Anxious People
by Fredrik Backman
★ Top 25 book of 2019 · #24 on Best Books of 2019
On New Year's Eve, a clumsy but polite bank robber takes a group of apartment viewers hostage. As police wait outside, the nervous strangers start to discover they share more than they expected.
Best for: Readers who enjoy warm, humorous ensemble stories about ordinary people in a tight spot
Anxious People is #24 on BookWard's Best Books of 2019, out of 84 2019 books that cleared our data bar.
What Anxious People is about
A bank robber needs money for rent so his children will not be taken from him. His plan collapses when he finds the bank is cashless, and he flees into an apartment building where an open viewing is under way on New Year's Eve. Suddenly a small group of strangers are his hostages: Anna-Lena and Roger, who buy up apartments to fill the hole in their marriage; Julia and Ro, panicky parents-to-be; 87-year-old Estelle; and Zara, a lonely bank manager. A man in a bunny suit turns up in the bathroom.
Outside, police officer Jim and his son Jack, also a policeman, work the case, and an old tragedy tied to Zara lingers in the background. Fredrik Backman writes with warmth and humor about anxiety, loneliness, marriage and parenthood, and about the kindness strangers can show each other.
Anxious People on the Best Books of 2019
Anxious People came out in 2019. Of the 84 books first published in 2019 that met BookWard's data bar, it ranks #24 on our Best Books of 2019 list.
Why it made the list: 346 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.4 out of 5 (22 ratings). The list ranks each year’s books on how many readers have picked them up, how highly readers rate them, and how many are reading them right now.
Nearby on the 2019 list
- Invisible Women Caroline Criado Perez, #22
- Permanent Record Edward Snowden, #23
See all Best Books of 2019 Best books by year
More years: Best Books of 2018 Best Books of 2020.
The numbers behind it
- Readers: 306 want to read it, 10 are reading it now and 30 have read it, according to Open Library.
- Ratings: 4.4 out of 5 from 22 Open Library ratings.
| Signal | This book (0 to 100) | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Reach | 64 | 55% |
| Reader love | 85 | 25% |
| Being read right now | 50 | 20% |
Questions about Anxious People
When was Anxious People published?
Anxious People by Fredrik Backman was first published in 2019.
Was Anxious People one of the best books of 2019?
Anxious People is #24 on BookWard's Best Books of 2019, out of 84 2019 books that cleared our data bar. 346 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.4 out of 5 (22 ratings).
Why is Anxious People on the Best Books of 2019 list?
346 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.4 out of 5 (22 ratings).
More of the best books of 2019
- Red, White & Royal Blue Casey McQuiston, #1
- A Good Girl's Guide to Murder Holly Jackson, #2
- Heartstopper, Volume 2 Alice Oseman, #3
- Guts Raina Telgemeier, #4
- The Silent Patient Alex Michaelides, #5
- The Wicked King Holly Black, #6
See the full Best Books of 2019, the Top 100, or new books on Rising.
How we know
This page uses public data: Open Library reader counts and ratings, and Wikipedia page views for recent years. The description is paraphrased from real source text. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Lists update monthly.
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