Anxious People

Anxious People

First edition
Author	Fredrik Backman
Original title	Folk med ångest
Language	Swedish
Genre	Novel
Publisher	Månpocket (Swedish)
Publication date	2019
Publication place	Sweden
Published in English	6 July 2021
Media type	Print
ISBN	9789179130268

Anxious People (original title in Swedish: Folk med ångest) is a novel by Swedish writer Fredrik Backman published by Månpocket in 2019. The novel was published in English in 2021.

It was adapted into a Netflix television series of the same name, which premiered on 29 December 2021.

Plot summary

Ten years ago, a man lost all his savings due to a financial crash. He visited a financial banker named Zara and asked for advice, but she flatly said it was his fault for giving the bank his money. The man wrote a letter to her before taking his own life by jumping off the bridge.

In the present day, a bank robber tries to rob a bank to get enough money to pay for rent, so their children won't be taken away. Unfortunately, it is a cashless bank, so the bank robber panics and runs to a nearby apartment building to avoid being caught by the police. The bank robber enters an apartment viewing, and the people inside see the robber's pistol and assume that it is a robbery. The bank robber hesitantly accepts that they are taking the people hostage as they try to maintain order.

The hostages are apartment renovators Anna-Lena and Roger, expecting mothers Julia and Ro, an elderly Estelle, and bank owner Zara. They find a man named Lennart wearing a bunny suit inside the bathroom. Anna-Lena admits that she hired Lennart to cause a commotion to lower the bidding price of other prospective buyers, in order to make Roger believe that he negotiated the price himself. They split up in silence, as Roger had taken pride in his negotiation skills.

Ro follows Roger and admits to him that the reason she nitpicks every apartment her wife Julia brings her to is because she fears she isn't ready to be a parent. Roger assures her that she'll be a good mother and encourages her to buy the apartment. Anna-Lena tells Julia that she fears Roger hates her for deceiving him, but Julia promises her that all couples show their love to their spouses in unconventional ways. A standoffish Zara looks at the bridge from the apartment's balcony and complains about human greed and economic systems to Lennart. When all the hostages regroup, Roger tells Julia that Ro is excited and nervous to be a mother, and Julia tells Roger that he is enough and that Anna-Lena still loves him.

The bank robber apologizes for keeping them hostage and says they will free them and turn themself in. However, the hostages argue that they simply made a mistake to protect their children, and that they all agree to lie in their witness statements to protect them. Estelle reveals that the apartment they're currently in is actually her apartment, and that she posed as one of the buyers to sell it to someone who deserved it. She gives the bank robber the key to a neighboring apartment to hide in when the police arrive. The bank robber thanks the hostages for being kind.

Jim is the first police to reach the apartment. The bank robber turns themself in and tells Jim the whole truth of why they robbed the bank. Jim feels sympathy for the bank robber and agrees to help the bank robber avoid capture. The bank robber releases the hostages and hides in a neighboring apartment. Jim's son, Jack, also a policeman, interviews the hostages and is frustrated when they play dumb. A series of coincidences lead Jack to believe that the bank robber is still hiding in the apartment. Jim tells the truth to his son, and they reconcile.

In the end, the bank robber moves in with Estelle in her apartment, and their children are theirs every other week. Julia and Ro move into a neighboring apartment and have a baby boy. Anna-Lena and Roger take up a new hobby. Zara starts a relationship with Lennart and works up the courage to read the letter from the man who jumped off the bridge ten years ago. It reads "It wasn't your fault." and she finally lets go of her guilt.

Historical context

The economic downturn that drove a character to attempt suicide by jumping off a bridge is likely a reference to the Great Recession that originated in the United States during 2007-2008. A lack of regulation in the banking industry led to its collapse, necessitating government bailouts in September 2008. As the U.S. has one of the world's largest economies, the recession had global ramifications, impacting developed nations like Sweden as well. While the U.S. recession lasted 19 months, Sweden experienced a 15-month recession.

The novel also touches on immigration to Sweden. Current estimates suggest around 15% of Sweden's population was born outside the country, and about 5% have two immigrant parents. This demographic shift has fueled anti-immigrant sentiments from certain Swedish political parties and an uptick in violence targeting immigrants.

