Book review: ANXIOUS PEOPLE by Fredrik Backman (translated by Neil Smith)

              

ANXIOUS PEOPLE

by

Fredrik Backman

Publication Date: August 2020

Publisher: Michael Joseph

About the Book

In a small town in Sweden, it appears to be an ordinary day. But look more closely, and you'll see a mysterious masked figure approaching a bank . . .

Two hours later, chaos has descended.

A bungled attempted robbery has developed into a hostage situation - and the offender is refusing to communicate their demands to the police.

Inside the building, fear quickly turns to irritation for the seven strangers trapped inside. If this is to be their last day on earth, shouldn't it be a bit more dramatic?

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My Thoughts

I loved ANXIOUS PEOPLE! It had me engaged from the book dedication* all the way to the last page. This is only the third of Backman’s books I have read, but they have all impressed me.

Backman is amazingly skilled at writing about everyday people, and bringing to the fore their quirks, idiosyncrasies and vulnerabilities, making for some very interesting characters. His ability to empathise and champion even the most outwardly awkward or dislikeable of characters is an incredible talent.

And how does Backman bring all these characters into each other’s orbit? He makes them hostages in one of the worst (for the robber) and funniest (for us readers) bank hold-up failures. This enforced time together makes for some funny, sad, heartbreaking, thoughtful, enlightening, and hopeful interactions between the characters.

It’s been about a week between finishing the book and writing this review, and I genuinely can’t think of one thing I disliked about the book.

I also want to give a huge thank you to all the skilled book translators, in this instance Neil Smith. Without their expert work, I wouldn’t have easy access to wonderful stories like this one.

 

* The book dedication: This book is dedicated to the voices in my head, the most remarkable of my friends. And to my wife, who lives with us.

I love libraries! I borrowed this book from my local library.   

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About the Author

Fredrik Backman is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove, My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry, Britt-Marie Was Here, Beartown, Us Against You, and Anxious People, as well as two novellas and one work of nonfiction. His books are published in more than forty countries. He lives in Stockholm, Sweden, with his wife and two children. Connect with him on Facebook and Twitter @BackmanLand and on Instagram @Backmansk.