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A review by elsaschuster
Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book started out So. Slow. It was probably only at the 100 page mark that I started to feel compelled to keep going.
I didn’t like the style of the narrator telling you things like ‘and then this happened, but you probably don’t care about that’ or ‘you wouldn’t do this, but what if this was also happening, then would you?’. I think the story would have been better served by just being a story without breaking the fourth wall. I loved ‘A Man Called Ove’ and I wonder how much the difference in the authors voice between this book and that one is the author, and how much of it is that each had a different translator.
Having said that, I liked the ending and I didn’t see it coming, and I enjoyed the second half of the book.
I didn’t like the style of the narrator telling you things like ‘and then this happened, but you probably don’t care about that’ or ‘you wouldn’t do this, but what if this was also happening, then would you?’. I think the story would have been better served by just being a story without breaking the fourth wall. I loved ‘A Man Called Ove’ and I wonder how much the difference in the authors voice between this book and that one is the author, and how much of it is that each had a different translator.
Having said that, I liked the ending and I didn’t see it coming, and I enjoyed the second half of the book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent