Anxious People: A Novel (okładka  miękka, wyd. 07.2021)

An instant #1 New York Times bestseller, the new novel from the author of A Man Called Ove is a `quirky, big-hearted novel....Wry, wise and often laugh-out-loud funny, it`s a wholly original story that delivers pure pleasure` (People). Looking at real estate isn`t usually a life-or-death situation, but an apartment open house becomes just that when a failed bank robber bursts in and takes a group of strangers hostage. The captives include a recently retired couple who relentlessly hunt down fixer-uppers to avoid the painful truth that they can`t fix their own marriage. There`s a wealthy bank director who has been too busy to care about anyone else and a young couple who are about to have their first child but can`t seem to agree on anything. Add to the mix an eighty-seven-year-old woman who has lived long enough not to be afraid of someone waving a gun in her face, a flustered but still-ready-to-make-a-deal real estate agent, and a mystery man who has locked himself in the apartment`s only bathroom, and you`ve got the worst group of hostages in the world. Each of them carries a lifetime of grievances, hurts, secrets, and passions that are ready to boil over. None of them is entirely who they appear to be. And all of them--the bank robber included--desperately crave some sort of rescue. As the authorities and the media surround the premises, these reluctant allies will reveal surprising truths about themselves and set in motion a chain of events so unexpected that even they can hardly explain what happens next. Proving once again that Backman is `a master of writing delightful, insightful, soulful, character-driven narratives` (USA TODAY), Anxious People `captures the messy essence of being human....It`s clever and affecting, as likely to make you laugh out loud as it is to make you cry` (The Washington Post). This `endlessly entertaining mood-booster` (Real Simple) is proof that the enduring power of friendship, forgiveness, and hope can save [...]