Additionally, Anxious People highlights the increasing openness, particularly among younger generations, in discussing mental health issues and seeking professional help. The book underscores this generational divide through contrasting characters like the retiree Roger, who dismisses his diagnosed burnout condition that the World Health Organization officially recognized in 2019, and the young psychologist Nadia, who views her own history with suicidal thoughts as an asset in helping patients facing similar challenges.

Theme

Source:

Parenting and Fear

Anxious People revolves around a bank robbery that goes awry. The robber flees the bank and ends up taking nine people hostage at an apartment viewing. However, the robber's motivation is not selfish or attention-seeking. Instead, she is caught in the midst of a bitter divorce and financial hardship. Fearing that her inability to pay rent could lead to her two young daughters being taken away by a lawyer, she resorts to the desperate act of attempting to rob a bank.

The novel explores parenthood from various perspectives and life stages but overwhelmingly portrays it as simultaneously the most terrifying yet most fulfilling experience a person can have. The bank robber, for instance, wants to do right by her daughters, driving her questionable decision. Ro and Julia, expectant parents among the hostages, are already terrified of parenthood, with Ro admitting she finds even updating her phone too taxing compared to the demands of children.

The narrator highlights the heartbreak parents face as their children grow up, reject affection, or make choices parents disapprove of. Anna-Lena laments that her and Roger's adult children don't want kids, seeing it as a reflection on their parenting. The novel repeatedly shows that parenthood is a heartbreaking job riddled with fears of never doing enough or anything correctly, even after children are grown.

Yet, the novel offers glimpses into the parent-child bond that suggest parenthood is ultimately fulfilling despite the fears. Anna-Lena believes Roger would feel important again as a grandfather, describing the feeling of holding a preschooler's hand as unparalleled importance. Although the robber never intended parenthood due to her own upbringing, she cherishes every moment with her daughters, so much so that it drives her to attempt the bank robbery. Anxious People suggests that while parenthood is frightening, the desire to be there for one's children makes it worth undertaking almost anything.

Marriage, Conflict, and Communication

Many characters in Anxious People are married or going through divorce, allowing the novel to portray marriages at various stages and levels of health. The overarching message is that marriage requires hard work, sacrifice, and most importantly, open and honest communication from both partners - something none of the couples fully achieve.

Anna-Lena and Roger, a retired couple, face tensions after Roger put his career on hold to raise their kids while Anna-Lena pursued her high-powered job. Now retired, Anna-Lena defers to Roger's interests in flipping apartments, though she desires a permanent home, unable to voice her true feelings after his past sacrifices.

The younger Julia and Ro frequently argue, partially due to Julia's combative personality during pregnancy, and partially because Ro fears committing to a new home that her father with dementia cannot approve of first. Like Anna-Lena, Ro does not openly communicate this concern to her spouse.

However, the novel does not condemn conflict within marriage. The elderly Estelle, who lost her husband Knut, advises Julia and Anna-Lena that couples simply need to be better at making up than fighting, which allowed her and Knut's decades-long happy marriage despite disagreements.  

While the novel depicts marriage as seldom free of conflict, it suggests marriages can remain fulfilling when partners are willing to communicate and cooperatively ensure each other's happiness, rather than letting resentments fester.

Mental Health and Connection

Anxious People deals closely with mental health issues and suicide. Several characters witnessed or were involved when a man took his own life by jumping off a bridge 10 years prior. One of them, a teen named Nadia, nearly followed suit a week later before being pulled off the ledge by Jack, who later became a policeman. This inspired the adult Nadia, now a psychologist, to study what differentiates those who attempt suicide from others experiencing depression or anguish who choose not to - a difference the novel suggests is smaller than most believe, as mental illness and suicidal ideation are more common than realized.

