I almost regret writing this post because it means that I am moving on from the book Anxious People and I really hate to leave it. Fredrik Backman is a genius as far as I am concerned. His novel is the most intricately written book that I have read in a long time. Crafted in a nonlinear style that just seems effortless, the story line centers around a hostage situation that we are told in no uncertain terms contains hostages that are the worst in the world. A group of strangers at an open house are taken by surprise by a bank robber/hostage taker who is acting out of fear and desperation but with little real thought of the dangerous consequences. These characters we meet are quirky, curmudgeonly and most of all desperate for love. They are, however, able to bond. The reader learns as the police surround the building and try to ascertain how bad the situation is that people inside are connected in one way or another to a suicide that had happened ten years previously. This other plot feature was woven beautifully into the story. Backman brilliantly adds layer after layer to the story, and with each layer we are given insights to the characters that allow us to build real relationship feelings. This is a story about “idiots” we are told by the narrator, but we learn as the stories progresses that these people are anything but idiotic. Clever and resourceful to a person, they manage to find a solution to their predicament and even save the bank robber/hostage taker in the process.
I laughed out loud at many of the scenes we witnessed and at the conversations that were had by different characters throughout. This novel does have several serious themes such as suicide, depression, marital problems and even that of the world economy and its effects on the ordinary man. These themes were treated with such humanity and thoughtfulness that we are drawn in without realizing we are thinking about such heavy issues. Truly a story that will stay with me for a long time. Maybe the best of Backman to date.
