ANXIOUS PEOPLE

by Fredrik Backman

I read Anxious People before the holidays and named it my favorite book of 2021 that I hadn’t yet reviewed. The only reason for that was timing, and I am thrilled to be reviewing and recommending it to you now.

You don’t often see a book about a hostage situation described as charming, but that’s exactly what this compact novel is. A would-be bank robber accidentally takes an apartment full of people hostage during a real estate showing. While much of the story unfolds through traditional narration of the events taking place in the apartment, more detail and drama is added by the inclusion of the “victim” interviews at the police department. Backman goes quite deep into the background of the two detectives, who also happen to be father and son. In fact, everyone in this story seems connected to someone else, which makes the outcome more interesting and complex.

I always find it fascinating to read a book like Anxious People that feels like it could be set in any small town, anywhere. And yet, there is something that feels distinctly not-American about Backman’s story, his plot and his characters. Backman, who is Swedish, sets Anxious People in a small town outside of Stockholm, which adds great humor to his portrayal of the characters in the police department and their inferiority complexes. Backman has written a story and put it together in a way that feels incredibly refreshing. Anxious People is a delight to read. (Lily)