“Backman again captures the messy essence of being human.It’s clever and affecting, as likely to make you laugh out loud as it is to make you cry.” - Washington Post This “endlessly entertaining mood-booster” ( Real Simple) is proof that the enduring power of friendship, forgiveness, and hope can save us-even in the most anxious of times. Proving once again that Backman is “a master of writing delightful, insightful, soulful, character-driven narratives” ( USA TODAY), Anxious People “captures the messy essence of being human….It’s clever and affecting, as likely to make you laugh out loud as it is to make you cry” ( The Washington Post). 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. And all of them-the bank robber included-desperately crave some sort of rescue. None of them is entirely who they appear to be. 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.Įach of them carries a lifetime of grievances, hurts, secrets, and passions that are ready to boil over.

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. 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.

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. Wry, wise and often laugh-out-loud funny, it’s a wholly original story that delivers pure pleasure” ( People ). An instant #1 New York Times bestseller, the new novel from the author of A Man Called Ove is a “quirky, big-hearted novel….

Anxious people book cover