The story begins with a hostage drama, which was supposed to be a bank robbery. The bank robber, who's short on rent and without a place to live, risks losing the custody of his children; thus, he sets out to rob a bank. But the bank turns out to be a cashless one. But the events unfold in such a way that he ends up taking a bunch of people hostage who have come for an apartment viewing right before New Year's Eve.

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman is a heartwarming story. It touches upon how we all have our inner demons, regardless of our outer appearance. And Backman does that with the help of various characters. He also points out that we're all idiots, which is also what makes us human.
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This book's non-preachiness is what I loved the most. It's just enough to make us see our bits and pieces in these fictional characters. And Backman is a master when it comes to characterisation. He focuses on the peculiarities of each character, making them almost caricatures of themselves. But this, too, teaches the reader a thing or two about compassion.
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Backman has a knack for writing extremely human stories that are sprinkled with humour. And this book has the ability to touch your heart and knock the wind out of you. That is why I always go back to his works. If you decide to pick this up, you definitely won't be disappointed. I must say, 2021 started on a good note with this book!