Starlight Book Review – Fredrik Backman’s Anxious People

Cover of Anxious People by Fredrik Backman | Image Source: Goodreads

3.7/5 Fredrik Backman’s works regularly fly off the shelves at my library branch.

I noticed most, if not all, Backman titles, some not-so-Nordic Noir-ish, in recommendations for books set in Sweden when I researched books I might read for the Read Around the World Stellar Reading Challenge (SRC) in 2021. Yet, I leaned into another SRC before I let literature lead me to Sweden. I remedied that, however, when the book club I belong to chose Backman’s Anxious People as its June read.

“Viewing an apartment normally doesn’t turn into a life-or-death situation, but this particular open house becomes just that when a failed bank robber bursts in and takes everyone in the apartment hostage. As the pressure mounts, the eight strangers begin slowly opening up to one another and reveal long-hidden truths…”

I really didn’t get into Anxious People until about halfway through the book. At first, I couldn’t locate characters who passed what I refer to as the “Dad Test” (evoking sympathy) within me as a reader. When I reached the halfway mark, I began to see softer, more appealing sides of these characters. After that, I rapidly read the rest of Anxious People. I appreciated the encouraging message Backman made through these initially difficult characters. I particularly liked octogenarian Estelle by the end of the book. Anxious People brought these characters together in this one incident; creating a catalyst for these people not so… well, anxious. I knocked off some points in my rating for the slow start but, I also have added other books by Backman to my To Be Read (TBR) Shelf.

Gnomies, which Fredrik Backman book do you recommend I add to my TBR Shelf?

Quotes come from book flaps/cover and are featured on color blocks.