Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

Bought this book for my wife’s birthday on a recommendation from a friend. When she finished it, I read it. Turns out that the protagonist was a betrayed spouse who according to the author thought everything was going fairly well, so was relaxed and unprepared for the infidelity which "hit her hard in the back of the head. Life knocked her flat." Backman then writes, "That happens to most of us at some point. Maybe you, too." It was almost like he had interviewed me. Frankly, I wept.

Tonight at dinner I told my wife that I had finished the book. She asked me what I thought of it. I said it was very well written and a really good read. Then I asked her what she thought. She shuffled around, avoiding any meaningful comment. So I asked if she liked any particular character? Her response was, "Well, I guess we were supposed to like Jack." I asked how she came to that conclusion. Again, she deflected and finally said that it wasn’t a very good book and she would not recommend it to any of her friends.

I didn’t know that infidelity was a significant device that the author was using to tell his story of human redemption when I gave her this book. I have read the amazon reviews and they are overwhelmingly positive, but there are a number of readers who hated it. Very few in between. I am guessing that a fair number of the haters are waywards. If you like happy endings, you’ll like this story. If your wayward spouse has actually reached contrition, I bet they will like it, too. In a way, it can be sort of a litmus test for where the wayward is on the regret/remorse/contrition scale. I am recommending it to all my friends, but I am a sucker for human redemption stories. Plus, Backman is really funny. I laughed out loud several times.

0 comment posted: Saturday, January 11th, 2025