4.25

Setting: Sweden
Rep: queer characters

This is a sweet, hopeful little book and I really enjoyed the audio - the narrator was brilliant, I especially loved her voice for the real estate agent. The translation is excellent - you cannot tell it's translated, which is a problem I sometimes have with translated fiction. A great read.

This was great, humorous and heartfelt, and emotional at times. The characters were so well developed, which is one of the things Backman does best in his books. Devoured this in a couple of days.

Rounding up to 3 stars


This book brought me to the realisation, that my humour does not match that of Mr Backman.
I've tried several of his "funny" books and they've not raised a smile.
Same here I'm afraid.

Yet I can put the Beartown trilogy in my top 10 books.

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

A great book. Funny read, flowed well throughout- my first time reading anything from this author , thanks to both publishers and NetGalley for gifting me the book

First off - there’s a huge content warning. Huge! Check out at the end for more information.

So I’ve heard so much of Backman’s books and there’s lots of love for his writing. As I’ve mentioned, is my first. And I really struggled to get into it. The characters are so antagonistic and argumentative. I didn’t connect or relate to any of them. But I will say - Backman has a reason for this. And it wasn’t until about two-thirds of the way through that you learn why. And that reveal did question my initial thoughts of the book, the characters and the situation they find themselves in. Unfortunately for me, it didn’t pull it out of a 3 star rating.

Thanks to NetGalley, the team at Michael Joseph Books and the author for the opportunity to read this review copy.
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⚠️Content warning/potential spoilers: repeated reference and minor detail to suicide (thoughts, attempts and completed), mental health ⚠️

Having previously loved Beartown by Fredrik Backman I was anxious (get it?!) to try something else from the author to see if I could fall in love with his characters all over again. He didn't disappoint.

Anxious People is a heavily character driven story about a small bank in Sweden that somehow turns into a hostage situation. It's a story about the very real human ability to form emotional connections, to form links with others and find the very best of humanity. What Backman really excels at is developing his characters, creating very real individuals with a wealth of story behind them. It makes their situation feel believable, and makes the reader really care about what happens to them. I wanted to know their stories, and I felt happy (and equally sad) alongside them. Backman really does have an amazing talent for doing this, and even with the slow moving plot (which was my only bugbear at times, I just wanted the pace to pick up slightly), I found myself captivated.

Fredrik Backman living up to his reputation for loveable, quirky characters! Another solid win. Such an insight into human nature, and why people react to things the way they do - no matter how outlandish the situation!

I loved this - Anxious People isn’t so much about anxiety, but it is a book about mental health as a whole. It’s about finding a reason to keep going when you feel that there is no reason to keep going. It shows the strength and importance of human contact and understanding: how we can help those who are struggling with empathy and, sometimes, practical help.

But this isn’t a self-help book. Fredrik Backman weaves his magic and has written a book that has made me laugh and cry in equal measure. I keep telling myself that I shouldn’t like his books (please don’t ask me why, because I don’t think I really know!), but every Backman book that I’ve read has made me feel that humans are essentially decent and will come up trumps in the end. And we all need a bit of that sometimes, don’t we?

Fun and insightful, Fredrik Backman has the knack of getting inside your head and pulling out thoughts to then express perfectly on paper. Nothing will ever beat Ove but this was an enjoyable, touching, sometimes comical read. His characters are flawed in an enjoyably relatable way!

I’ve read books by this author before and really enjoyed them, I’m glad to say this is the same – brilliant, brilliantly written and just a joy to read.

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

‘Anxious People’ was such a moving story that centres around a group of hostages when a bank robbery goes wrong. Jack, a young policeman, is at his wits ends trying to figure out where the bank robber has disappeared to. The group of hostages are most unhelpful with his enquiries but slowly the whole bizarre story emerges.
This book was a delight, I loved the humour, it matched the farcical nature of the story and lightened up some of the more serious discussions that took place. This book unravels slowly to show how each of these characters have unknowingly crossed paths throughout their lives. Backman creates a cast of the most ridiculous characters yet the whole thing is still believable.
This is my second Backman book and I’m captivated with how well he can write deeply human characters. Many topics were addressed in this story but I really enjoyed Zara’s storyline and her struggles with anxiety, I thought it was done very well. A great book to curl up and pass an afternoon with!

