We are asleep until we fall in love
anxious people, fredrik beckman
Author: Fredrik Backman
Publication Date: 8 September 2020
Publisher: Atria Books
Page Count: 352
Reading Method: Physical Book [ BOTM Backlog ]
Synopsis:
Looking at real estate isn’t usually a life-or-death situation, but an apartment open house becomes just that when a failed bank robber bursts in and takes a group of strangers hostage. The captives include a recently retired couple who relentlessly hunt down fixer-uppers to avoid the painful truth that they can’t fix their own marriage. There’s a wealthy bank director who has been too busy to care about anyone else and a young couple who are about to have their first child but can’t seem to agree on anything, from where they want to live to how they met in the first place. Add to the mix an eighty-seven-year-old woman who has lived long enough not to be afraid of someone waving a gun in her face, a flustered but still-ready-to-make-a-deal real estate agent, and a mystery man who has locked himself in the apartment’s only bathroom, and you’ve got the worst group of hostages in the world.
Each of them carries a lifetime of grievances, hurts, secrets, and passions that are ready to boil over. None of them is entirely who they appear to be. And all of them—the bank robber included—desperately crave some sort of rescue. As the authorities and the media surround the premises these reluctant allies will reveal surprising truths about themselves and set in motion a chain of events so unexpected that even they can hardly explain what happens next.
Review:
I already knew this heading in, but Backman ~seriously~ has a magical way of writing that instantly has me falling in love from page one. In addition to trying to complete some of my Owlcrate backlog, I’ve been trying to go through past Book of the Month books as well. Obviously I put Anxious People at the top of that list.
Plot:
This is a story about a house viewing… or a bank robber… hostage situation? This is a story about idiots. The story follows several different characters, all with their own stories to share. It begins when the bank robber messes up their robbery and accidently takes an entire apartment full of people hostage. We get to follow along as they try to navigate their pasts and try to figure out how to get out of their current situation. There is also a father/son duo of police officers working the scene and holding the investigation to figure out where the bank robber disappeared to.
Characters:
Oh, so many characters! And they’re all introduced so slowly it was almost maddening. But in true Backman fashion, he’s a master at developing his characters throughout the story. I have yet to find another author who writes people as beautifully.
There’s the father-son cop duo who are still trying to figure out how to navigate their work and home relationship. We’ve got an abrasive bank worker, a young, pregnant couple looking for their first home before the baby arrives, an older couple looking for a project apartment, a mysterious and overfriendly older woman, a man in half of a bunny costume, and of course, the bank robber.
All the of the characters are intertwined in some way or other and it’s really beautiful seeing how everything connects and comes together. I almost feel like I can’t say much about the characters without giving away the story. But just know, there are characters – quite a few of them – and they are all weird and wonderful and not what they seem at first glance.
Writing:
It’s classic Backman… need I say more? The writing is beautiful and lyrical with a touch of comedy. It’s heartwarming and haunting. It was a bit of a slow start for me, but once things start coming together, it really picks up and I just never wanted it to end.
Overall:
I absolutely loved this book, but I was expecting nothing less. I would highly recommend giving this one a go, especially if you are a fan of his past works.
