"Anxious People" by Fredrik Backman

Perhaps a book titled "Anxious People" is not the greatest reading choice when you have anxious tendencies yourself  -- at first glance, anyway, lol. I have to admit I felt a little jittery at times as I read this book. Something about the staccato prose, the repetition, and reading about the personal anxieties of some of the different characters (particularly Zara). 

But I was compelled to read "Anxious People" for several reasons -- first, because it's been on my "to-read" list for quite a while;  second, because it's by Fredrik Backman, who wrote "Beartown," one of the best books I read in 2019 (review here);  third, because it was the June pick for my "Clever Name" online book club. (We'll be meeting via Zoom to talk about it tomorrow.)  

And finally, because one of my friends, in her review on Goodreads, wrote: "Read this book. Stick with it. Seriously won’t regret. There. That’s my review. LOL."

And so I stuck with it -- even though I will admit I struggled a bit, particularly through the first half/two-thirds of the book. There are so many different characters featured (many of them unlikeable -- especially at first), with different back stories, and the time frames shift back and forth between the present and the past. It was hard to keep track and remember all the details -- especially after a day or two or three away from the book.   

But I will admit -- like "The Midnight Library" by Matt Haig (review here), this book slowly grew on me, and ultimately won me over.  The closer I got to the end, the more I wanted to keep reading.  Huge props to the author for how he drew together all the different storylines, wove connections among the different characters (who slowly became more likeable as the book went on), and resolved some outstanding questions/mysteries. (I may have to re-read the book just to make sure I caught them all.)  There are some wonderful messages about mental health and kindness, too. 

Oh yeah -- the plot (lol): as the book jacket blurb explains, it's "a poignant comedy about a crime that never took place, a would-be bank robber who disappears into thin air, and eight extremely anxious strangers who find they have more in common than they ever imagined."  

The Goodreads description adds:  "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 think that's enough information. :) 

I wound up rating "Anxious People" 5 stars on Goodreads. Maybe more like 4.5, rounded up -- it did give me some jitters, after all.  ;)  But my friend was right. I am glad I stuck with it. :)  

This was Book #34 read to date in 2021 (and Book #2 finished in June), bringing me to 94% of my 2021 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 36 books. I am (for the moment, anyway...!) 17 (!) books ahead of schedule. :)  You can find reviews of all my books read to date in 2021 tagged as "2021 books."