While emphasizing the importance of professional mental health support, the novel also highlights the positive impact strangers can have. Jack, a stranger to Nadia, saved her life that day. The narrator insists stopping someone from jumping is a normal human instinct. Zara only realizes she doesn't actually want to die when the bank robber points a gun at her, and later stops the robber from turning the gun on herself in desperation. Though strangers, their fleeting connections make a profound difference, steering each other toward healing, which the novel suggests can come from these seemingly random acts of kindness between strangers.

The novel implies that while professional treatment is crucial, human connections and empathy, even from passersby, can provide life-altering support and hope for those suffering from mental illness.

The Modern World

As Anxious People explores its characters' mental health, parenting challenges, and marital dynamics, the novel overwhelmingly links these issues to the pressures of the modern world. The narrator suggests that in today's fast-paced society, feelings of isolation, inadequacy, and anxiety are common human experiences. While modernity has brought positive advancements, the novel proposes that it has also made life more stressfully demanding than necessary.

For instance, in depicting a parent's inner dialogue, the narrator notes the perception that one's children are behind while everyone else's kids excel, and that other parents seem to have parenting and careers figured out - a perception the narrator implies is often inaccurate, but nonetheless breeds insecurity and fear.

Furthermore, the novel highlights how systems meant to improve lives, like banking, can exploit people's trust and dreams instead. Both the bank robber and the man who jumped faced banks denying them loans when they most needed financial support after setbacks. Zara, a banker, crystallizes the issue when she remarks that people no longer buy homes, but investments - referring to how few fully pay off mortgages, leaving them beholden to banks that may not prioritize customers' interests during economic downturns.

While celebrating societal progress like Ro and Julia's lesbian marriage, the novel also portrays many modern phenomena as needlessly stressful or even exploitative. It suggests modernity has paradoxically made being human more isolating and anxiety-inducing despite its conveniences.

Assumptions

Nearly every character in Anxious People makes assumptions about others. Most assume wealthy older Zara couldn't genuinely want to buy the apartment. Police officers Jim and Jack assume they are dealing with a dangerous armed male bank robber for much of the hostage situation. While some assumptions prove correct, like Zara's disinterest, the novel more often suggests assumptions lead to mistakes and misunderstandings.

The most egregious assumption encouraged even for the reader is that the robber is male - the narration avoids gendered pronouns until halfway through, while Jim and Jack's masculine pronoun use during witness interviews reinforces this. This leads Jack to incorrectly believe the robber shot themselves and is hiding in the apartment.

In contrast, setting aside assumptions and listening to people's stories is portrayed as respecting others and forming connections. When Jim learns the robber, a woman desperate to avoid losing custody of her daughters due to unpaid rent, only attempted the robbery out of that fear, he is motivated to help her escape. Hearing her story also compels Estelle, the apartment's elderly owner, to assist with her housing troubles. Many hostages part as friends after sharing this experience together.

The novel highlights the positive outcomes of questioning assumptions, listening openly to others' perspectives, and connecting honestly rather than making premature judgments. It encourages empathy and understanding over unfounded preconceptions about people.

Characters

• Jack — A young police officer who is very dedicated to his job
• Jim — Jack's father, a more lax police officer with many years of experience
• Bank Robber — The perpetrator of the alleged bank robbery and hostage situation
• Zara — A depressed banker who attends apartment viewings for leisure
• Roger — A real estate investor who takes the business very seriously
• Anna-Lena — Roger's wife
• Julia — A young pregnant woman searching for an apartment to raise her family
• Ro — Julia's wife
• Lennart — An actor who is also an apartment viewing disrupter
• Estelle — An older woman who attends the apartment viewing
• Real Estate Agent — The agent responsible for hosting the apartment viewing

Reception

According to the review aggregator website Book Marks, Anxious People received positive reviews from critics, with four reviews listed as "positive" and four listed as "rave." The Washington Post said that "Backman again captures the messy essence of being human." USA Today described the novel as "about how kindness and compassion count so much in surviving each day – a lesson for our times." People (magazine) praised the novel as "A quirky, big-hearted novel. Wry, wise and often laugh-out-loud funny".

Adaptations

The novel was adapted into a six-part mini-series, which premiered on Netflix on 29 December 2021.

External links

• Fredrik Backman's website
• Anxious People at IMDb