Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

4.5/5 rating

Genre: Psychological Fiction, Satire Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Humor

Trigger Warnings: Attempted Suicide, Blood, Death of spouse, Grief, Domestic abuse, suicide ideation, substance abuse, hostage situation, gun violence, depression, dementia

"Nothing must happen to you
        No, what am I saying
 Everything must happen to you
 And it must be wonderful" (Backman 313).


From the character development to all the twist and turns this book took, I loved every moment of it. 

While this is my first time reading any of his works, Backman knows exactly what he is doing when writing suspense, mystery, and something so heart warming-words could not even comprehend to explain it.  

One technique he uses that I fell in love with was commentary. When reading, the narrator comments on things that the characters are doing, unlike other books, and things that the reader should know for the story. These things are normally seen through foreshadow and unforeseen twists, but they are quite elegantly done. 

"Falling in love is magical, after all, romantic, breathtaking…but falling in love and love are different" (Backman 56). 

This book, hands down, is one of my new top favorites. There were so many moments when I was laughing so hard, I had to stop to take a breath. Backman truly knows when to throw humor in the way of the reader when they least expect it. 

Following unexpected things, Anxious People shows the unexpected through the excellent delivery of showing each character. It truly shows the limits to a person, and showing how small our world actually is. How the littlest of details could change a persons life entirely, and how those little details changes a person's perspective as well. Backman takes the time to show the lives of every character, not leaving anyone as a side dish. Each character is developed beautifully so that the readers have a connection with each one. 

If I had one word to describe this story, it would be perception. A person's perception is only able to be created with the information given to them. This concept of perception can be seen through many quotes within Anxious People. 

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