# Anxious People

By Fredrik Backman

Profile: https://hahafiction.com/books/anxious-people-2f1db4a4/

A bank robber runs from the police into an apartment open house and takes eight strangers hostage. The prospective buyers bring their own marital arguments, worries and grievances to the crisis. In a small Swedish town, a desperate attempt to pay the rent draws a remarkably uncooperative group together.

## What makes it funny?

The would-be robber has chosen a cashless bank. Fleeing that failure leads to an apartment full of people who are difficult to manage even without a pistol involved. The father-and-son police officers then have to make sense of their maddening witness interviews.

### The comedy at work

The narrator starts by calling people idiots, then considers the daily work of pretending to be a capable adult. Understanding sex gets compared to plugging in a USB cable: everyone acts confident despite repeatedly getting it wrong. These digressions invite recognition as well as amusement at the bungled crime.

### Try this if…

Readers who like ensemble stories about flawed people finding reasons to care for one another may welcome the interruptions and shifting attention. The narrator takes a winding route through the characters' lives, with room for marriage, loneliness and parenting alongside the hostage plot.

### Good to know

Suicide and attempted suicide are part of the story, along with financial desperation and a gun at the apartment viewing. The affectionate comedy sits beside painful material.

## What to expect

- Genre: Contemporary & literary
- Kind of humor: Situational comedy
- The atmosphere: Warmhearted
- Story ingredients: Incompetent heroes
- Format: Novel
- Length: 352 pages
- Audiobook: 9 hr 53 min
- Published: 2020

## A few distinguishing details

- A robbery attempted at a bank without cash
- Apartment hunters who make troublesome hostages
- A digressive narrator sympathetic to everyday failure

## Sources & further reading

- Publisher: [Publisher and opening excerpt](https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Anxious-People/Fredrik-Backman/9781501160844)
- Author commentary: [Author](https://www.fredrikbackman.com/books/anxious-people)
- Review: [Kirkus review](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/fredrik-backman/anxious-people)
- Review: [BookTrib review](https://booktrib.com/2020/09/09/anxious-people-fredrik-backman)
- Library catalog: [OverDrive audiobook](https://readdfci.overdrive.com/media/5254460)