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A review by justinkhchen
Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
5.0
5 stars
I thought I was mentally prepared for another Fredrik Backman, but what a joke that was! Anxious People not only excels at delivering an empathetic human stories, but also manages to weave an unexpectedly riveting tale.
It's hilarious how Anxious People ends up being more 'thrilling' than some of the recent thrillers I've read. Taking its closed room hostage premise to the extreme, the book is a dizzying exercise in misdirection and assumption, with some of the most un-put-downable chapter cliffhangers I've encountered in quite a while. I have to confess I went into Anxious People expecting a low-key, contemplative read similar to A Man Called Ove, and was caught off-guard by the frenzied pacing and the 'showy' (in a 'see how clever I am' kind of way) storytelling, however this overly-excited, anxiety-inducing approach is in sync with its subject matter, and I was onboard very soon after.
One reads a Fredrik Backman for its effortless, yet poignant anecdote on humanity, and Anxious People delivers in spades. Upbeat, sarcastic and in-your-face, told through a ensemble cast consists of a spectrum of personality and relationship type, it is an oddly therapeutic journey through anxiety, loneliness, and our incapability dealing with failure. While some sentiments are a little too 'Hallmark greeting cards' sappiness for my personal liking, there are still plenty of razor-sharp observations and inventive metaphors that get me nodding my head in agreement.
Anxious People is exactly what I anticipated, but also a complete surprise; evidently I have underestimated Fredrik Backman, because while he delivered the heartfelt connection I was expecting, I was not prepared for the brilliantly plotted pseudo-mystery thriller story surrounding it—this need to be turned into a stage play or film!
I thought I was mentally prepared for another Fredrik Backman, but what a joke that was! Anxious People not only excels at delivering an empathetic human stories, but also manages to weave an unexpectedly riveting tale.
It's hilarious how Anxious People ends up being more 'thrilling' than some of the recent thrillers I've read. Taking its closed room hostage premise to the extreme, the book is a dizzying exercise in misdirection and assumption, with some of the most un-put-downable chapter cliffhangers I've encountered in quite a while. I have to confess I went into Anxious People expecting a low-key, contemplative read similar to A Man Called Ove, and was caught off-guard by the frenzied pacing and the 'showy' (in a 'see how clever I am' kind of way) storytelling, however this overly-excited, anxiety-inducing approach is in sync with its subject matter, and I was onboard very soon after.
One reads a Fredrik Backman for its effortless, yet poignant anecdote on humanity, and Anxious People delivers in spades. Upbeat, sarcastic and in-your-face, told through a ensemble cast consists of a spectrum of personality and relationship type, it is an oddly therapeutic journey through anxiety, loneliness, and our incapability dealing with failure. While some sentiments are a little too 'Hallmark greeting cards' sappiness for my personal liking, there are still plenty of razor-sharp observations and inventive metaphors that get me nodding my head in agreement.
Anxious People is exactly what I anticipated, but also a complete surprise; evidently I have underestimated Fredrik Backman, because while he delivered the heartfelt connection I was expecting, I was not prepared for the brilliantly plotted pseudo-mystery thriller story surrounding it—this need to be turned into a stage play or film!