I am a huge Fredrik Backman fan. This book was different from the other books of his that I’ve read (A Man Called Ove, Britt-Marie, Beartown, etc.) but I found this more comedic take very refreshing. As always, I loved the complicated characters. The way their stories intersected was lovely and well done. The story was heart-felt, funny, and emotional. It is not my favorite by Backman but I really enjoyed this book and would still highly recommend it. Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for granting early access to this book in exchange for an honest review. I will post this review tomorrow to my Bookstagram and companion Facebook page @thatreadingrealtor.

The writing style of Anxious People was hard to connect to at first and ultimately diminished my enjoyment of the book. The story is heartwarming, in the way typical of Backman.

Anxious People is another Backman classic. I loved this book so much.
I’m a huge fan of Fredrik Backman’s writing style and dark and witty humour so I was hoping I would also love this book - and it really lived up to my expectations.

This novel is so much more than just a story about a failed bank robbery and hostage situation. It’s about love and fear, doubt and acceptance. About found families and how deep down we’re not so different after all. Everyone has their package to carry in life and sometimes it’s just so much easier to share your pain with others. I was laughing and cursing them all but I was also crying and wanted to tell them it’s going to be okay. This story is very unique and I love how along the way it all just falls into place. This book carries such a serious message but it’s handled in such a tender way - incredible.

The way you just adore all his characters instantly despite all their flaws is so beautiful. I love that feeling. None of them are perfect, they are all idiots and going through a lot but you can’t help but feeling so weirdly connected to each and everyone of them. The character development is fantastic.

Please go and pick up Anxious People I can’t recommend it enough. You might come out with a major Stockholm syndrome after reading it but trust me, we’re in this together.

A story about a bank robbery that turns into a hostage drama that turns into a spot-on comedy that turns into a story about us, humans.
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I finished my advanced copy of ANXIOUS PEOPLE by Fredrik Backman.
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The pace is just perfect, you start the book with a good conversation with the author, or to be more accurate, the storyteller, and you enjoy the chat while you admire his witty remarks and comedy while also you, a writer too, envy af his way to use words to tell stories. It starts simple and it gradually grows to of going deep down in the soul and mind of the characters.
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Oh, and the characters are human beings put in an almost Sartrian scenario to show us human nature. They’re hostages in a bank robbery inside an apartment where the bank robber is not found, they open up and reveal so much that I can’t tell... but that’s not important. What’s important is that Backman is generous and he lets you choose whether you want to know the truth about the “robbery that turns into a hostage drama”, or the truth about the characters and their life, or both. You decide.
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This book is so many books, and so spot-on at the same time, that Fredrik Backman just solidifies my admiration for his work with it.
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Now, if I could make the decision for you, I’d focus on the stories of the characters and I’d see the plot as a cherry on top of everything. That’s my suggestion. And here’s what’s interesting about reading: it not only makes us more human, it also teaches us about humans. Their stories and lives, even if they’re fictional, teach us about living. That’s the beauty of reading.
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𝗔𝗻𝘅𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 will be released on September 8, 2020, but it’s already available for pre-order. I think it’s one of the craziest and best books by Backman so far, though I still put A Man Called Ove and My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry on the top of my list (because they’re hard to beat).

You guys! My heart. @backmansk has done it again!! ♥️ I absolutely LOVED Anxious People. This is written so beautifully and is undeniably Backman. Yet again he assails us with thought provoking, powerful insights but in such a roundabout way you don’t even realize you are getting important life lessons until you reach the ending and your heart is completely shattered. His writing is an intense game of cat and mouse, giving the reader a bit at a time until it all comes together at the end and leaves you utterly gobsmacked. It’s absolutely magical. ✨ I can’t scream my love for this book more. It’s a powerful look at humanity, how we are all interconnected and our influence on the world. It’s witty, insightful, heartbreaking, and a stunning piece of literature. This is so much more than a story about a bank robber friends, and one not to miss! One of my favorite books of the year. My immense gratitude to @atriabooks for the advance reader in exchange for my honest review.

Fredrik Backman is one of my favorite authors. He has a way of making you love and hate a character in a few short pages. The beginning of Anxious People had just enough darkness that made we want to put the book down for another day. Fortunately, I know Mr. Backman has the talent to turn bad into good and I continued on with the story. I'm glad in did. Be prepared for talk of suicide and depression. It isn't his best novel, but I'm glad I read it and will recommend to my friends!

