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Anxious People

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Anxious People

By: Fredrik Backman
Narrated by: Marin Ireland
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

An instant #1 New York Times bestseller

The funny, touching and unpredictable novel from the 15 million copy internationally bestselling author of A Man Called Ove.

In a small town in Sweden it appears to be an ordinary day. But look more closely, and you'll see a mysterious masked figure approaching a bank...

Two hours later, chaos has descended. A bungled attempted robbery has developed into a hostage situation - and the offender is refusing to communicate their demands to the police.

Within the building, fear quickly turns to irritation for the seven strangers trapped inside. If this is to be their last day on earth, shouldn't it be a bit more dramatic?

But as the minutes tick by, they begin to suspect that the criminal mastermind holding them hostage might be more in need of rescuing than they are...

©2020 Fredrik Backman (P)2020 Penguin Audio Crime Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction Fiction Crime Feel-Good Heartfelt Witty Funny Banking

Critic Reviews

A brilliant and comforting read (Matt Haig)
Funny, compassionate and wise . . . an absolute joy (AJ Pearce, bestselling author of Dear Mrs Bird)
I loved this book. Funny, sad, clever, insightful, surprising and hopeful. Brilliant in every way (Sarah Morgan, bestselling author of One Summer in Paris)
All stars
Most relevant  
It took me a while to get into the swing of this book, not entirely sure why but by the end I was left feeling quite positive about it. Really great and unusual story/writing.

The performance by the narrator while extremely good, just wasn’t my cup of tea however.

Not what I expected

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The book is sprinkled with lovely clever charming and funny observations about life. I just couldn't get past the cringy way the characters interact but maybe that says more about me, see it's a good thought privoker too ;)

Full of little gems, although bit cringy for me

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Beautiful story with many powerful insights. I loved all the characters and the narration was excellent.

Powerful story

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It might be one of the most touching stories I’ve read, I’ve cried so much! The book also keeps surprising you till the end. I even liked it more than the Man called Ove.

Highly recommend

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This is my fourth Backman read, and I am really enjoying his style of writing. There were a couple of parts that were confusing, but they came together in the end. I love how it kept you guessing

keeps you guessing

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Loved this funny, feel-good, with great characters in a small town that is NOT Stockholm!

Feel-good - loved it!

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For a book with so many characters to follow, everyone was unique enough to have their own story so you were able to paint an easy picture of who is who

Anxious People tell great stories

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Loved it! Well read & fun. Nothing is as it seems. The sands shift. Definitely recommended.

Fun & Thoughtful

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I’ve been waiting for a year to read a book this good. And I read a lot. Each time I start a new book I hope that this might be the one that’s so good I get to the end and start it again to enjoy it a second time and that I can talk about it with other bibliophiles and recommend it to friends who also love good stories. I’ve been waiting a while to love a book this much. This was an unexpectedly beautiful story, exceptionally written and enjoyed thoroughly.

A book for bibliophiles

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While I generally prefer reading from the pages, this was well presented. A lovely collection of characters thrown together & yet connected. Surprisingly well constructed with lots of heart & sensitivity.

Nicely presented

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