Anxious People by Fredrik Backman – Book Review

Initial Thoughts

Merphy from Merphy Napier BookTube channel describes Fredrik Backman as a writer who makes you feel understood. I myself couldn’t come up with a better description of how his books make me feel, so we’ll stick with hers.

Backman quickly became one of my favorite writers of all times. I liked everything he wrote, loved almost everything and he is currently one of my rare auto-buy authors.

So, I would read Anxious People even if it hasn’t been recommended to me around a thousand times. And it has been. I’ve found so many glorifying reviews since the moment the book came out, and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it.

I’ve been reading a lot of long fantasy series lately, and Anxious People sounded like a perfect little break from it. The blurb seemed so promising, and it took me only a few sentences to get completely hooked…

What It Is About

In a small Swedish town a day before the New Year’s Eve, someone decides to try and rob a bank, and everything goes downhill from there. After the miserable fail, the robber, in an attempt to escape the police, runs literally through the nearest doors to the bank and ends up in the middle of an apartment viewing.

There, the robber encounters a group of people who couldn’t be more different from one another. Yet, a few hours and a bit of good will to get to know each other will show them just how similar they all are when it comes to the things that really matter.

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman – My Review

If there’s one thing clear from his writing, it is how much Backman loves life, this world and most of all – people. I mean, he starts the book by saying that this is a story about idiots. But it doesn’t take long to see just how much he cares for each and every one of them.

This read went as expected – I loved every single little piece of it! As usual, Backman’s writing was very relatable and honest. It left me wanting to laugh and cry at the same time.

The humor was spot on, and this one also had a slight cartoonish feel to it.

I also loved the short chapters. It was so easy to pick up and put down the book every time I had 2 minutes for reading. It took me about the same time as usual to finish the book, without actually having to spend hours at once sitting down and reading.

As in all Backman’s books, people are not who they seem at first. Everyone is complex, with many layers. Everyone can be understood, if you just give them a chance to explain themselves.

These people may come out as taunting or hypocritical. They may be grumpy, full of prejudice or self-centered at times. They will argue about anything and everything till their last breath.

But they will also listen, and more than that – they will hear. When it really matters, these people will recognize what is the right thing to do. And they will care enough to actually do something about it.

In this day and age, when we are swamped with (amazing, don’t get me wrong) stories about perfect villains, it is a relief and refreshment to every now and then pick up a book about really, truly good people.

Even in such an absurd situation as in Anxious People, Backman manages to find that deep string that is the same in all of us. His books always make me feel hopeful. You can’t read them and not think – there are still many good people out there. Probably much more than it seems on an average day.

I started to trust him after several of his books that, no matter what they go through, he is going to take his characters safely home in the end. I think that is my favorite part about his stories.

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