I really enjoy Fredrik Backman's books and this one was no exception. A very character driven novel, I loved everyone and enjoyed learning their backstories, the joyous and the painful.

Fredrik Backman is such a unique and wonderful writer. The characters are so well written and developed, the story unique, and the writing style just makes you feel good reading it. Truly a phenomenal one-in-a-million author.

Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

The truth? It’s hardly ever as complicated as we think.
We just hope it is, because then we feel smarter if we can
work it out in advance. 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.
(loc 3174)

Another winner from Fredrick Backman. This time the journey is entirely within a small Swedish town and involves, essentially, a bank robber, a home showing that becomes a hostage situation, and two local policemen. The tone moves back and forth from amusing to funny to laughable and to sweet and on to sad and even mournful. But it all works as these are individual people not types trotted out for the story. They all have life experience that culminates in this one day.

I don’t want to give any more of a plot summary as it’s far more fun, and interesting, to read it as it develops. I recommend this for anyone who has enjoyed Backman before and for others who enjoy a somewhat haphazard group of people living out a crazy day under this wonderful author’s all-seeing and knowing gaze. If you don’t laugh, let me know. Likewise, if your heart isn’t tugged a bit.

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

TW: suicide, death of a loved one, substance abuse

I finished this book a couple of days ago and I honestly have no idea what to say about it. First of all, I adore Frederick Backman’s writing! It was so beautiful and unique. Speaking of unique, this story is truly one of a kind. It’s one of those stories that makes you think about life, people, and humanity.

We follow a interesting set of characters and at first I had a difficult time connecting with them. However, throughout the story I fell in love with every single one of them. I highly recommend going into this story blind and just enjoy the journey Backman takes you on.


Throughout provoking, clever, beautiful, laugh out loud funny and full of twists. This was very much out of my comfort zone but I’m so happy read this one. It’s such a feel good story and one that I’ll think about for a while.


Thank you to Atria Books and Netgalley for providing me with an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review. I also listened to this on Libro.fm and the audiobook is fantastic!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I liked this book but it seemed to take a long time to come full circle. Backman is one of my favorite authors.

From the author of Beartown and A Man Called Ove, Anxious People explores the feelings of helplessness, anxiety, and depression many of us face. It's a bank robbery-turned hostage situation gone wrong, with an array of interesting characters, all of whom have their own burdens. It's only through this mixed up situation that these broken people start to find comradery and friendship in one another, and realize they're not alone.

I enjoyed this book! The characters were interesting and the further along in the book the more enjoyable they became. The way the book was written is a little different style but was still enjoyable. I like the way everything came together in the end.

What a lovely little diversion from my normal whodunnits! The need to see what all the fuss is about Backman led me to this title. I found about a dozen engrossing character studies wrapped up in a bighearted narrative highlighting lots of little love stories. Quite cleverly the author entwines the many stories seamlessly.

I requested a free ARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review of the book.

Can 11,000 reviews on Amazon and over 100K on Goodreads be wrong? In this case… No.

Backman is one of the most consistent writers of this generation. From his breakout hit A Man Called Ove to the Bear Town books, he has a great ability to create quirky yet moving characters.

The premise of Anxious People is simple enough… A real estate showing has been interrupted by a failed bank robber. He bursts into the apartment and immediately takes the unsuspecting people hostage. In Backman fashion, the reader is treated to a glimpse into each of these half dozen or so captives. Their hopes and dreams of maybe a way out of this perilous situation.

With an ending that is both surprising and satisfying, Anxious People is a book that will captivate as much as it will amuse. I can almost guarantee that if you already a fan of Backman’s you will like this book, and if this is your first book, you will become a fan.

4.5 out of 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books, and the author for an advanced copy for review.

This book is about a bank robbery gone wrong, but more importantly (and maybe more accurately), it is a book about people. I loved Backman’s writing style; he really knows how to subvert the audience’s expectations, knowing you will assume something just to turn it on its head and make you wonder why you ever thought that in the first place.

Some books simply get to you and don't let you go. This is one of those books. I will think about it long after today.

The characters are great. I did have some difficulty to like them at first, because they start as some kind of karikatures, but let me assure you that it's all part of why this book is so good. It shows how we all make assumptions about the people around us, shove them into boxes we can tick, and in the end those boxes never fit. People are always deeper and broader than we think, there's always so much more going on we do not and might never know.

There were so many quotable quotes in this book. There is one that stood out to me though.

"All that awaited her were a thousand sunrises where life is a beautiful prison."

That is how life can feel, isn't it? It is to me. In the end though, life is not a prison. Each day is a chance. A chance to do something different, and to choose your own path. A chance for love, too, because that is what all people need in the end, someone to connect to.

