Thank you to @atriabooks for gifting me an arc copy of ANXIOUS PEOPLE by @backmansk! This synopsis hooked me instantly and I immediately added this to my TBR. ANXIOUS PEOPLE releases September 8th! Is this one on your radar yet?
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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.

Another wonderful story from Backman - his use of language (in as much as we can absorb of his style in translation) continues to surprise and inspire, the very personal emotions he describes and evokes, the humor, the hope - all of it makes an entertaining, insightful, critical, and compassionate portrayal of modern life.

When a failed bank robber bursts into an apartment open house in a small town in Sweden and takes hostages, each person harbors hurts and passions ready to burst out. Backman, the author of “A Man Called Ove,” has written an uplifting novel about friendship, forgiveness and hope with interesting, complex characters. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

It has taken me a bit to write a review for this book because I can't put into words how much I loved this book and why.... Essentially (paraphrased quote): It is a book about a bank robbery, but also a book about idiots.

It is quirky. It is funny. It is suspenseful. It is real. It is absurd. It is wonderful!

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy.

I am a fan of Fredrik Backman. I found this one to be funny and a quick read. It wasn't my favorite out of his. I still love "A Man Called Ove". But I think this is a good book to go along with our trying times and having a lot of people dealing with more things that may make them anxious or cause anxiety.
A good quick read.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC.

I was delighted to get the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book as I have read and loved all the author's previous books. This one ranks as one of his best. Backman's books are quite diverse genres; this one has the most humor, which I particularly appreciated. The style of the book was very clever, and I liked that my assumptions were often wrong. I may need to read the whole thing again knowing the ending, and I usually don't want to spend the time to do that with a big backlog of reading.

I loved the complex characters and relationships, and I appreciated the observations on contemporary life. I also enjoyed the mystery of the book and its resolution. As much as I adored the humor and sarcasm in the book, the serious issues raised in the book were also handled beautifully. There is a lot of substance to the book which would make it a wonderful choice for book discussion groups. This is one of my favorite books of the year, and I highly recommend it.

Wow. I don’t think there are enough words to describe how I feel after reading this book. It’s witty, funny, tearjerking, and so much more than just a story about a bank robbery. It’s a story about idiot people and their wonderfully human complexities, about suicide attempts and a hostage situation. The humor is perfectly dry and witty, and I found myself laughing and crying within the same minute. Every single character is well-written and so human, each with their own stories and hardships to tell. Fredrik Backman is truly an amazing writer, and this book is a must read for everyone. I can’t wait to purchase a physical copy in September.

When I pick up one of Fredrik Backman’s novels I’m fairly sure I’m going to enjoy it. He has a gift for writing about the human condition. One minute I’m chuckling and the next I’m tearing up – finding so much relatable. In this book we’re treated to a rag-tag group of people who find themselves at an open house for an apartment when they are taken hostage. Over the next several hours much is revealed about each person. Backman’s tale touches on the cares and worries of them all – people just doing the best they can. Anxious People was written with Backman’s signature humor and heart. And, yes, I enjoyed it all. Recommended!

I loved this book. I found I cared about the characters, even more so, once you heard their stories. All of them had touched each others lives at one point or another. Not always aware that they had. During the hostage taking at an apartment viewing, they listened to one anothers points of view. Made new friends and amazing thing began to happen. You, the reader, really need to pick up this book. I promise you, you'll be glad you did. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for sending me a copy.

Oh man this was super interesting. I have never read anything by Frederik Backman before and I heard rave reviews for Man called Ove so I had to try this out. So this was about a botched robbery where the robber tried to rob a cashless bank then got spooked by a cop outside and ran into the apt building across the street and into the first empty apt which was one having a showing and had a bunch of people inside looking at it. So it starts with the 2 cops in charge of the investigation in this little town and they are the main pov until they start interviewing the witnesses and each witness takes over the chapter with a story that gives you clarity on how they each intertwine and how they each have secrets that give you a broader picture of what’s going on. All in all I really enjoyed the book and Backman is a really good writer and the translation didn’t make it too hard to read.

Thanks to Atria and Netgalley for the complimentary copy of this book in e-book form. All opinions in this review are my own

"The truth is that this was a story about many different things, but most of all about idiots. Because we're doing the best we can, we really are. We're trying to be grown-up and love each other and understand how the hell you're supposed to insert USB leads."

Similar words at the beginning and the end of this novel resonate through each and every page. This is a story which turns presumptions on their heads, gives you hope and makes you sad, while providing laughter and something deep to ponder. The writing is delicious and the plot is topsy-turvy, but ties together in the best of ways. A must read.

