Hey everyone! I’m back with another review.
January has gone by so fast. I feel like last week was Christmas and somehow, we’re almost in February?
What are you guys currently reading? Let me know! (:
I recently read Anxious People by Fredrik Backman, and it’s the first novel of his I’ve read. He is a popular author who has penned Beartown and A Man Called Ove, amongst many others.
Anxious People is about a bank robbery turned hostage situation. A failed bank robber flees the scene, crashes an apartment viewing, and takes everyone there captive. The hostages are a retired couple who fills the void by relentlessly fixing up residential places; a rich banker who only cares about making money and not about other people; a young couple who do not seem to agree on anything but are having a baby together; and an eighty-seven-year-old woman who has lived long enough to not be scared by someone waving a pistol around. Also thrown into the mix is the young and flustered real estate agent who is still determined to make a living selling houses, and a mystery man who has locked himself in the bathroom. Not the best hostages in the world, even by this robber’s standards.
Each of them has a story – secrets, grievances, and passions, and none of them are who they seem to be. As the authorities surround the building, the people inside reveal some surprising truths about themselves. This novel shows that even in the most anxious of times, friendship and forgiveness will endure, no matter what.
When I first started this, I was not sure how I felt about it. Everything was completely foreign to me; his writing is unique and it took some getting used to, and the characters were extremely quirky. When I say the characters were quirky, I mean every single character was bizarre – the way they acted, talked, and just their personalities in general were strange. However, I was intrigued enough to keep going, and as I kept reading, the plot became more and more interesting. I am glad I continued, because I genuinely enjoyed this book! The way the characters act, specifically the hostages, makes much more sense as you read, and the way everything is revealed was very well done.
This novel truly had a variety of characters, but I feel like we still got to know each of them very well. Every one of them had their own story and they were explored and revealed well, especially considering how many there were. There was the bank robber and their eight hostages, and two police officers. They were all so different too! There were so many stories that overlapped in this novel it was kind of crazy, and everything made so much sense by the end of the book. It was like a lightbulb moment!
I loved Fredrik Backman’s portrayal of anxiety, depression, and every other issue that was broached. People were lonely, they were tired, they were better than everyone else, they did not know what to do next. There were so many issues tackled within this book and they were so masterfully written.
One gripe I had with this novel was the pacing, and how redundant it could be. Specifically in the beginning of the book, it was stated over and over how this was a robbery, this was not a normal bank robber, these were not normal hostages. It was the same thing over and over, after a while I thought, I get it. I understand.
The author included transcripts from the hostage interviews, and even though I found that very interesting at first, I ended up not particularly enjoying most of them. As I stated before, the characters were extremely quirky, and it was highlighted in these interviews. I feel like without half of the transcripts included, I would have appreciated it more, but I can understand why the author included these.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. I would suggest you continue reading if you are confused in the beginning or are unsure about this – I didn’t really understand what was going on until the halfway point. That’s a little far into the novel to start making more sense, but the second half of the book more than made up for it! I will definitely be looking forward to reading Fredrik Backman’s other novels.
I gave this 4 stars.
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