Reviews tagging 'Stalking'

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

5 reviews

filippaf's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Death, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Stalking, Alcohol, Suicide attempt, and Mental illness

maudsmeets's review against another edition

hopeful reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

it's interesting how the novel keeps trying to convince you that the story is realistic 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gun violence, Kidnapping, Alcohol, Addiction, Grief, Pregnancy, Stalking, Suicide, Alcoholism, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Blood

wickedgrumpy's review against another edition

mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

"This story is about a lot of thing but mostly about idiots.

I feel like the supreme idiot for punishing myself to finish this book.  I thought the characters were irredeemable from the start, regardless of any growth, explanation, or context given for their actions or reactions since they seem only to be annoying caricatures.

Reading this book feels like you are actively getting whiplash since it keeps tugging you in different directions, trying to keep the suspense/mystery.  Because of this it takes forever for anything to happen and it never feels like anything has a natural progression.  It's as if you take one step forward and then two steps back in a halting cadence.

Also, this book suffers from what I will henceforth call: Boomer-Humor.  To elaborate, any chance to make a disparaging remark about the youths (TM) it is taken.  This is all mixed in with the attempt to have meaningful personal stories about grief, loss, addiction, suicide (ideation/attempts) and tie it all up into one interconnected comedic bow, and in the end it is a jumbled repetitive mass of knots.

I thoroughly disliked this book.  I will never read anything else from this author.  I did not enjoy their prose, their humor, their character-building...  No redeeming qualities.  It was not for me.  I can see where there would be some people who would like it, but I was not one of them.

Also, because I was curious -
Number of times the word idiot is used in the book: 60
Number of times Stockholm is used in the book: 74

This book takes place in Sweden, but not Stockholm.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Classism, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Terminal illness, Addiction, Alcohol, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Cancer, Dementia, and Gaslighting

mandi4886's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Grief, and Mental illness

Minor: Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Self harm, Sexism, Stalking, Terminal illness, War, Animal death, Blood, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, and Injury/Injury detail

sj_54's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.25

Context: Had to read this for a book club. Would have DNFed otherwise. 

Characters were one-dimensional until the last 1/4 of the book or so, then everything got tied up with a nice 'wholesome message, everyone gets a happily-ever-after' bow.

Maybe it's me but I have no patience for authors who introduce characters by their most annoying traits. Then expect us to like them by the end?? I don't even know how I feel about the story itself because it was such a struggle to listen (audiobook) to everyone whine and complain about each other for the first 3/4 of the book.

Extra things that I disliked: all the terrible stereotypes. Old lady is introduced as invisible/inconsequential because of her age, lesbians got together through an affair, super rich person who looks down on everyone else has hidden feelings that mean she's just like the rest of us.
Oh and

the bank robber is never referred to with any pronouns and GASP it's a woman when everyone assumed it was a man! Can we please drop the 'surprise! women are never expected to do dangerous things!' twist, it's so tired...

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Alcohol, Death of parent, Grief, Mental illness, Misogyny, Stalking, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Gun violence, Blood, Confinement, and Lesbophobia