Jonathan K (Max Outlier)'s Reviews > Anxious People

Brilliant in many respects, Backman merges Monty Python style humor with metaphor in a yarn that bridges relationships with hijinx. A slight resemblance to "My Grandmother Asked Me..." due to the community of oddballs, its unique, heart warming and endearing. You often find yourself laughing out loud as you're taken to an apartment viewing with an incompetent realtor. But when those attending are taken hostage by a clueless 'bank robber', the equally incompetent police duo complicates matters further. Using carefully constructed characters, insights abound as the hostages bare their souls and stories. It takes a master storyteller to construct a modified sitcom in the form of a novel, but that's what you get with this story. Backman shows his mastery by engaging the reader emotionally, tickling funny bones while making "Stockholmer" a metaphor for unusual. Paced perfectly, its the sort of book that's worth a re-read similar to "My Grandmother", a book I've read several times. Highly recommended, its fun, light hearted and illuminating.