To begin, just a quick word of thanks to Atria Books/Simon & Schuster, as well as netgalley.com for an advanced copy of this novel in return for an honest review of the novel.

I'll start by saying that I am a fan of Fredrik Backman's novels. I am not sure how I stumbled upon him - usually, Amazon will provide me an author or a novel of "something I might be interested in". I had first read "My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry", and really enjoyed it. I moved on to "A Man Called Ove" - which is probably one of the best novels I have read in a while. Finally, I read "Britt-Marie Was Here", and enjoyed that novel, too. So - when I saw that Backman has a new book out - "Anxious People" - I was more than excited to get an opportunity to read this one.

Unfortunately, "Anxious People" wasn't great, in my opinion. It wasn't bad, but I was mildly disappointed in the novel. The story revolves around 8 strangers, who are being held hostage at an apartment viewing by an inept bank robber. The story also includes a father and son duo, who are the local police officers who are at this hostage scene. In the few Backman novels I have read, I enjoy his use of comedy peppered throughout the story - especially when the story includes some dark topics, such as suicide, death of a loved one, and divorce. Backman is able to tug on your emotions - making you feel both good and sad at the characters of the novel.

My biggest issue with "Anxious People" is that, for whatever reason, this story did not do it for me. I never really got into the characters - their stories, their issues, their flaws - in a way that I have been able to in the previous Backman novels I read. To be honest, I almost gave up on this one around the midway point of the novel. The story was just too silly, especially at the start of the novel. The police interviews - where the hostages were rude to the police officers; the real estate agent's goofiness throughout the book; and the interactions between the father-son police officers just seemed off to me - it was just not interesting. The novel did pick up throughout the second half, and the interactions between the hostages, the bank robber, and the police officers, were better - more like what I remember from the Backman books I enjoyed.

I still have other Backman books to read, and I look forward to reading them. He is a good author, and will get your emotions going with some well-written stories, but to me, "Anxious People" really didn't do it for me.

3.5 stars. It was really difficult to get into and the first half of the book was extremely slow. As usual, though, Backman has so many beautiful passages and observations on life that I laughed out loud and shed a tear many times throughout the book.

Oh my goodness, I LOVED this book so very much. As always, Fredrik Backman makes us love the characters, feel like we know the characters and root for every single one of them. Anxious People is fantastic...highly recommend.
Thank you to netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for this amazing ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Six stars
Obviously Fredrik Backman is a literary genius and this book proves it. I couldn't put it down and read it in a day. The development of the characters creates a sense of camaraderie between the reader and the characters.
"People are idiots" but most of the time we are just doing the best we can at the moment and we all need a purpose in life.
This is the story of two police officers, a bank robber unable to rob a bank because it was cashless, who in turn runs across the street and takes a group of people hostage that are viewing an available apartment. When the hostages are released, the police officers rush into the apartment only to find blood on the floor and the bank robber missing. Where did the bank robber go?
In addition to the mystery of the missing bank robber, each character is dealing with their own insecurities and anxieties. Roger's ego is hurt, Ana-Lena feels guilty, Julie is angry, Ro is scared, Zara is in pain, Lennart is stuck, Estelle is lonely and the bank robber is remorseful. Jack is frustrated and Jim is mourning. While being held hostage, each person is "wrestling with their own story." The people in the apartment seem a bit high strung in the beginning, but the longer they are together, the more mellow and accepting they become. All the people in the apartment need to forgive someone and the bank robber needs their forgiveness.
Backman takes each character and shows how an incident in one person's life may affect another's in a sort of "fortunately/unfortunately" style.
The story begins with the robbery and works backward between Jim and Jack attempting the interview the hostages with some laugh- out- loud moments, the actual hostage situation and a bit of the back story of characters examining their insecurities.
In the end, Backman has masterfully interwoven all the characters' lives and leaves the reader rooting for the bank robber.

So, for me, this wasn't one of Backman's stronger offerings. All the elements were there, but the way they were put together (particularly in the beginning, when Backman kept jumping around) didn't enable them to be elevated in the way they could've been. What this really needed was a stronger anchoring element - or central character. And you would think that the set up would be anchoring enough - and, at points, it is - but because there is so much flitting between characters, and because Backman has a lot to say here, I do believe it would've helped if there had been a designated main character for everyone else to orbit around. That's what makes all the zany sweetness in A Man Called Ove work so well: everyone's drama cycles around Ove's.