The author again gives us a tale of humans being human. I love how he gets into his character’s heads and slowly exposes their backgrounds and motives. In this book the framework is a desperate would be bank robber crashes a realtor’s open house. Then seemingly disappears. In the aftermath a father and son pair of perplexed policemen are left to sort it all out.

This is a story about idiots. It is also a story about hope, desperation, friendship, life, love, and having honest to god faith that people really are inherently good (and maybe just need a little help to get through).

The complexity of the characters and layering of stories is so complex, yet beautifully done. Anxious People not only makes you think about what it means to be human, but also what type of human you want to be. Talk about all the feels! Backman knows how to reach a reader on all levels, especially in the "I laughed, I cried, and then I reevaluated my entire life" type of way.

If you are a fan of his other novels - buy this book! If you've never read anything by Fredrik Backman before - buy this book! Anxious People does not disappoint.

Huge thanks to Fredrik Backman, Atria and Netgalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Another awesome book by Fredrik Backman. Backman carefully chooses words to keep the reader in the dark, due to their own assumptions, as to details that will be revealed later in the book. This is a story of a bad day, fueled by desperation and love, and how this day is part of a web of days and actions that occurred before and after that one bad day. A book of caring and bending rules, reminders of how a few words can make a lifetime of difference, and how working together, we can accomplish a better world. Thank you, NetGalley, Fredrik Backman, and the publisher for an ebook ARC version in exchange for an honest review. The opinions in this review are all my own!

What. A. Great. Book!
This one will surely be in the top lists of my best books of the year.
I was touched, moved, anxious, happy and sad. I cried a little, I laughed out loud a lot, and my heart was just full.
What starts with an inept bank robbery, goes into 'people being "idiots', peoples' neuroses and obsessive behaviors, relationships, and how fragile humans really are.
I am at a loss for words this time, and I know this book will stay with me in my heart and mind for some time to come.
5 Amazing Stars.

This book takes on all the feelings as it tells the story of a bank robbery that turns into a hostage situation and shows us that there is more to every story if we'll just take the time to listen. In Anxious People, Mr. Backman tells many people's stories and shows how lives touch one another, even if we don't know it, or don't know it at the time.

I would guess that the bank robber is the main character, but I don't think that's fair to the story. There are the father/son police team, the people taken hostage, and the psychologist. In one way or another, all of these people are affected by one another, and all of them have been affected by a suicide that took place 10 years earlier.

This is an emotional book. I found myself laughing and crying - sometimes at the same time. The melancholic sweetness never got out of control, which could have happened with this content. I want to recommend Anxious People to everyone!

My thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

One of the best books I have read all year, and there have been many thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. This is also by Fredrk Backman, a must read always author, so when I saw a new book, I was like "Hell yes!" His books and characters stay with you long after you have completed his novels, and the latest follows the same pattern.

PS- this book will make you an emotional mess!

Highly recommended! I am definitely getting a hard copy of this after publication.

Thanks to Netgalley, Fredrik Backman and Atria Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 9/8/20

I loved this good. If you like Fredrick Bachman then you will adore his next upcoming novel, Anxious People. Run to your local bookstore and purchase this novel.

When I received this ARC copy of Anxious People by Fredrick Backman, I was so excited. This book most definitely lived up to my excitement! The characters, plot, and witty dialogue were so good! At first you believe this book is about a bank robbery gone wrong, but you find out it’s about so much more.

Thank you NetGalley, Simon & Schuster for the ARC.

I do not have adequate words to describe how I feel about this book. The plot, the variety of characters, the honest/witty dialogue, the details, the overall message were all SO good that I truly was sad when it was over (but no worries - I spent today rereading it).

I honestly do not know how Backman can continue to write stories that make you laugh out loud at one moment and feel ALL the feels in the next. Or how well his descriptions/storylines weave in and out throughout the story so perfectly that you truly feel like you are part of the story as well - hanging out with the characters, laughing with them, empathizing with each character's story, and trying to figure out what happened to the bank robber.

While the story is hilarious and witty, I love how real Backman gets about life - I bet anyone who reads this will find something (if not many parts) that hit home. There were so many parts that I know that I will go back to reread, underline, and remember.

