Anxious People by Fredrik Backman: Book Review

One of the books I’ve most looked forward to reading this year is Anxious People by Fredrik Backman. I love this author’s way of storytelling, combining humour and well-developed, likeable characters.

The story centres around a bank robber who enters a cashless bank only to recognize their mistake. Panicking, the robber flees across the street to an apartment where there is a real-estate showing to potential buyers. Upon entering, the robber is alarmed to see the expression of the apartment viewers and realizes their error of still carrying the gun. And so begins a hostage-taking.

The story is told from two-standpoints: the eight hostages and robber inside the apartment as well as the father and son police duo responsible for the case. During each of the conversations, the personalities and backstories of the characters are slowly revealed. Moreover, as the hostage situation progresses, the depth of the information shared between hostages increases. Reminiscent of Abbott and Costello’s “Who’s on First” routine, the police interviews of the hostages is comedy at its best. It should also be noted that the book is also centred around an event ten years before that intersects with several of the characters. This event is addressed with sensitivity and compassion.

I enjoyed this book immensely and it’s become one of my favourite reads of 2020. It was engaging and entertaining. The characters will very well developed and I appreciated their diversity. I also enjoyed the progression of the relationships between hostages from one of competition as potential buyers, to a small community of friends.

I listened to the audiobook edition of the book narrated by Marin Ireland who gives an excellent performance. Her voice is clear and articulate and enjoyable to listen to.

Thanks to libro.fm , Simon Audio and Atria Books for the ALC of this book in exchange for the honest review provided here. What makes Libro.fm so unique is that 100% of both print and audiobook purchases support your local bookstores. You can find the link to your local bookstore for this book here: https://bookstorelink.com/9781501160837.