I wanted to love this one, dearly– but it wasn’t for me. The language was removed, and thus, I felt removed from the characters the entire way through. I certainly could see how this would one resonate with the right audience, but unfortunately, I don’t think that audience is me. I’ll certainly pick up whatever comes from Backman in the future, and can recognize what a prolific writer he is even if not every one of his novels hits for me!

It's rare to find a book that's actually "laugh out loud" funny - but this one is. Do not read in the company of others....which makes it the perfect pandemic companion. An absolute treat - thank you!

I think I"m the last person to read a novel by Fredrik Backman. I consider myself an anxious person as I struggle with clinical anxiety. What causes anxiety and what makes some people anxious and others not? This one starts out simply with a botched bank robbery and the inept banker holding a group of people hostage in an apartment. As the story unfolds, readers learn more about the hopes and dreams of each person involved as well as how their stories overlap with each other. It's an interesting cast of characters-- a high level banker, father and son police officers, a therapist, an elderly woman, and two couples out apartment hunting. Backman provides astute observations about the human condition.

This ranks in the top 5 of my favorite reads for 2020. First, because just...Fredrik Backman! I don't know what exactly it is about his writing style that I love so much but I always enjoy reading his stories and Anxious People was possibly my favorite thus far. When people ask "if you could ever spend time with someone famous..." I'm never quite sure what my response would be. When reading this book, I determined that for certain, if I could spend time with an author, it would definitely be Fredrik Backman. The way he sees life and people just resonates with me so much through his writing. I could regurgitate the storyline or cut and paste many of the quotes from this book that I "saved" on my Kindle from it but that would get very lengthy because there are a lot of them. Thank you Fredrik Backman for writing another story that touched me and made me think long and hard about life and the many "anxious" people in it. And, thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC!

Mr. Backman is a word artist and has cleverly crafted a story that made me laugh, had me in tears, and had me flipping the pages to see what was next. This book was a great escape for me during this time of national chaos.
Many thanks to Atria Books and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Frederik Backman is one of my top authors of all time. I will read anything this man publishes! This book is very different from his others and still just as enjoyable. The beautiful writing is always present in his novels and I really enjoyed seeing how everything wrapped up.

After two months (yes-two months!) of reading “Anxious People” I finally finished. Before I start this little review I want to say that I started this book when I was in a massive reading funk, so please don’t let my review discourage you from reading this story.

This is a story about a failed bank robber who takes a group of strangers hostage. Each of them carries their own hurts, secrets, and none of them are who they appear to be. When the authorities surround the premises these allies will reveal surprising truths about themselves, which will change what the outcome of this hostage will be.

Alright - I hated this book. Okay, maybe hate is a strong word, but I did not like this book. I felt it was extremely hard to get into and it wasn’t until about 60% of the way through that I felt a little interested in the characters. I personally had a hard time keeping track of who was whom while reading the story.

Backman’s writing is excellent and there are some warm moments in the story that I did enjoy! I do like how he can write this story about a group of strangers, but they all are weaved together through their troubles.

I know I am in the minority with my review, so please do not let it discourage you from reading this story. I’m hoping in the future I can give it a re-read!

As a self-proclaimed Backman fan, I was extremely excited for this book, and while I enjoyed the stories, it didn't quite satisfy my need for more Backman like I thought it would. I appreciated the funny premise and the quirky characters, and the ending did have me all in my feelings like so many of his books do, but I was still somewhat unsatisfied. Worth reading, especially if Ove is one of your favorites rather than Beartown.

My first read of 2021 was a book that I meant to read in 2020. While reading Fredrik Backman’s Anxious People, I kept having to physically stop myself from reading the next chapter. I wanted to savor the story, yet I still found myself finishing the book in four days (one more day than it took me to read Matt Haig’s The Midnight Library).

Anxious People is a well written novel. I won’t spoil all of things that the book discusses, but I can say that Backman writes about life. Due to a series of unforeseen events, a person concludes that his or her only option to overcome life’s recent pitfalls is to rob a bank. Unfortunately, the intended target is a cashless bank. What was only supposed to be a bank robbery soon becomes a hostage situation. Through Backman’s storytelling, readers learn what transpires before, during, and after the hostage situation.

I do not usually like when an author decides to use second person language in his or her story, but Backman uses the stylistic choice successfully. Backman’s use of second person language pulls the reader into the story, causing him or her to easily empathize with the characters’ woes. It’s not hard for a reader to start to wonder what he or she would do in a similar situation.

I read a lot mysteries and psychological thrillers, so it is hard to surprise me (I consider myself extremely good at guessing “big” reveals). Yet, Anxious People does just that (several times, in fact). This is because there are no gradual reveals for Backman; his twists are blunt and to the point. With cleverly written one liners, he consistently flips the narrative. A reader thinks he or she knows the direction that the story will go, but is ultimately surprised when an unexpected twist is revealed.

Many thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for the e-ARC! All opinions are my own.