Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
Humans are inherently anxious beings. No matter the stage of life—teenage years, marriage, parenthood, careers, retirement, or even facing the inevitable end—we always find something to worry about. Our minds perpetually juggle countless thoughts, preparing for crises that may never even happen. But isn't that anticipation, that constant hum of anxiety, what makes us profoundly human?
Fredrik Backman's Anxious People delves into this very essence of our nature. The author himself describes the narrative as a tale about "idiots," highlighting how we often conjure unimaginable scenarios even before any real crisis arises. It's a story about love, empathy, and the myriad emotions we navigate through various circumstances. This novel serves as a mirror, reflecting the absurdity, beauty, and complexity of human existence.
The story unfolds through a seemingly chaotic event: a bank robbery gone wrong. But instead of a high-stakes thriller, we get a deeply emotional and unexpectedly heartwarming tale. The hostages—ordinary people like you and me—find themselves trapped in a situation that gradually reveals their vulnerabilities, fears, and desires. And in a rare twist for a bank robbery story, it all leads to a happy ending. Have you ever heard of that before?
Backman weaves humor and wit into the narrative, balancing moments of dark emotion with lighthearted insights. He deftly takes us inside the minds of both the hostages and the robber, prompting us to question our own reactions to fear, stress, and uncertainty. The narrative is not just about the external event but about the internal landscapes of its characters. It uses the backdrop of an unfolding crisis to explore how each person’s history and inner life shape their behavior when faced with unexpected challenges.
What truly stands out in Anxious People is its richly drawn characters. Most of them are people we’ve encountered in our own lives—whether through a fleeting conversation or a passing judgment. We often assume we know someone based on a single interaction, but this book peels back those assumptions, layer by layer. Each character’s story unravels gradually, revealing the patterns that shaped them, the struggles they carry, and the moments that define them. In doing so, Backman not only highlights the irony in our snap judgments but also invites us to reflect on our own imperfections.
Beyond its engaging plot, Anxious People also offers a subtle critique of modern society. In a world that constantly demands efficiency and perfection, Backman reminds us that vulnerability and anxiety are integral to the human condition. The happy ending is not a neat resolution but rather a complex moment of understanding and reconciliation—an affirmation that even in chaos, connection and compassion can prevail.
The book reminds us that at our core, we are all just anxious people, trying to figure life out in our own unique way. This book is a gentle nudge to accept that our anxieties make us who we are.
“This story is about a lot of things, but mostly about idiots. So it needs saying from the outset that it’s always very easy to declare that other people are idiots, but only if you forget how idiotically difficult being human is. Especially if you have other people you’re trying to be a reasonably good human for.”
“People affect each other in ways you’re not aware of and in ways that you’re not expecting.”
Curious about how Backman got the idea of writing this book, I read few of his interviews
I got the idea when I was apartment hunting with my wife. We went to see around nine apartments one day until I was like ‘they are all fine, let’s just pick one, he laughs. But in that setting, there was also a strange sense of competition that brought out people’s anxieties and insecurities. I am interested in relationship dramas and why people act like idiots, so I found that fascinating.
Was he interested in writing as a child?
No, I never wanted to be an author. Writing for me was just a good way of communicating. When you write something, you can rewrite and edit before showing it to someone... I found that really useful as a kid. Even now, I don’t actually think of myself as a writer per se. If there are 10 words to describe something, I choose the easiest. I think this makes my books easy to translate, because the translator does not have to hunt too much to find the exact words.
How did you start writing about the book Anxious People?
I had my breakdown in the winter of 2017. My career had started to go very well abroad. I had done two American tours and I was incredibly uncomfortable. I did interviews, or I went on tours, or I sat on stage and I felt like an actor. I felt like, well, I'm pretending to be the author that you want me to be. And I had an identity crisis and I was so uncomfortable. I'm still very uncomfortable on stage. I needed to write, not to write a book, but I just needed to write because that's the way I organize my thoughts. I started doing that, and that was the start of Anxious People. I had this idea that I'll write a comedy. I'll write something simple, a straightforward comedy. Of course, I failed horribly. It's not even considered by many as a straightforward comedy. It's a lot more serious than I intended it to be. That became Anxious People. I couldn't help myself from involving all of the things I was thinking about during my breakdown and during my recovery, all of these things that I was struggling with.