Anxious People: A Novel
An instant #1 New York Times bestseller, the new novel from the author of A Man Called Ove is a “quirky, big-hearted novel….Wry, wise and often laugh-out-loud funny, it’s a wholly original story that delivers pure pleasure” (People).
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Readers say *Anxious People* by Fredrik Backman is an emotionally rich, quirky novel blending humor and tragedy with thoughtful themes like grief, con...
Not a favorite of the group. There was a lot of complicated characters and a little hard to follow. Probably a 5.
Complexity of people shines
This was an engaging read but not a easy one. I found myself needing to take notes on characters throughout to keep track. It’s not a book to read in parallel with 3 others! A situation of happenstance that brings a bunch of very different people together.....you learn about each in flashbacks and stories told between them. Suicide, grief, alcoholism, loneliness, the evolution of relationships through time and what we will sacrifice for our children are major themes.
This was an engaging read but not a easy one. I found myself needing to take notes on characters throughout to keep track. It’s not a book to read in parallel with 3 others! A situation of happenstance that brings a bunch of very different people together.....you learn about each in flashbacks and stories told between them. Suicide, grief, alcoholism, loneliness, the evolution of relationships through time and what we will sacrifice for our children are major themes.
DNF! I tried reading this for my neighbors book club. I found the beginning interesting but then I had to force myself to read a few pages at a time and finally had to dnf at 32%. This book triggered me in ways I can’t explain, I just could not handle the stress and literal anxiety reading this gave me. I understand the point of the book, i understand what the author was doing. HOWEVER, the conversations between the characters are toxic. The amount of circular conversations gave me PTSD and if you’ve ever been in a relationship with a covert narcissist you probably understood what I’m talking about. But to sum it up, if you want to know what it’s like having a discussion with my narcissistic ex husband, pretend you’re the cops in this book.
This book showed me that I’m not as healed from the trauma as I had originally thought. Perhaps one day I’ll be able to try reading this again and get through to the end.
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