I am in two minds about this book. There are so many wonderful moments in it and it is skilfully plotted but somehow it was not for me, even though I have always enjoyed reading Mr Backman’s books in the past. I found it all just a bit too whimsical and ponderous in parts and towards the end I was skipping through passages that didn’t interest me.

Many thanks for letting me read and review Anxious People, I am looking forward to reading more from Mr Backman in the not too distant future.

Told in a mixture of interview transcripts and third person accounts from the perspectives of a huge array of characters; from the bank robber, two small town policemen who happen to be father and son, the bank teller and the hostages themselves. This is a closed room mystery where the police try to figure out what happened to the bank robber, as after all the hostages are released they is nowhere to be found.

I love how the word Stockholmer, meaning in its purest form somebody from the Swedish capital takes on such different meanings depending on who is using it. From a euphemism for being gay to being a person who looks down on others for their provincial ways and for many of the characters an insult.
This is a book about idiots, and how we can all do very stupid things sometimes and the lengths people will go to for their kids.

Some of the characters are so overemphasized to be caricature-like, this doesn’t seem to detract from the story, in fact it makes it funnier. The 20 year old bank teller called London who is constantly playing with his phone and saying really stupid things is a prime example.

This is a difficult book to review, as when analysed and taken apart much of this book is quite frankly idiotic, but when you put it all together it works and in such a way as to emphasis how we are all interconnected. Both poignant and hilarious at the same time, and that is not an easy thing to pull off.
Hilarious and touching. A book reminding us that we can all make some silly mistakes and everybody needs a second chance sometime.

4.5 stars
Review scheduled to be published on 25th Feb 2021

‘This is a story about a bridge, and idiots, and a hostage drama and an apartment viewing. But it’s also a love story. Several, in fact.’

Where to start with Anxious People? It’s one of those books that really sneaks up on you and tugs at your heart strings in a way I was not expecting. I was fully ugly-crying in the middle of the day by the end – thank goodness there is a pandemic or I likely would have been crying on a train instead of in my living room!

Whenever I see that a book is labelled as ‘funny’ my guard goes up. This book is not laugh out-loud funny but it is humorous in it’s writing and that makes it a genuine pleasure to read. I must give full kudos to the translators who have kept the charm of the author without sacrificing anything. This book is also very quotable with some great phrases about modern life.

At first I thought the book was a little farcical (the exchange with the estate agent in particular) but then as we learn about each character and how they came to be where they are it just became poignant instead. Each character has a hidden facet that we slowly learn about as the book progresses and I enjoyed how well-rounded and interesting they were as a result. I also enjoyed how the author turned some exchanges on their head or introduced small cliff-hangers or reveals at the end of chapters to keep tension high and made it hard to put the book down!

Overall, Anxious People is a poignant and touching story about anxiety and how our life impacts those around us - it’s a pleasure to read and I highly recommend it. Thank you to NetGalley & Penguin – Michael Joseph UK for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

An interesting one and I’m not totally sure if I loved it, but I did enjoy it! The characters were interesting and well developed but left wanting a little more

Another OUTSTANDING, BRILLIANT, POIGNANT, EMOTIONAL, COMPASSIONATE novel by one of my favourite authors, Fredrik Backman.

I listened to his latest book Anxious People on Audible which normally takes me between 7 and 10 days as I only listen when walking the dog… EXCEPT this time, I listened to the book in 2 sittings, refusing to talk to the family, walk the dog and even read on my kindle because this is, in my opinion, my new favourite audio book of the year and considering I finished it on 7th January 2021 that is quite a statement.

