Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

4 reviews

chasingpages1's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death, Confinement, Suicide attempt, Gun violence, Death of parent, Alcohol, Suicide, Kidnapping, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Mental illness, Pregnancy, Panic attacks/disorders, and Bullying

Minor: Alcoholism, Classism, Dementia, Gaslighting, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Drug use, Addiction, and Blood

trappaport's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide, Mental illness, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Grief, Self harm, Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

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