Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

15 reviews

annoyedhumanoid's review against another edition

emotional 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

wow wow wow. a new favorite. it took me a second to get used to the style, jumping back and forth with seemingly (but actually never) unconnected plot lines, but everything starts to get wound together and details are filled in and it pays off so beautifully. this is a beautiful love letter to humanity.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Addiction, Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Infidelity, and Pregnancy

Minor: Blood, Cancer, Dementia, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, War, Violence, and Sexual content

homophobia and lesbophobia are only mentions of previous cultural attitudes towards queer people

shivane's review against another edition

 I started reading this book after A Man Called Ove and I couldn't finish it because it got too complicated for me and I was listening to the audiobook and would have benefitted from reading a paper copy. Theoretically, I would want to try reading this again with a paper copy but I'm not itching to get back to it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence and Violence

toofondofbooks_'s review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.5

This book is about a bank robbery, hostage drama, but mostly about the bank robber and their 8 very anxious hostages who all have more issues than vogue; 8 strangers who figure out they have much more in common than they ever could have imagined.

The pace of this book was pretty slow, but it did not take me as long to read it as I thought it would. Even though there is definitely some dark subject matter, it manages to feel warm and good to read. The writing style has something whimsical about it even though this is pretty straightforward contemporary literary fiction and I really loved that aspect, it felt very much escapist even though the plot was (for the most part) rooted in reality. There are witness interviews of the hostages sprinkled throughout the book that were often so hilarious that I read them over more than once and they were really nice touch. I highlighted a ton of passages in here to the point where I had to make sure a highlighter was always next to me because I kept finding new favorite parts. Additionally, this book is very much character driven and gives each character, no matter how minor, their moment. A character that seems cartoonishly foolish at first reveals herself to be a smart, compassionate person and a character with a gruff exterior who I thought was just going to be there for filler turned out to be a very complicated person who added so much to the book. The characters were engaging, funny, and human.

Something is stopping me from committing to giving this a full 4 stars and I'm not sure what it is, because it is obvious that I really liked it, but for some reason there is something bugging me and I can't figure out what it is. If I figure it out, I'll edit this with an update. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Blood, Death of parent, and Mental illness

Minor: Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Infidelity, and Sexual content

drbrizzlybear's review

emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide and Suicide attempt

Minor: Addiction, Gun violence, Infidelity, and Violence

readerette's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

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

5.0

I loved this book. It jumps around between characters and to some extent time (sometimes a decade back and forth, but mostly over the course of this one particular day). If you are bothered by either literary device I'd still suggest giving this book a try. So many poignant moments, from laugh-out-loud to heart-wrenching. Follow closely and don't make too many assumptions--I made my fair share and was pleasantly surprised to be redirected (so maybe do make assumptions, haha). The writing is deft, the story relatable, the characters delightfully (almost maddeningly) quirky, and the way things turn out is just sweet (if a bumpy ride to get there). It's possible some of the characters' comments about homosexuality/homosexual people will not go over well--to me they felt well-meaning for the characters making the comments, and not flagrantly disrespectful, but I can see how the comments could be offensive, so fair warning.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Grief, and Kidnapping

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Chronic illness, Cursing, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Suicide, and Suicide attempt