Anxious People
It's New Year's Eve and House Tricks estate agents are hosting an open viewing in an up-market apartment when an incompetent bank robber rushes in and politely takes everyone hostage. For Anna-Lena and Roger, busy buying-up apartments to fill the hole in their marriage, it's something else to talk about. For Julia and Ro, panicky parents-to-be, it's yet another worry. Lonely bank manager Zara only came here for the view. While 87-year-old grandmother Estelle seems rather pleased by the company . . . As the police gather outside, the anxious strangers huddled within try to make the best of a very sticky situation - but could it be that they have a whole lot more in common than meets the eye?
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A failed bank robbery sends a panicked thief into a Stockholm apartment open house, taking the prospective buyers hostage. What follows is the funniest, kindest, most quietly heartbreaking standoff.
Yes. Anxious People blends warm comedy and dark humor with a hostage situation gone sideways. Fredrik Backman's signature voice keeps the tone funny and humane even as the novel touches on suicide, divorce, and economic crisis.
Anxious People was written by Fredrik Backman, published in 2019 by Atria Books.
Anxious People is 352 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Anxious People takes most readers 5 to 8 hours to finish.
Anxious People is a standalone novel by Fredrik Backman, not part of a series.
Anxious People is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.