Book Review: Anxious People
Fredrik Backman’s Dark Comedy About How Hard It Is To Be a Person
A bank robbery. A hostage drama. A stairwell full of police officers on their way to storm an apartment. It was easy to get to this point, much easier than you might think. All it took was one single really bad idea. Excerpt from AARP.
A darkly comedic yet heartwarming novel, Anxious People is about a group of random strangers forced together as hostages after a failed robbery. Shockingly, they’re not anxious because they’ve just survived a traumatic experience that has damaged their faith in humanity. On the contrary, they are the most arrogant, rude, self-focused, and entitled individuals who have ever been held for questioning.
When the estranged father and son cop duo arrive on the scene, they find blood on the floor, a gun, and 8 uncooperative hostages. The robber has seemingly disappeared in thin air and oddly, the only thing the hostages seem to feel is inconvenienced.
As we get to know this microcosm of our society — each from different age groups, social and economic classes, and dealing with various health, family, and personal challenges — we begin to understand why they are the way they are. We learn that each of them is going through or overcoming their own traumas and setbacks. Many display a tough…