I could keep going and going, but it's better that I stop and don't give any more away. But you have to take my word and preorder this book! (Publish date: 9/8/20)

Thank you to Fredrik Backman for continuing to write books that are so honest, hilarious, and memorable. Super grateful for Atria Books and Netgalley for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love this author's books so much that nothing I write in a review will come anywhere near close to how much I enjoy his books. If you haven't discovered him yet, and you are a fan of great stories played out by fantastic characters, please do give him a try. This one isn't a bad place to start now you are here...
As with all his books, the story contained herein is a little quirky. It is full of things that aren't what they seem and that's events and people. A bank robbery, a viewing, a husband parking the car. Eight strangers thrown together by circumstances who slowly start to open up to each other. A catalyst that sparks emotions and delivers dilemmas.
And that's all you need to know about the story... I'll leave you to discover the rest as the author intends.
I've said that this book is emotional. Well, it is that, and it's definitely thought provoking. But it's also very funny in places. It's such a character driven book that, to pull this off, the author has to be well versed in people watching and observational skills. This is definitely true here. Especially the strange quirky things that they do along the way that don't quite make sense at the time but, wow, when you get the whole picture it becomes so clear you'll probably non and grin to yourself.
It's also a bit about preconceptions and assumptions and how things are not always as they seem on face value. You really need to dig quite deep sometimes to get to the truth, if at all. Meandering around and about several twists and turns to get there. But, when you do get there, it's beautiful.
In fact, the only bad thing I can say about this book is that it had to end. I did feel that I had connected so well with the majority of the characters that leaving them made me feel a bit bereft. I also feel that certain characters may have more to say in the future, either in the form of a sequel or just a side role in a future book. I'd love to reconnect...
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

I didn't think I could love Backman any more than I already did. A Man Called Ove and Beartown are among my favorites. This one is now added to that list.

The story of a suicide, an unlikely bank robber, a father-son police duo, and a hostage situation (filled with assorted quirky characters) makes for a funny, social commentary that keeps you guessing and tugs at your heartstrings. I could not put this book down. There are many twists and turns -- some I saw coming, many that I did not. Every character is endearing and intriguing with backstories that draw the reader further into the story. This is a bit Agatha Christie or "Knives Out", a bit Simon Pegg/Nick Frost (without the gore & profanity). It would make a great movie!!

One note -- this is a fun, mystery romp, but there is a definite, more serious theme. The story starts with a suicide and that event is really overshadows everything. But the seriousness of the message just hangs in the background and never drags down the story. This seems to be a hallmark of Backman's books. He tackles serious events and themes, but his dry wit and humorous look at the human condition makes his books thoroughly enjoyable. Highly recommended!!!

“This is a story about a bridge, and idiots, and a hostage drama, and an apartment viewing. But it’s also a love story. Several, in fact.”

Fredrik Backman continues to write amazing stories, and I’m so happy to be a fan of his work. ANXIOUS PEOPLE will absolutely be in my top 5 of 2020. I’m pretty sure I felt every emotion while reading this book- it was mysterious, tragic, educational, happy, loving, heart breaking, and heartfelt. Backman truly does it all.

What started as (seemingly) a (simple) bank robbery, turned into a hostage at an apartment viewing, which snowballed into stories about people, relationships, family, grief, love, loneliness, mental health, and how we all need to spend a little extra time taking care of each other.

I adored this book, it’s characters, and all it’s stories woven into one. Make sure you grab this book off the shelves on September 8th!

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and Atria Books for the advanced copy of ANXIOUS PEOPLE.

Having read all of Mr. Backman's previous books I was looking forward to this one. The style of writing is different from his previous books, some times a 3rd person narrative and sometimes he goes back and forth in time. But his basic theme of hope rises and runs through the story.

This is a book, I think, about fear. Fear of loss, fear of loneliness, fear brought on by desperation and fear brought on out of love. This book has every emotion under the sun in it. one minute you are laughing and the next, anger and after that some tears.

I have to admit I spent a good chunk of this book hating the hostages. They were selfish, rude jackasses that I wanted to smack at times. But as the story progressed I wanted to hug them and make them feel better, even the bank robber, remember the bank robber? They are like anyone else, just trying to get through life and yes people are idiots, as they are, and yes they have anxieties about how to do things right by those they love. Being an adult doesn't give you the answers, if anything you have more question and more doubts.

While you may think this is a book about a bank robbery gone wrong, you are partially right, for me this story is also about a bridge. Yes, a bridge, trust me on this.

An amazing story on what it means to be human, the flaws, mistakes, anxiety and everything in between and Mr. Backman pulls it all of in his usual unique style. A fantastic read that I highly recommend.

ARC provided by Atria Books in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I loved this novel! It made me cry and then laugh out loud. Anxious People is heartbreaking at times but also uplifting. Something we can all use doing this pandemic.