Published Sept. 7, 2020 by Atria Books.
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.
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 begin slowly opening up to one another and reveal long-hidden truths.
First is Zara, a wealthy bank director who has been too busy to care about anyone else until tragedy changed her life. Now, she’s obsessed with visiting open houses to see how ordinary people live—and, perhaps, to set an old wrong to right. …
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.
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 begin slowly opening up to one another and reveal long-hidden truths.
First is Zara, a wealthy bank director who has been too busy to care about anyone else until tragedy changed her life. Now, she’s obsessed with visiting open houses to see how ordinary people live—and, perhaps, to set an old wrong to right. Then there’s Roger and Anna-Lena, an Ikea-addicted retired couple who are on a never-ending hunt for fixer-uppers to hide the fact that they don’t know how to fix their own failing marriage. Julia and Ro are a young lesbian couple and soon-to-be parents who are nervous about their chances for a successful life together since they can’t agree on anything. And there’s Estelle, an eighty-year-old woman who has lived long enough to be unimpressed by a masked bank robber waving a gun in her face. And despite the story she tells them all, Estelle hasn’t really come to the apartment to view it for her daughter, and her husband really isn’t outside parking the car.
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.
Rich with Fredrik Backman’s “pitch-perfect dialogue and an unparalleled understanding of human nature” (Shelf Awareness), Anxious People’s whimsical plot serves up unforgettable insights into the human condition and a gentle reminder to be compassionate to all the anxious people we encounter every day.
3.5 stars. I liked this book and it was super readable, but sometimes too readble - it's a bit of an onslaught of back to back dialogue and narration which was kind of tiring! I did like the characters though and enjoyed the ending. I was also very surprised by how the story turned out, there was some misdirection that worked very well.
This was a slow start for me, perhaps because I didn’t initially grasp what the book was doing. As it progressed it all clicked and I loved it.
It's quite a moving story about people, first impressions, assumptions, and the impact we have on each other.
Really enjoyed this, loved the dialogue and the challenges to your initial assumptions as things went on!
Although the writing style exhibited good humor, I found the story meandering, purposeless, and frustrating. By way of full disclosure, I threw in the towel at about 100 pages.... (after having looked at the end to see if the story ever improved, stylistically).
It's a beautiful story. An odd little story that doesn't tell you where it's going for most of its telling but coming along for the journey is a beautiful, funny, heartaching, worthwhile ride. Perhaps my favourite thing about this story is how human the love in it is. Love in so many ordinary forms, each extraordinary with how much just a couple of lines could touch my heart. Beautiful story. I really enjoyed this.