Now, all this said, it is still a Backman book, which means that even with its' faults it's still pretty damn entertaining and affecting. Is there a smidge too much ending fatigue and grandstanding? Well, yeah, but there are a lot of really great, uplifting little moments too - and, rather unexpectedly, there's a pretty great little locked room mystery too. If you've read Backman before I definitely think you'll find something to enjoy here. (And if you haven't...maybe try A Man Called Ove or Beartown first.)

Backman does it again! This time through a bank robbery turned hostage situation gone wrong! This book was FUNNY. I felt like I was reading iterations of Larry David. And then it was whole heartedly, not funny, and deep. I felt all of the emotions while reading this. I think it is important to note that this does NOT take place in America, where policing looks very different. Any Backman fans should pick this up, and if you haven't read him yet, now is the time!!

I am not sure how I would rate this book. It is a comedy, which I tend to have difficulty with this genre. I almost abandoned it a couple of time. However, I decided to not abandon it and finished it. It was a really sweet story. In a way it reminded me Ove, that kind of sweet. Character development was excellent.

Anxious People is the fifth book I've read by Fredrik Backman. It is his newest release, which I found on NetGalley (thank you), and I would definitely encourage others to read it. Backman is one of those authors who was meant to be an author -- he has a deep understanding of human nature, knows how to build suspense and emotion, and includes so many surprises in the plot. He also ensures you have a book hangover for days after finishing his work!

A bank robber who really never meant to be a bank robber ends up escaping and holding a group of people hostage in an apartment viewing. It's all accidental, and the anxiety we see covers a cast of about ten main characters, each who comes at the story with a very different perspective. The tale weaves in and out, revealing connections and history, all the while moving the police interviews forward. The bank robber was never found. None of the hostages are talking about what happened in the end. And the two policemen seem to be at odds over who was responsible for which piece of the investigation. Something is definitely going on below the surface.

When I began reading, it wasn't an immediate love. I found it choppy and meandering without enough clarity for me to latch on to. I later realized that was intentional and necessary. I should've known better in the beginning, as I was hesitating to read it the second day. While I adored three of his past books, one wasn't a good match, so I worried this was gonna end up that same way. Trust me, hang on... while there are a few sections that you can tell were intentionally confusing (not the best tool for an author to choose, but one that can work well in limited quantities), for the most part, it's very straightforward. It's just a matter of reading between the lines and figuring out what isn't being said.

Imagine you are held hostage. The gun appears fake. The bank robber's story is an emotional one. You've got your own issues to deal with. They're all neurotic in their own ways... would you let the bank robber get away with it? No harm was done, other than the fear you might be hurt. But based on the way the events unfold, there really wasn't any danger, it seemed... so... maybe you might say "Let the bank robber go" if things turned out the same way for you. I don't know... I'm pretty big on people being held accountable for their actions. Not only did the bank robber try to rob a bank, fail, and then escape, but the bank robber also waved a gun at 7 or 8 people in an apartment viewing down the block and basically held them hostage. So that's two bad things, which means it's really a bit of an innate thing. That said, it was all for the same reason, and potentially a good one, but still.... I ramble. Backman does that to you.

My biggest concern was the way many of the other people handled the situation. All a little contrived to some degree, but still entertaining and quite real in many aspects. I considered pushing up to a 4.5, but there were too many plot items that just didn't add up enough for me. So... I still say it's a must-read but you have to let go of your own anxieties and expectations and recognize this is more about people's neuroses and reactions, not whether this could've legitimately happened. When I do that, it's an easy 5 stars because Backman captures people's true nature better than no other author I know.

I really liked this book! Don't get me wrong, "A Man Called Ove" is still Backman's best, but considering I think that's one of the best books I've ever read, I don't really expect him to surpass it. That being said, "Anxious People" didn't disappoint me at all; in fact, I think I enjoyed the first chapter of this book more than any other I have read recently. Especially the line "Sometimes we panic, because the bills need paying and we have to be grown-up and we don't know how, because it's so horribly, desperately easy to fail at being grown-up." Sometimes I have to remind myself that I'm not 16 anymore and others expect me to be a grown-up, so that line stuck with me.

