I’m going to be completely honest here, I’m usually not one for literary fiction; it’s just not my jam, ya know? But I’m also an avid Booktube watcher as well and this one name would occasionally pop up. It popped up so many times that I got a little curious: Fredrik Backman. Once again, I’m not a lit fic person, but it was the way these various Booktubers spoke about his books in wrap-ups that made me curious. Also, if you don’t know what Booktube is, it’s just the bookish side of Youtube.
Related: The Bookshop Blog’s Other Book Reviews
They spoke about his layered characters, simple plots, amazing relationships, and incredible writing style. So, I got curious and picked up one of his books. I wasn’t going to jump right into a full-length novel as I didn’t know just how I would like him. So I picked up what I believe is his only novella, And Every Morning The Way Home Gets Longer and Longer.
It’s only 76 pages and I was completely and utterly invested in those short 76 pages. I had to know, I needed to know and, of course, given its length, I was able to finish it in a day. Backman was able to create such a complex world and relationships in just those few pages, so what could he do with more? Needless to say, I picked up a full-length novel: his newest publication, Anxious People.
Anxious People Plot & Characters
This book starts with a bank robbery in a small Swedish town. Unfortunately for the bank robber, the attempt goes horribly wrong. What starts as a bank robbery turns into a hostage situation during an apartment viewing. From that, we follow eight different perspectives within the book. We have an expecting couple, a realtor, an elderly woman, a couple that loves to flip apartments, a rather curious single woman, two police officers, and of course the bank robber.
This cast of characters has absolutely nothing in common. Their backgrounds are vastly different from each other and they have no reason whatsoever to interact. This is what Backman does beautifully and what I really enjoyed about this book.
These characters do not belong together. In any other situation, they would have no need to interact. Throughout this story, Backman weaves a fascinating setting that one could very much call a small-town setting.
This is a very character-driven story. If you’re looking for a plot-focused book, then Backman’s work is probably not for you. His characters are the main piece and the plot is just the reason why certain people are in certain places. Now, I love character-driven stories. Even if the plot is horrible, I will stay with it for the characters.
Changing Points of View
With Anxious People, we dip into the lives of each one of these characters, and while they are trapped together in this hostage situation, they start to open up a little bit more to each other. This is one of Backman’s great talents—the ability to weave a story and the relationships between the characters. As the reader progresses through the story, it starts to become apparent that these characters have various subtle connections to them.
In my experience, it can be very hard to have a book with various points of view. Keep in mind, that this is point of view, where the reader jumps from one character’s perspective to another. This shouldn’t be confused with books that have multiple characters, as with that we are still in the perspective of a single main character. With this, we as the reader are in the heads of each character individually and that can make reading experiences feel a little jumpy and oftentimes muddled. One can even have the problem of liking one or two characters more than the others, which can also bring down the enjoyment of the book.
I cannot tell you how many times that has happened to me, where I only end up liking one or two characters in a multi point of view book. That could equal just liking 20% of the characters and that can drop the enjoyment a lot.
Anxious People shows the reader the lives of each character and explores exactly why they are the way they are. These include what brought them to this particular apartment viewing and in the case of the bank robber and why was there a need or desire to rob a bank in the first place. The side characters as well are as complex and fascinating.
My personal favorite points of view were those of the two police officers who were called to not only investigate the robbery but also to help with the hostage situation. We learned about their connection to each other fairly early on, but their voices were some of the most fascinating to me. However, all of the characters bring to the table a surprising complexity that feels far too real for these to be simply fictional characters.
Reading More Backman
Will I be reading more Fredrik Backman after this? Absolutely! As stated earlier, I’m not usually one to read literary fiction. That is no fault of the books or genre itself; it is simply my personal preference. I enjoy the escapism of a wonderfully built world that allows for the imagination to run wild. I suppose it was a little bit of my own mistake in thinking that just because something has a modern setting it can’t be that much fun to escape into.
Yes, I will read more by Backman. His writing is very simplistic and easy to follow and the points he brings up within his settings are completely relevant to real life. The problems his characters go through, their pain, and their happiness are very relatable. It’s because of this that a good portion of them have you as the reader wishing they were real just to become friends with them. This book was a solid 5 out of 5 stars and I really truly want to read it again one day soon.