Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

 

Looking at real estate isn’t usually a life-or-death situation, but an apartment open house becomes just that when a failed bank robber bursts in and takes a group of strangers hostage. The captives include a recently retired couple who relentlessly hunt down fixer-uppers to avoid the painful truth that they can’t fix their own marriage. There’s a wealthy bank director who has been too busy to care about anyone else and a young couple who are about to have their first child but can’t seem to agree on anything, from where they want to live to how they met in the first place. Add to the mix an eighty-seven-year-old woman who has lived long enough not to be afraid of someone waving a gun in her face, a flustered but still-ready-to-make-a-deal real estate agent, and a mystery man who has locked himself in the apartment’s only bathroom, and you’ve got the worst group of hostages in the world.

Each of them carries a lifetime of grievances, hurts, secrets, and passions that are ready to boil over. None of them is entirely who they appear to be. And all of them—the bank robber included—desperately crave some sort of rescue. As the authorities and the media surround the premises these reluctant allies will reveal surprising truths about themselves and set in motion a chain of events so unexpected that even they can hardly explain what happens next.

REVIEW: What an entertaining and engrossing read! I was excited to see another book by the author of A Man Called Ove and this novel did not disappoint. Backman's memorable characters come alive in a way that few authors seem to manage - this group of somewhat ridiculous anxiety-ridden strangers are really just like all of us. Billed as the story of a bank-robbery gone wrong, this book touches on so many of the worries and cares of everyday life. The cast of strangers wrestles with big issues like loneliness and death and the meaning of love as well as the boring minutiae of adult responsibilities, parenting, and the hilarious awfulness of the real estate market. The story was sometimes hopeful, sometimes sad, and often laugh-out-loud funny, and I finished the book feeling truly satisfied. 4.5 stars, I can't wait for more from this author.