Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

This is my first Backman book, and I will definitely be picking up some of his other titles to read. He has very unique writing style.

Anxious People is the story of an (almost) bank robbery. The story of a hostage situation. The story of a rabbit. The story of an apartment. The story of a bridge. It’s a story of a father and son police officer team. It’s a story about idiots.

But perhaps more than anything, it’s a story of what happens when a human being shows empathy, compassion, kindness, forgiveness, love, acceptance, and all of those beautiful things to a stranger. It’s complex, off-the-wall, hopeful, and fascinating and I highly recommend it!

I started this book and it took me a while to really get into it. There are a lot of characters and the story is going in quite a few directions to start. I almost put it down. But, I kept reading…and I am so glad I did. I have all the feels about this story. I was smiling and crying like a big baby at the end when the author tied all the unique aspects and characters together. It is such an oddball story, but Backman connects complete strangers in such a beautiful and unforgettable way. This story will remain with me for a long time. Highly recommend. Perfect timing for this type of story to be published in 2020, by the way. The world can always use more kindness and forgiveness when humans make mistakes. One of the best lines from this book which I will never forget is, “We plant an apple tree today, even if we know the world is going to be destroyed tomorrow.” Another memorable one is “We need to be allowed to convince ourselves that we are more than the mistakes we made yesterday.” I’ve seen mixed reviews for this book and I respect all opinions. But, I dearly love this book, even though it started very confusing and slow.

Thank you to Atria Books for providing me with an early review copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.