Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

 "A bank robbery.  A hostage drama.  A stairwell full of police officers on their way to storm an apartment.  It was easy to get to this point, much easier than you might think.  All it took was one single really bad idea."

And so begins the "comedy-mystery" of the latest Fredrik Bachman story.  But it is so much more than that.  I am a fan of Backman's character developments; the way he makes me actually empathize with the most despicable characters, the way he unshutters my eyes to see beneath the surface of what makes people tick.

"A Man Called Ove" introduced me to Backman several years ago.  On a lengthy roadtrip, this was an audiobook that made me laugh out loud throughout most of it because Ove was such a grumpy old man who said the most outrageous things...but my tears at the end came because I could identify with Ove's deep hurts.  I could overlook his crusty exterior and fall in love with him.  That is the essence of Fredrik Bachman.

On any given day, we brush elbows or exchange greetings with people we really don't know.  The surly clerk at the local grocery store may have a daughter dealing with addictions.  The new couple at church may have just come through a huge financial loss.  On your daily neighborhood walk, you conscientiously greet the older resident who walks her dog, not realizing that dog is her only friend in this increasingly lonely world.  Could the unfriendly teenager who doesn't meet your gaze be facing intense insecurity, just longing for a friend?  And the handsome young man who treats your unruly lawn might have a devastating divorce looming ahead.  We just don't have a clue.  It's these kinds of strangers who are thrown together in this novel.  The bank robber.  The real estate agent.  The bank executive.  The pregnant couple.  The retirees.  The ninety year old.  The actor.  The father-son police officers.  All are thrown into an unusual hostage situation.  All have stories.  All survive.  However, the witty banter and hilarity surrounding these unforgettable strangers is purely Bachman.  Surprising twists make us smile and wonder how it all will end.  And especially, how will each of their once hidden life issues be resolved?

Jack, the younger police officer in the story, once asks his minister mom how she could bear to sit beside people when they were dying in their final hours without being able to save them.  She tightly holds his hand and says, " We can't change the world, and a lot of the time we can't even change people.  No more than one bit at a time.  So we do what we can to help whenever we get the chance, sweetheart.  We save those we can.  We do our best.  Then we try to find a way to convince ourselves that that will just have to...be enough.  So we can live with our failures without drowning."  

Nine strangers reaching out to help, because they were given the chance. A satisfying ending.