Anxious People, Fredrik Backman

A good book, not a great book, mainly because reading Anxious People made me, well, anxious. I was quite impressed by how the author could draw in so many quasi-main characters (11 all toll) and not lose me. That is true artistry.

I have read another Backman book, and it was an over-the-top winner. Unfortunately, it may have set an unrealistic bar, leaving Anxious People reaching in vain.

When a bank robber botches their first attempt at such, trying to rob a cashless bank, they run across the street, up the stairs, and into an open apartment in the middle of an open house. The robber, also unskilled at taking hostages, ends up with 8 of them: two married couples, one of whom was pregnant, an executive, a real estate agent, an elderly woman, and a man in a rabbit costume who was hired as an open house spoiler.

Throughout the book, Backman gives snippets of backstory for the characters and the two policemen who try to solve several mysteries during the book, including those of their family dynamic.

There are some endearing moments in the book when the least likely of the hostages end up consoling or befriending each other, and the book ends with a surprisingly sweet twist (or two) that leaves everyone in a happy and good place.

I still could have taken or left the book with all of this going on. I actually had to work at finishing it, not because it was dreadful, but more because it felt lackluster. Again, this may be because I was so over the moon with expectations due to my previous Backman read.