Anxious People by Fredrik Backman — Book Review

The most wholesome book I’ve ever read in my entire life

Anxious People was the last book I read in 2020 and was the best ending I could have ever asked for a year that has been chaotic, weird and challenging even for the best of us.

Backman’s writing is beautiful. I don’t have any other words to describe it. It’s insanely, mind-bogglingly beautiful. I highlighted and saved more sentences in this book than I did in all the books I read in 2020 altogether. Both the writing and the plot were poetic. Anxious People made me grateful to be alive, to have people whom I love, and who love me back, around me.

It’s heartwarming, wholesome and beautiful.

It’s a newborn baby holding on to your pinky and smiling.
It’s a purring kitten kneading on your leg.
It’s a sweet, warm hug from a loved one.
It’s a bundle of joy.

It’s simple yet philosophical, happy yet tear-inducing, chaotic yet serene. It’s ingenious and exciting. It’s a puzzle that, in the end, will leave you more satisfied than completing any actual puzzle. My vocabulary and imagination will never be able to explain how breathtaking this book is. This book is medicine for the soul. It can heal. It’s better than any self-help book ever written.

It’s a book about being human. Contrary to its title, Anxious People will make its reader a little bit less anxious and a little bit more confident about life and everything else.