Fredrik Backman’s Anxious People is available on Audible as a 9 hrs 53 mins unabridged audiobook, narrated by Marin Ireland.
Publisher’s Summary
Soon to be a Major Motion Picture!
This instant #1 New York Times bestselleris 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 us—even in the most anxious of times.
Audiobook Details
- Narrated by: Marin Ireland
- Length: 9 hrs 53 mins
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
- Release year: 2020
- Audible category: Literature & Fiction / Genre Fiction / Friendship
Listener Ratings
Anxious People holds an average listener rating of 4.5/5 from 28442 Audible ratings.
On Audible, ratings for this title break down into narration performance and story separately:
- Performance (narration): 4.7/5
- Story: 4.6/5
- 5-star ratings: 71% of all ratings
What Audible Listeners Are Saying
5/5 stars — “Backman’s words and Ireland’s voice = MAGIC”
I am a huge Fredrik Backman fan and couldn’t wait for this book to be released in English. This work of genius is a heartwarming, carefully woven, wise yet whimsical tale on its own, and Marie Ireland’s voice somehow brings it together with such perfection that it just shines even more! I just finished after over 6 hours of listening today and all I want to do is listen again. If you’re a Backman fan already, you definitely won’t want to miss this. And if you aren’t a fan yet, you’re about to be!— Susie, Audible listener
5/5 stars — “Sweet beautiful story “
If you loved a man called Ove you will love this as well- Backman has an incredibly insightful and equally sensitive understanding of human beings and the struggles and joy that each of us faces to make everyday the fabric of our lives. The writing is highly skilled. The characters are vivid and engaging. They remain in your psyche as people you remember teaching you something about life. Anxious people is a beautiful reminder of how necessary each of our idiotic lives is to one another.
I’m not sure how much I would enjoy this narrator for other books but there could not have been a better choice than her to convey the depth and range of the emotion Backman tries to convey.— Dr. Mary Young, Audible listener
5/5 stars — “Masterpiece”
This is Backman’s masterpiece. I’ve followed him since “A Man Called Ove”. This story is a fantastical story of ordinary people in an extraordinary situation. It’s about those little, unspoken, fears we all have as collective humans. Yet, somehow we use that to keep us separated. Ironically, these are the things that we all have in common actually. Beautiful. Heartbreaking. Soaring.— Richard Layman, Audible listener
For full pricing and the 30-day Audible free trial offer, see the link on this page.
