Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

Swedish author burst onto the American book scene in 2014 with A Man Called Ove. Backman has a very distinct writing style, and it’s on full display in his new novel Anxious People. I’m sure his style is not to everyone’s taste, but Backman really speaks to me. I loved A Man Called Ove and Beartown; maybe I didn’t love Anxious People quite as much but I still loved it. There are a lot of characters in this book and no main character, and I didn’t quite feel like I connected with anyone like I did with Ove. I still enjoyed this earnest, heartfelt story.

I heard Fredrik Backman speak in a webinar recently, and he suffers from anxiety. Anxious People was not supposed to be about anxiety, but that’s what it turned into. Backman can’t keep thoughts on anxiety and suicide out of his books, but they are somehow happy anxiety books. By that I mean, people who are depressed and anxious and who feel inadequate carry on and do the best they can and do some things very well.

The story in Anxious People is “spoiled” for us by the narrator straight off. The story meanders all over, doubling back to explain things we’ve already read. It’s repetitive, in an OCD kind of way. And yet to me it does not feel like Backman is trying to be clever. I believe this is how his mind works.

This book addresses the need to understand that everyone is out there struggling and the need for kindness and empathy. It’s a rare book that makes me cry, and I can legit say I was crying at the end.

I read an advance reader copy of Anxious People provided by Netgalley. The book was published in early September 2020 and is available at the Galesburg Public Library in print, audio, and digital.