A review by meeklovestoread
Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

adventurous dark emotional funny lighthearted sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book is not what I was expecting. In clever Backman fashion, he was able to turn a basic story into something much more nuanced with a lot of layers and depth. I always find it amazing how he finds a way to make all the stories connect. I feel like it's his writing that makes his books so if you're not a fan of his commentary style third-person writing you may not like this. I for one very much enjoy his writing so I found this very enjoyable. I really love the commentary that Backman adds through his characters about various different topics. There are always so many quotable lines in his books. I just relate to them so much. All in all, I really enjoyed this book, however, I feel like the last 15% was a bit underwhelming.
I know you have to suspend your disbelief when it comes to this story but I just couldn't do that when Jim (the dad cop) just let the bank robber go and lowkey aided and abetted in their escape. I get that we had to move the story along, but I was really hoping for a big twist on how the bank robber got away. Them just finding the key and leaving was just a bit anticlimactic to me. Also, I know there are themes of suicide in this book but I was expecting the ending to be sadder or hopeful. I felt like everything came together too neatly and too happily. Like Zara and Lennard came out of nowhere. I felt like they were unnecessary. And the bank robber being with her kids in the end felt too neat. I don't know; I feel like some stories should've ended a bit more tragically. To have everyone have a happy ending was a bit of a letdown.
Overall, again I still enjoyed this book and will most definitely be reading the rest of Fredrik's books.
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