The official first book club pick! 🤩 what a ride!
**MINI-SPOILERS AHEAD**

Fredrik Backman is known for his heartwarming stories full of eccentric characters and deeply human themes. Unfortunately, Anxious People fails to fully live up to this promise for me. While the book certainly offers moments of wit and humor, it ultimately gets bogged down in an excess of chaos and a lack of depth.

The story revolves around a failed bank robbery that culminates in a hostage situation during an open house. The group of hostages consists of a motley crew of characters, each with their own problems and quirks. On paper, this sounds like an excellent basis for a compelling and empathetic novel, but in practice the execution feels messy.

One of the biggest weaknesses is the tone of the book. Backman tries to combine humor and emotion, but this often leads to an imbalance. One moment heavy themes such as suicide and loneliness are broached, and the next moment they are abruptly interrupted by light-hearted, slapstick dialogues. This sometimes feels forced and detracts from the impact of the emotional moments.

The characters are also too cartoonish here for me. While some scenes show their vulnerability, they often get bogged down in superficial stereotypes. Their development feels artificial, as if they serve more as plot devices than as real, tangible people. This makes it difficult to connect with them on a deep level.

What is admirable is Backman’s attempt to tackle complex topics, such as the human need for connection and understanding. There are moments of insight that resonate and make you think as a reader. Unfortunately, these are often drowned out by the confusing structure of the story, which jumps back and forth in time and perspective in a way that is more tiring than enriching. This was my biggest struggle through the book.

But despite these critical points, I want to end this review nicely with some wisdom: "We need to be allowed to convince ourselves that we're more than the mistakes we made yesterday. That we are all of our next choices, too, all of our tomorrows."