Anxious People

By Fredrik Backman, Atria Books, 2019, 352 pages

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of “A Man Called Ove” and “writer of astonishing depth” (The Washington Times) comes 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.

Kathleen Gobos' review:

I’ll start by saying, I loved this book and give it a 4.75 out of 5, and the only reason I am knocking off a few points is because of the ending(s). There were a few endings to this book, but do not let that stop you from reading this.

It is beautifully written, featuring rich and in-depth character development with an ensemble cast. The dialogue reminded me a bit of Benny Hill meets Abbott and Costello meets “Glengarry Glen Ross” meets “I Love Lucy” meets “Friends.”

The book had me at the dedication, hands down the best dedication I ever read: “This book is dedicated to the voices in my head, the most remarkable of my friends, and to my wife, who lives with us.” That is followed by the best second paragraph: “This story is about a lot of things, but mostly about idiots. So it needs saying from the outset that it’s always very easy to declare that other people are idiots, but only if you forget how idiotically difficult being human is. Especially if you have other people you’re trying to be a reasonably good human being for.”

If you are intrigued by human nature, you will find snippets of people you know and perhaps glimpses of yourself. This book will make you feel many emotions from outright laughter to pure sadness with moments of revelation. Fate brought these characters together in one place and all their issues came out into the open. A great read, especially for 2020.

Sue Fountain's review:

I have read four books by Swedish author Fredrik Backman, and each one has gotten better.

The books I have read so far are A Man Called Ove, Britt-Marie Was Here, and Beartown.

Today I finished Anxious People, a poignant, charming novel 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.

Backman is funny while writing about serious situations. When I finished this book, I wanted to go back and reread it because I missed some of the clues. Yes, it is a mystery with several subplots going on.

There were some lines in the book that made me laugh out loud, and there were some lines that I copied down because I completely related to them.

Since some of you have mentioned his other books, you know that he creates some quirky characters and adventures for them, but he does it with kindness and compassion.