Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
I knew this book was going to be a five-star read from the very first chapter. That might sound like an exaggeration, but I promise it’s absolutely true. Reading Anxious People felt like watching a well-written sitcom. I laughed more times than I could count, but I also found myself pausing to reflect, to feel, and to simply take in the words I had just read.
At first, you might think this book is about the worst bank robbery turned hostage situation in history. But that’s not really what it’s about. It’s a story of a bridge, of so-called idiots, and of an apartment viewing scheduled at the most bizarre time. It’s a story of parenthood, marriage, grief, and love. Of how being human is often just about doing the best we can and trying to make it through each day.
My key takeaway from this book is that that our actions, whether intentional or not, can ripple through someone else’s life in ways we may never realize. 𝘼𝙨 𝘽𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙬𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙨, 𝙬𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙚 𝙙𝙤 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧, 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧. This line stayed with me throughout the book and long after I finished it.
Fredrik Backman is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. This is only the second book of his that I’ve read, but I’m genuinely in awe of how he creates stories that feel so personal and yet so universal. His writing is compelling, and his characters are so human that you can’t help but relate and connect with them. I’m definitely looking forward to reading the rest of his books!
Looking at real estate isn't usually a life-or-death situation, but an apartment open house becomes just that when a failed bank robber bursts in and takes a group of strangers hostage. The captives include a recently retired couple who relentlessly hunt down fixer-uppers to avoid the painful truth that they can't fix up their own marriage. There's a wealthy banker who has been too busy making money to care about anyone else and a young couple who are about to have their first child but can't seem to agree on anything, from where they want to live to how they met in the first place. Add to the mix an eighty-seven-year-old woman who has lived long enough not to be afraid of someone waving a gun in her face, a flustered but still-ready-to-make-a-deal real estate agent, and a mystery man who has locked himself in the apartment's only bathroom, and you've got the worst group of hostages in the world.
Each of them carries a lifetime of grievances, hurts, secrets, and passions that are ready to boil over. None of them is entirely who they appear to be. And all of them—the bank robber included—desperately crave some sort of rescue. As the authorities and the media surround the premises, these reluctant allies will reveal surprising truths about themselves and set in a motion a chain of events so unexpected that even they can hardly explain what happens next.
Humorous, compassionate, and wise, Anxious People is an ingeniously constructed story about the enduring power of friendship, forgiveness, and hope—the things that save us, even in the most anxious of times.