Fredrik Backman has the ability to create the most wonderful, quirky, funny, sad, unlikeable, loveable characters and bring them to life in your mind in such a way they become a part of your family and grab a piece of your heart.

Once again the observational humour is spot-on, the clever and indepth ways the author has of bringing everyday situations, interactions and behaviours to the forefront of the story is a work of art.

Anxious People is a wonderful escape from reality, with one of the best narrators I’ve listened to, and a storyline that will make you laugh, groan, cry and smile all at the same time. If you are feeling low, then pick up this wonderful story and immerse yourself in this tiny town in Sweden which finds itself in the midst of a bank robbing, hostage taking situation with the most eclectic group of characters who over the space of a few hours learn more about themselves and what it really means to be human.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This book made me think of the expression misery likes company. Because, when I listened to this, I’ve been feeling miserable. And I enjoyed being around other people who were stressed out over life. Anxious People portrays a group of people who are ultimately an assemblage of the best of human nature despite their multiple flaws. It’s beautiful, it’s real and truly unforgettable.

This book shows human facets, that to describe as entertaining, heartbreaking and enjoyable, is just too simplistic. It shows how wishful, idiotic, kind, mean, clever and compassionate humans are. It illustrates imperfection in a variety of ways. It considers how our individual actions have a greater effect beyond ourselves and immediate surroundings. It explores human connection, tense relationships, life upheaval, loss, feeling suicidal, experiencing depression and everyday stress in amongst the anxiety of everything else. One minute I was smiling at something funny and then the next I was deflating like a balloon due to a character’s pains.

Whilst I really liked Anxious People, I found reading the e-book challenging. The style of Backman’s writing and the story’s progression (which jumps focus from character to character and timelines) wasn’t really my cup of tea, so I resorted to the audiobook to help me finish the book, which breathed new life into the way I felt about the story.

Listening to the audiobook in lockdown made me feel like I was less alone. Not only was this good for my sanity, but I felt less alone in my anxiety about life and everything going on around me. Marin Ireland did a marvellous job of distinguishing each character so they all stood out; it felt enthusiastic and genuine, and Ireland is probably one of my favourite narrators I’ve listened to.

This is a complicated, hearty story that has generated a greater appreciation the more I’ve thought on it. It’s an exploration of feeling helpless, with striking prose, relatable imagery and metaphors. It’s cleverly woven and interconnected yet reads very jumbled, thereby emphasising anxiety and flaws, providing further sincerity and emotive dimensions to a poignant novel. And all the while, in my opinion, it does weaken the readability of the book, Anxious People is most definitely worth a read - especially the audiobook - if you’re ever in need of a story that reminds us we’re all capable of being anxious people at the end of the day.

This was a strange one for me, I really couldn’t get into this book at all and was sure it was going to be a miss. But all of a sudden it clicked with me and I loved it and by the end I wanted to read more like this book. The premise for this book made me want to read it and once it hooked me I was so glad I chose to read it.

A bungled attempted robbery in Sweden develops into an hostage situation with the would be robber refusing to communicate with the police. Seven hostages are trapped inside a building and the strange thing is it is the hostages who think it should be a little more dramatic. Robbing a cashless bank was never going to end up a success and when the hostages are forced into a nearby apartment block that is up for sale they all become friends. The police investigation is led by a father and son combination and they try to solve the case with the minimum of fuss.

The characters are excellent and funny making this novel a very enjoyable read. A book that for me started so badly turned up to be an unexpected success. I will certainly look to read more of this author in the future.

I would like to thank both Netgalley and Penguin Michael Joseph UK for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an hones review.

I liked the Beartown books by the author and was pleased to read his latest novel. On the surface, it is a story about a bank robbery that goes wrong but there is so much more. It is a tale of a small town police office, family relationships and past events. Each character was compelling and interesting. A very satisfying read.