For me, character development is essential to a good story, and this book definitely has that. Just when I felt like the plot was lagging, Backman would throw in a little nugget from one of the characters and I'd be right back into it. His characters' personalities, variety, and lack of stereotypes were wonderfully refreshing (the various meanings of "Stockholmers" made me chuckle). He kept me guessing until the very end! Definitely would recommend this book.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

If you want to believe in humanity again, just go read a Backman book. This is my fourth novel by the incredibly talented writer and 𝗔𝗻𝘅𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 is just what I needed for all the feels and witty dialogue. ⁣
⁣
Backman is his own genre...no one writes such deep character-driven novels as he does. I’m just in awe of the magic he brings to layering his storytelling again & again!!
⁣
Beartown still has my heart, but this novel has a secret character that wins as one of the most unforgettable characters of 2020 that I desperately needed during these weird quarantine times.
⁣
Put Anxious People on your TBR & you won’t regret it!! I recommend going in blind (it’s a Backman novel, what more do you need to know?!),

Thank you to the publisher for a copy of this book!
•
As always, Backman could write a grocery list and make me feel emotional.
•
This one took me a bit to warm up to. God the characters were seemingly unintelligent and illogical. But of course it all comes together in ways only Backman can do. Every character plays a role that makes you smile, roll your eyes or even take in a deep breath.
•
TW for suicide. It is a major topic in this and personally I have lost a parent this way— so at first I was not sure if I would continue. But I did and I’m happy I did. However, if this is a highly sensitive topic for you may want to tread with caution.

Fredrik Backman's writing first captured me with My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry, and I've since read nearly all of his work and am equally enamored with each moving piece of fiction.

His latest novel, Anxious People, is due out September 8, 2020 from Atria Books. Net Galley and Atria Books provided me with an advanced copy such that I could review it, and I'm incredibly grateful they did. I was absolutely riveted, from the first page to the last. 

A bank robber. An apartment showing. An act of desperation. These components combine to create the potential for chaos and have the capacity to change the life of every person involved.

I finished this novel within 24 hours of beginning it, and stayed up past midnight reading. It's one of those rare novels where the plot and the characters are equally engaging and engrossing, where you simply must read just one more chapter, just one more page, just one more paragraph (or, if you're like me, you tell yourself this is the last chapter for several in a row and only put it down when your eyelids start sticking together for want of sleep!).

From the first page, the plot is absolutely riveting. With increasingly higher stakes and a decreasing probability for ending well for all, the tension steadily builds as you try solve the mystery and hope for the best while fearing the worse. It's a roller coaster ride of a novel, but incredibly well paced and thought provoking.

Told with a third person omniscient narrator, the story unfurls like a plume of smoke: it twists this way and that, flashes back and then returns to the present, and is interspersed with the police interviews of the hostages to both illuminate character's inner workings and keep the reader engaged. The storytelling mastery is evident as the police interviews, which could easily be dull and dry, are just as absorbing as the hostage situation itself.

What drives someone to do something desperate? How can one act of tragedy spiderweb out and touch many lives? Does doing the wrong thing for the right reason change how wrong it is? Anxious People explores these and more moral quandaries, in a thought provoking but not laborious way. Though the subject matter is, in general, a bit heavy, it is told with care and delicacy. At the same time, the small bits of humor in everyday life are not lost and hold even more value in the events of the novel.

Fredrik Backman's characters are always memorable, and this is no exception. From the bank robber to the real estate agent to the other hostages to the police officers, every character is thoroughly developed and their character is gradually revealed. We are reminded that each person we meet is the culmination of their experiences and desires of who they wish to be, and that each and every person we meet has their own unique motivations and stories that make up who they are. While jumping to conclusions is easy, it is worth listening a little longer to see if just perhaps someone is more than they seem.

Anxious People is one of those novels that will stay with you, long after you've finished it. It is one you'll want to return to again and again, to look for clues you may have missed and subtle foreshadowing to further illuminate the events. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and look forward to going back and reading it again.

As I have seen other reviewers note, I did not know what to expect going into this book. But, I do know I have very much enjoyed the other books I have read by Backman. Anxious People was no exception, however it did take some time for me to enjoy. Overall, I would rate this 3.5 stars but have rounded up for this review.

For about the first quarter of the book I was just not enjoying it. I didn’t care for the police interviews, and was thrown off by much of them because it felt like they were going nowhere. It felt slow and came off trying too hard to be funny (or maybe I just didn’t find it funny).

But...after that point it just got better and better. There were parts I really loved, moments and characters I so connected with. The slow revealing of these characters and their respective stories was ultimately satisfying it just took some time to get there. Backman always excels at this, creating characters that stay with the reader.

I think it might be best to go into this book not knowing more than is described in the book description as it can give away so much of what is beautiful about it but I also think the description could be misleading - I know I went in thinking this would be something very different.

