Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

104 reviews

nicolaparty's review against another edition

hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death of parent, Grief, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Gun violence

Moderate: Alcohol

micaelamariem's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

This was a phenomenal read.
I’ve always been a fan of the sentimental so this book struck a chord with me. It evokes all the feelings, from laughter to tears. While the book is about a bank robbery gone wrong, it’s really about the people involved in this hostage scene and about people in general. Looking into each person’s mind and heart, Backman makes a point on how messy life is and how idiotic we all can be, and calls us as readers to have empathy for our fellow humans. 
I also enjoyed the drama of it all, though. For two thirds of the book I really wasn’t sure who the bank robber was and if they’d catch them or what was going to happen. I liked the plot twists told through a nonlinear timeline that kept me reading beyond the sentimental parts and the idiotic humorous parts. 
Overall, a fantastic beautiful read and a reminder that we’re all going through something, but it gets a little better if we have each other’s backs. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Death of parent, Suicide, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Confinement, Infidelity, Classism, Blood, and Pregnancy

caroline_norrish's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful fast-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Panic attacks/disorders, Misogyny, Gun violence, Grief, Drug abuse, Alcohol, and Addiction

drpeeper's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Suicide attempt, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Mental illness

Minor: Blood, Addiction, Cancer, Death of parent, Death, Infidelity, and Alcohol

ridesthesun's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Alcohol, Infidelity, Death of parent, and Addiction

meeklovestoread's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny lighthearted sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

This book is not what I was expecting. In clever Backman fashion, he was able to turn a basic story into something much more nuanced with a lot of layers and depth. I always find it amazing how he finds a way to make all the stories connect. I feel like it's his writing that makes his books so if you're not a fan of his commentary style third-person writing you may not like this. I for one very much enjoy his writing so I found this very enjoyable. I really love the commentary that Backman adds through his characters about various different topics. There are always so many quotable lines in his books. I just relate to them so much. All in all, I really enjoyed this book, however, I feel like the last 15% was a bit underwhelming.

I know you have to suspend your disbelief when it comes to this story but I just couldn't do that when Jim (the dad cop) just let the bank robber go and lowkey aided and abetted in their escape. I get that we had to move the story along, but I was really hoping for a big twist on how the bank robber got away. Them just finding the key and leaving was just a bit anticlimactic to me. Also, I know there are themes of suicide in this book but I was expecting the ending to be sadder or hopeful. I felt like everything came together too neatly and too happily. Like Zara and Lennard came out of nowhere. I felt like they were unnecessary. And the bank robber being with her kids in the end felt too neat. I don't know; I feel like some stories should've ended a bit more tragically. To have everyone have a happy ending was a bit of a letdown.

Overall, again I still enjoyed this book and will most definitely be reading the rest of Fredrik's books.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Pregnancy and Death

Minor: Alcohol and Infidelity

arukeni's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol

Minor: Gun violence, Pregnancy, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide attempt, and Suicide

bearybooky's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad fast-paced

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

5.0

Book should be tagged lgbtqia

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Suicide

Minor: Drug use, Death, Cursing, Alcohol, Pregnancy, Cancer, Grief, and Infidelity

san_dra's review against another edition

funny hopeful reflective fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide and Suicide attempt

Minor: Death, Pregnancy, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Addiction

modryzamek's review against another edition

dark funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol

Minor: Infidelity, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death