Spoiler-free Book Review of Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

I rang in the new year by starting this gem of a book. I turned 30 toward the end of last year, and my dear bookish cousin sent me this book as a gift.

I read A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman back in 2018 for a book club. It was sweet, incredibly soft and kind, and it made me cry. I can offer no explanation for why it took me 7 years to read another book by Backman. But now Anxious People has surpassed A Man Called Ove, and I cannot wait to read more by this author!

I love a recommendation from a trusted fellow book-lover. Because I trust their judgement I can go into the book with little to no prior knowledge or expectations. Being surprised by a book is one of my favorite things! And this book was no exception.

This story is a story about a hostage situation that never happened. But ultimately, this is a story about people. With 10-plus characters that are each integral to the plot, the story is structured in a non-linear way: jumping from flashbacks of therapy sessions to flash-forwards of police interviews after the incident.

At each turn, you learn something new and deeply touching about each character, even if, in the moment, it doesn't seem directly related to the larger plot. But that is the genius of Backman's writing. He is first and foremost a character author, but manages to also write brilliant plot-lines that are driven directly by the characters he writes so beautifully. The characters are raw and real and written with humor and compassion. They each drive the plot forward equally, as each character's personal concerns and dreams coincide or clash with others.

For example, you have Anna-Lena and Roger, a retired couple attending what should have been a typical apartment showing. They love each other, but no one is without their secrets. There is the young policeman, carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. And there's Ro and Julia; young, in love, expecting, and could not be more different from each other. And so many others: Zara, Lennart, Estelle, Jim, a psychologist, a realtor, and a frog and a monkey. And of course, a bank robber. Each character has experienced love, loss, grief, loneliness, anger, and the list goes on; each in their own different way.

And that is the beauty of Anxious People. Who is each character? Why did each person choose to attend an apartment showing on that particular day? Why did the bank robber try to rob a bank? Does someone wake up one day and decide to be a bank robber, or a mother, or a realtor, or a policeman? Our decisions shape us; both the big ones and the small ones. Maybe especially the small decisions. We are all just trying to survive this crazy world, and trying to look like we know what we are doing in the process. But ultimately, we are all just anxious people. And we need each other more than we would like to admit.

Adult themes/trigger warnings: some language, allusions to sexuality, significant conversations and recollections of suicide, and suicidal ideation, drug use, death of loved ones, strained relationships.