Reviews with content warning for Death - Anxious People

Slow moving book, but worth hanging in. I didn’t know if I liked it until I finished and saw the stories all click together. It’s the book version of an ensemble cast movie. Cheesy, contrived at times, heartfelt, serious, silly, and hopeful, all rolled into one

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meeklovestoread's review against another edition

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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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sring42's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful reflective 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

5.0

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bearybooky's review

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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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san_dra's review against another edition

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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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modryzamek's review against another edition

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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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chlaraphyll's review

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.75

this is my second time reading fredrik backman’s work (the first book that i read was a man called ove).

it’s a story about a hostage situation at a house viewing. we get to know the story of the people who came to the viewing.

before their stories unfold, they might give you some annoyance. probably it’s just me. but as time goes on in this hostage situation and these characters share their narratives, my empathy grows even more.

this book is about having empathy. we never know someone’s story and we must not judge them right away.

out of the 10 main characters in this book, estelle’s story appeals to me. her “affair” is such an interesting story. i’d love to read a short story about her book exchange and see the man’s bookshelf.

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moraina's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny inspiring reflective sad 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

3.75

Anxious People focuses on a variety of characters that all get tied together through a bank robbing gone awry. Backman explores these characters individually, and as a group where although they are all very different, they end up having positive impacts on each others' lives through unlikely events that brings them together. I previously read A Man Called Ove by Backman and personally, much preferred that to Anxious People. While I enjoyed the dialogue and some of the characters' personalities, I found it much slower-paced and more difficult to get into compared to A Man Called Ove. Furthermore, much of the book is written in an interview style, which I found a bit disjointed and difficult to pick back up after taking a break from reading. I would say it is worth a read if you're a fan of the author's other work, but this would not be my first recommendation for those that are just getting started with him.

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