This is a story about a bank robbery that goes wrong, the robber panics and takes hostage a group of people viewing an apartment in the building opposite.. When the hostages are released unharmed all that remains in the apartment is a gun and a pool of blood, the robber has literally disappeared into thin air. Except it’s not just a story about a robber taking hostages then mysteriously disappearing, so if that’s the only kind of book you like to read this may not be for you. That’s just a tiny part of the story, it’s about so much more than that. It’s about people being idiots but doing the best they can and sometimes that just isn’t enough. It’s a book that’s well worth reading, it will make you laugh and it will make you cry. The people in the story, the robber, the hostages and the police are all human beings doing what they can to make the best of their lives, but after this day life will change for every one of them.
A few years ago I read Backman’s “Man Calle Ove” and I loved it so much I recommended it to everyone, a boy at the school where I worked borrowed it, brought it back and complained it made him cry, it made his mum cry and it made his dad cry. That’s what a good book does for you. Since then I’ve read everything Backman has written and although I’ve thoroughly enjoyed them, because he has such a good eye for human frailty but is never judgemental, nothing was as good as Ove. Until this one. I’m now going to message that boy and tell him to pre-order “Anxious People” because here is another wonderful story about a group of people who have done the right thing and done the wrong thing as we all do. Some of them are instantly likeable, some aren’t, but somehow by the end of their story you’ll be rooting for them all. And yes I cried at the end, except the next sentence made me laugh and then I cried again before laughing again. . Backman does that to me.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
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“We’ve created lives where we can watch other people crash into the wall but still hope somehow we’re going to pass straight through it”. This quote from Backman’s latest novel encapsulates the core of this story - we are all living a life in which hardships are common and he goes further to normalize the notion of reaching out to others in these difficult times. This quirky story centers around a hostage situation at an apartment showing, but reaches beyond that to show what others will do for the people they love and the unequivocal important of human connection. Through his incredible characterizations, witty anecdotes and raw honesty, Backman reminds us that we must not judge others before we truly get to know them.

Ok. Amaxing. I've come to expect a lot from Bsckman. But this book. These people. These feels. It is a short read, but i just didn't want it to end. Beautiful, interwoven stories of the lives of a group of people unexpectedly tossed together by circumstances. Get this book. Get a glass of wine and some pizza (trust me). Take the day off and tell everyone to go away and savor it.

I hope you’re not reading this review before reading this book. Bc you should go into this thing blind.
It’s a book about idiots that made me so mad and then made me cry so hard. It was perfect. If it’s not the best book I read this year - it’s awfully close.

*Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to offer my unbiased opinion*

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A fun moving novel. If you loved A Man called Ove you will enjoy this one. Interconnecting characters that come together. Several surprises a long the way. Stresses the ripple effect when someone commits suicide,

"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."
I always enjoy Backman's work's and this may be my very favorite now! (yes, even more than "Ove") This delightful tale of a group of people caught up in an unusual circumstance yet all unraveling delightfully together is a JOY to read! Somehow, the author brings out the very best of the human condition in this work and it is funny, and sad and very, very real. One of my favorites of the year!!

Fans of Fredrik Backman will enjoy his latest book, seemingly the story of a hostage situation, but actually the story/stories of the anxious, quirky and endearing characters who find themselves involved in this unorthodox "crime." Like other books by the author, the story is sentimental in a way that stops just shy of being sappy, and its charms outweigh its implausibilities. A slow starter for me, but I enjoyed this novel more and more as it unfolded, and think I would appreciate it even more upon a re-reading. 3.5 stars, with many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Desperation can lead many to unwise decisions and dim-witted actions, and that is, in part, what this story is about, but it’s also about so much more. It’s about a bank robbery, or rather an attempted bank robbery, which fails since the bank robber fails to notice that the bank does not carry cash. It is a “cashless” bank.

Fleeing, but only after being mocked by the twenty-year old bank employee, because at that point running out of the bank seemed the only option to preserve one’s dignity – if any dignity remains at this point – the bank robber who did not actually rob anything ends up fleeing into a building, running up a flight upstairs and into an open viewing for an apartment up for sale, which is occupied by seven people. Well, eight once the bank robber arrives. An older couple who spend their time renovating / flipping homes for profit, as well as something to do together in their retirement years. Two women, a couple who are expecting their baby to be born at any moment, and seem to bicker just for the sake of … bickering. A woman, whose only interest in the apartment seems to be the distant view from the balcony, a view of the bridge. Another woman, one who has lived a long life and seems lost and somewhat alone even within this group of people. Oh, yes, and a rabbit – or a man partially dressed as a rabbit, anyway, as part of a ploy to dissuade potential buyers from wanting to buy this apartment.

Eventually, there will be two policemen, a father and his son, who will wander into this story, a story that may change them, as well.

Inside this story that is filled with many comic moments, some of Backman’s wonderfully wry wisdom seeps in, a perception of what makes people do the things they do, as well as what sometimes breaks them. Sometimes it’s a cycle that repeats, and occasionally someone reaches out a helping hand, and that’s all that is needed to let them know that they matter, that their heartbreaks and their happiness matter. To know that someone is listening, and actually hears is a powerful weapon against the kind of pain that leads to destruction, that just leads to more pain.

Backman, once again, has taken seemingly unrelated puzzle pieces of human beings and put them together a little at a time until the full picture slowly takes shape. As always, a puzzle is an ever evolving picture until the last pieces are strategically, correctly placed, and you view the finished work of art and smile, knowing Backman is a master of his craft and has never let you down.


Pub Date: 08 Sep 2020

Many thanks for the ARC provided by Atria Books (thank you, Ariele!)

#AnxiousPeople #NetGalley

I have read and enjoyed all of Fredrik Backman's books however this was not one I enjoyed. I read half the book and have not finished it. So many characters and they are all depressing. The story jumps around and it is hard to see where everything is going to connect and make sense. I may try and finish reading this at another time .
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.