The story of 9 Anxious People

GG Books

Oct 13

Anxious People Book cover, review, coffee cup

Anxious People, by Fredrik Backman, needs two ratings to be perfectly accurate.

First two-thirds of the book:: GG Book Rating ☕️☕️.9/5
Second third of the book:: GG Book Rating ☕️☕️☕️☕️/5

I bought this book 6 months ago and came back to it more times than I walk to my coffee maker each morning. It was a hard sell –read– for me at first.

It was a labored read at the start. Remember the book –or movie– Holes? In that book boys were in a labor camp where they had to dig hole after hole looking for a treasure, only coming up empty month after month.

It was that kinda labor reading.

Start a chapter and follow the character set-up, only before the character developed for me, the chapter ended and I’d be sent digging in a new spot.

Curiosity peaked – picked the book up – read three to four chapters. 👇🏼

Anxious People High

The switch back and forth from the character accounts to the police station interrogations were maddening more than intriguing.

Interest waned – book becomes a night stand decoration. 👇🏼

Anxious People Low

This story was a puzzle with a lot of pieces that I kept trying to click into place but none of the edges fit just right. After a chapter or two I’d set the book back down and went to another one instead.

UNTIL…Chapter 59!

I dusted off my night stand decor for the last time and read with the speed of a Maserati on the Autobahn.

I gave these pages one more chance and stayed up way past my Apple watch resetting my activity counter.

Once I buckled down for the remaining police station interviews {during the day, with coffee in hand} the pieces finally started snapping into place.

Anxious People was slow to reveal details that lead you down a path where you start guessing at the next assumptions, then it switches characters, then comes back to the assumption made earlier, then…

CLICK

The puzzle piece fits and WHOA! You got me!

While the first half of the book was a struggle for me, the last quarter was a masterpiece, if you can make it there {the reason for the ☕️☕️.9/5 coffee cups}.

I was very confused when Backman says this book is about idiots. I wasn’t following wherever it was he was leading in the pages.

Waaaiit a minnuute!

Is he trying to slowly say, I’m an idiot 🤔

But then, he writes, {DON’T SKIM THIS PART}

“...We’re doing the best we can…We’re trying to be grown-up and love each other and understand how the hell you’re supposed to insert USB leads. We’re looking for something to cling on to, something to fight for, something to look forward to.”

Well said – well said.

{It’s also VERY IMPORTANT to add, Anxious People brings in suicide, on both sides, in case that’s a topic you steer away from.}

Coffee • Wine • And Final Notes

I’m usually a, “life’s too short for a bad book read” kinda gal, but happy I stuck this one out.

If you’re reading along with a glass of wine instead of a coffee cup, then pair this read with an extra glass of pinot noir {or just drink out of the bottle like Estelle}. Estelle ended up being my favorite character of the book💖

No, not because she drank from the bottle. She has panache! The kind that I hope I have when I reach her age. At least I don’t think I’ve reached her age.

Read through to the end of this book. Don’t be a quitter, like I was for the last 6-months.

Some other GG Books reviews::