Anxious people by Fredrik Backman – A book review

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman is one of the most anticipated and well loved book of the year 2020. I have had some great and a few not so good experiences with Backman’s books. Read my book review of Anxious People to know how it fared on my scale!

Have you read Anxious People by Fredrik Backman? What is your favorite book from Backman's? What are you currently reading? Let us talk. Click To Tweet

About the book

Anxious people by Fredrik Backman Book review Cover

Book Name: Anxious People

Author: Fredrik Backman

Genre: Fiction โ€“ Drama

Characters: The bank robber, Roger and Anna Lea, Zara, Linnart, Estelle, Ro and Julia, Jim and Jack.

Setting: Sweden

Plot Summary

When things go spectacularly wrong, a bank robber tries to escape by entering into an apartment across the street. In a moment of panic, the robber ends up taking everyone there as hostages.

And the hostages being the apartment viewers scheduled in by the realtors. Unfortunately for the bank robber turned hostage-taker, the eight people in the apartment end up being the worst hostages ever.

They are anxious puddles themselves, they do not fear the gun nor the robber, they fight among themselves and they even order pizza for dinner. They even are worse at helping the police capture the bank robber.

Did they succeed in catching the robber? Did these anxious people hold themselves together until the end? Read Anxious People by Fredrik Backman to know more.

Book review

I have read Backman’s few other books and I can safely say Anxious People is very different from them. Anxious People is not a story of a person, it is about people and their quirkiness and their insecurities. It is about them looking out for a connection.

Anxious People is filled with well written and warm characters that will stay with you long after you finish reading the book. As the author correctly says, the book is full of “idiots” and yet you will adore them.

I loved how the author maintained the mystery/puzzle element throughout and the writing style helped it work. For some the writing style might seem slightly odd to get into but you will grow to love it, as I did.

What worked for me

  • Anxious People was dark and hilarious and at the same time, it pulls the right strings of your heart.
  • If you like Ove from A man called Ove, you are gonna love Estelle. In fact you will love all these characters.
  • I loved Backman’s outlook into the human nature and struggle to fit in and be loved.

What may have been better

  • The writing style is kinda odd. So if you find it hard to get into, give it a chance. You might end up loving it.

Content warning:

Suicide, Attempted suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Depression, Hostage crisis

Bottom line

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman is an endearing and hilarious book that will surely make you laugh out and even tear up at places. Another fabulous book by Backman!Man called Ove, A by Fredrik Backman

Similar book reviews

Pin me!

Anxious people by Fredrik Backman Pin me

Letโ€™s chat

Have you read Anxious People by Fredrik Backman? What is your favorite book from Backman’s? What are you currently reading? Let us talk.

9 Comments

  1. Megan | Bookstacks & Golden Moms

    This has been showing up on my bookstagram quite a bit. Sounds like you enjoyed it ๐Ÿ™‚ Great review!

    Reply
  2. Karen Siddall

    I’ve got this one sitting right next to me! Great review! It’s making me move it closer to the top of the TBR pile!

    Reply
  3. Nadene

    Its the first I am hearing of this book. It does sounds like a fun read.

    Reply
  4. Whispering Stories

    This sounds really intriguing. Not heard of it until now. Great review.

    Reply
  5. Stormi

    I’ve seen several positive reviews of this one lately!

    Reply
  6. Namrata Ganti

    Oh my! This is a wonderful review! I want to read this book, hopefully I will get to it at some point in time! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
    • Gayathri

      Looking forward to hearing your views on it soon.

      Reply

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Gayathri

Gayathri

Gayathri has been reviewing books since 2010. When she is not reading books or creating online content, she works as a writer and a digital marketer. Head over to meet me!