's repetitive and almost condescending, but it picked up in the second half, especially as I became more familiar with the characters and their interactions. Some aspects are predictable, but some did surprise me. I've always liked his whimsical, deep-lines-that-make-you-think-and-almost-cry writing, but with this novel I got the sense he tried too hard. You know how some people say they don't like when an author is out to make them sad and cry and feel things too much? This is a good example of that.

In true Backman fashion, every character has their own sadness. One thing that bothered me throughout the novel was the attitude towards the police, totally misplaced here. The police duo, father and son, are polite and trying to do their job, while the hostages are attacking them and making impolite and passive-aggressive comments that don't add to the quality of the story. Speaking of characters, everything you can imagine to make this novel inclusive is here: sad single woman that goes to therapy and eventually opens up to the idea of love; married couple whose love is dying out; gay couple wanting to start a family; sad life's unfairness that leads a person to unthinkable decisions; old person who's trying to make sense of life without their partner; therapist with a history; family background that influences the everyday dynamics - it's all in there. Getting to learn more about each character the overarching thought was that this novel exuses sadness and overwhelm. What I think is a redeeming aspect of most of Backman's stories, though, is the focus in the end on people's good, and an attempt to tie all nicely. That can be a good or a bad thing, depending on how you see things.

The themes dealt with are heavy: suicide, divorce, death of a loved one, kidnapping (or attempt...). Basically these are all part of being a human on Earth, but the humorous parts scattered throughout the novel show how hard things can coexist with people's clumsy attempts to make sense of it all. Although the topic of the novel is not a breezy one, once you're hooked you want to keep on reading, especially because of how it's constructed: offering a bit of information about a certain character at a time, changing focus just when things become interesting, throwing in an unforeseen detail - well played! I especially liked the passages on anxiety, there are some good words.

Am I glad I read this novel? Sure, it was fine. Was is memorable? Nope. Will I reread? Def not. Will I recommend? Don't think so... Am I eager for him to write book three of the Beartown series? YES, of course, can't wait.

I thought I would like this book more than I did. The characters were all intricately connected and there was a couple of twists thrown our way, but something was missing. Perhaps it was charact development. I couldn't really connect with any of them. Still an enjoyable read. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

I have read all of Fredrik Backman's books, & this is my favorite!! What a great story. Twists, turns, links, surprises. And so witty!! Loved the humor. Loved this book!