So many thanks to the publishers for this copy to review.

Unfortunately Backman is just not the author for me. This book’s premise sounded good so I tried it but it didn’t work for me. But plenty of other readers love him so my opinion is in the minority.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This was a fun book about “idiots”. We all have our issues and Backman weaves together the connections of everyday people in this witty, heartfelt novel.

I really didn't know what to expect from this book just from the title; I just knew Backman is a genius. I was up until 3am reading this and at several points I was laughing out loud and by the end I was sobbing and couldn't stop. Funny, heartbreaking and everything in between.

My best summary is this book is about people. Hilarious, broken, inept, kind people. I loved the interrogations of the hostages - I was rolling in laughter at some of these folks! The humor helps balance out the heartbreak and despair, because that is there, too.

I did not figure out what happened until Backman revealed it, so there were surprises right up until the end. The mystery is good, but the heart of this book is the people. And life, and how it can break you sometimes.

This book gave me anxiety at times while reading! The story was cute but the way it went back and forth was hard to keep up with at times. Though I felt this was Backman’s intentions don’t I kept reading though because I was interested in seeing how it would end. The way it was written made me feel like I was one of the hostages trying to figure out what was going on and what my next move was going to be. I’ve enjoyed several of Backman’s other stories so I was so glad when I received this copy to read

It took me a while to get used to this.  This is the first full Frederik Backman I've read, and the style was just so hard for me to follow for the first half.  I've tried to read Frederick Backman before and haven't been successful, so I'm wondering if perhaps he takes some getting used to.

This is a tough one to rate because it's hard to say I "enjoyed" it for much of the story because these characters - literally all of them - were truly so awful to other people around them.  That was hard to "watch." BUT, the commentary these characters brought forth on the state of humans today was so spot on.  From social media to online dating, to how we treat and view other people in general, I almost feel like I'm looking at people a little differently now, as silly as that sounds. While I can’t say I’ve behaved in the wildly unpleasant ways many of these characters did to one another, it did highlight how all the hundreds of big and little things every day put us on edge to the extent that we don’t know how to just “be” anymore.  So many of these characters were so desperately trying to fill the holes in their lives (or what they perceived to be holes) and I can absolutely relate to that.

So ultimately this gets four stars from me because while at times it wasn't "enjoyable," it was completely 100% intuitive, creative, and realistic about the way people are today.

I finished this one with tears in my eyes. I rarely read books like this - I enjoy plot-driven novels, and this is more character-driven. Overall, this book is about the human experience. It winds and spirals through the lives of multiple people held hostage after a failed bank robbery - but trust me, it’s not what you think. Each of the characters’ lives intertwines with another’s in an unexpected way, and there are several twists in this book that made my jaw drop. It’s a story of pain, redemption, love, kindness, and the human condition. I recommend it - but only when you’re feeling emotionally stable!

“This was a story about many different things, but most of all about idiots. Because we’re doing the best we can, we really are. We’re trying to be grown-up and love each other and understand how the hell you’re supposed to insert USB leads. We are looking for something to cling onto, something to fight for, something to look forward to. We’re doing all we can to teach our children how to swim”.

Love Fredrik Backman? Long time fan?
Me too!

New to Backman?
His stories ... in the most raw sense of the word....are about humanity!

“How do you manage to have such a long marriage? she asked”.
“You fight for it, Estelle replied honestly”.
“Julia didn’t seem to like that quite as much”.
“That doesn’t sound very romantic”.
“Estelle grinned knowingly.
“You have to listen to each other all the time. But not ‘all’ the time. If you listen to each other ‘all’ the time, there’s a risk that you can’t forgive each other afterward”.

“And that’s the weirdest thing about being someone’s parent. Not just a bank robber parent, but any parent: that you are loved in spite of everything that you are. Even astonishingly late in life, people seem incapable of considering that their parents might not be super- smart and really funny and immortal. Perhaps there’s a biological reason for that, that up to a certain age a child loves you unconditionally and hopelessly for one single reason: you’re theirs. Which is a pretty smart move on biology’s heart, you have to give it that”.

Fredrik Backman has an exceptional keen eye ...
a brilliant light touch... for the way that tragic, comic, and tenderness mingle together.

This book reminded me of how short life really is. During our journey we see changes, possibly the truth,
hopefully love, and an openness for reconciliation.

...Touching and relatable ....
...Beautiful, quirky, playful, compelling, urgent, funny,
and compassionate.

Thank you Atria Books, Netgalley, and Fredrik Backman