Welcome to November! The holiday season is barreling towards us faster than ever, and somehow we’re already running behind as the New Year creeps in. The holidays and winter in general are notoriously hard on our mental health, leaving many feeling lost and alone. One author I always think of when looking for a story of heart and community, even in the coldest and loneliest days, is Fredrik Backman. Backman is a prolific Swedish author known for his heart-string tugging and bestselling titles such as A Man Called Ove (adapted into a 2022 movie starring Tom Hanks), and Beartown. And today’s Book Club Spotlight features his 2019 book, Anxious People.
In a small town outside Stockholm, Sweden, eight people viewing an apartment are taken hostage by a bank robbery gone wrong. So wrong, in fact, that the awkward bank robber tried to rob a cashless bank…and then took hostages by accident! Desperately keeping up the charade for the police, the “hostages”, and the would-be thief are stuck in the apartment. Each prospective tenant comes to the table with insecurities, stressors, and fears, but here, they are not alone. During their forced proximity, the group learns, and grows from their new relationships, as their pasts and futures intersect in the strangest of circumstances all the while being surrounded by an increasingly confused police force trying to rescue them.
A common thread in Backman’s work is the importance of community, whether that is of friends, neighbors, or pure strangers. No matter how fleeting an interaction may be, we are all in this together. The titular anxious people in Anxious People face many issues. The pressure of parenthood, financial struggles, marriage breakdown, and an assortment of other loss of connection to those they love. Book Club Groups will undoubtedly find characters to empathize and sympathize with, maybe even learning something about themselves and their fellow members along the way. There is a sentiment going around that I have been particularly fond of: “It’s everyone’s first time living too”. So this season, be kind, be gentle, and like the characters in Anxious People, allow for mistakes (maybe even holding you hostage by accident if you’re feeling especially generous).
This book covers the topic of mental illness and suicide. If you, or someone you know is struggling- chat, text, or call the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at https://988lifeline.org/ or dial 988.
To see more of our titles by Fredrik Backman, visit the link here
If you’re interested in requesting Anxious People for your book club, you can find the Request Form here. There are 7 copies. (A librarian must request items)
Backman, Fredrik. Anxious People. Atira Publishing. 2019