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A review by avieherman
Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
dark
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I rarely read male writers, but I quite enjoyed this book.
I liked the idea of the structure, where the story is revealed in snippets, with shifting perspectives through a limited 3rd person narrator, mixed with police interview transcripts. It was kind of effective thematically, but I felt that it stunted the pace of the story and made the book feel like it was much longer than it was. I almost would have preferred keeping it from the police POV and having the reader uncover the story at the same time as the police and also, I'm not sure that would have worked either.
I enjoyed the writing, it was refreshing to read such strong writing, I haven't read good, contemporary literary fiction in a while.
I liked the themes, especially this idea of how slippery language and symbols can be -- I loved the scenes where two characters were having essentially two different conversations or when they kept missing the point, turning the very idea of communication on its head.
I liked the twists at the end and how (spoiler-ish) everything wrapped up so neatly at the end. It's so nice to read literary fiction that handles dark subject matter and yet, wraps up so optimistically.
I loved the symbolism behind the picture of the monkey, frog and elk and how no one could properly interpret it. And I loved the thing with Zara's letter -- we can hold the answer the whole time, but might need someone else's help to see it.
This book made me feel how fucked and wonderful the world can be.
I liked the idea of the structure, where the story is revealed in snippets, with shifting perspectives through a limited 3rd person narrator, mixed with police interview transcripts. It was kind of effective thematically, but I felt that it stunted the pace of the story and made the book feel like it was much longer than it was. I almost would have preferred keeping it from the police POV and having the reader uncover the story at the same time as the police and also, I'm not sure that would have worked either.
I enjoyed the writing, it was refreshing to read such strong writing, I haven't read good, contemporary literary fiction in a while.
I liked the themes, especially this idea of how slippery language and symbols can be -- I loved the scenes where two characters were having essentially two different conversations or when they kept missing the point, turning the very idea of communication on its head.
I liked the twists at the end and how (spoiler-ish) everything wrapped up so neatly at the end. It's so nice to read literary fiction that handles dark subject matter and yet, wraps up so optimistically.
I loved the symbolism behind the picture of the monkey, frog and elk and how no one could properly interpret it. And I loved the thing with Zara's letter -- we can hold the answer the whole time, but might need someone else's help to see it.
This book made me feel how fucked and wonderful the world can be.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt