Anxious People

1. General Impressions 

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

• What kind of story were you expecting before reading Anxious People? Did the novel bear out your expectations?
• How would you describe the tone of Anxious People? Did you think it was effective in conveying the book’s themes? Why or why not?
• Who was your favorite character, and why? Your least favorite?

2. Personal Reflection and Connection 

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

• Were you surprised to learn the bank robber was a woman? Why or why not? Did it change the way you understood her actions?
• How do you feel about the characters’ decision to shield the bank robber from the law? Do you think she should have had to face the consequences of her actions, even if her motivation was understandable? Why or why not?
• Both Jack and Zara feel intense guilt due to their perceived failure to stop the man on the bridge from jumping. Do you think it’s human nature to respond this way even in situations where nothing more could have been done? What do you think the “function” of this kind of guilt is?
• The hostages initially seem like a random assortment of people, but they discover underlying connections and shared concerns over the course of their ordeal. Have you ever found yourself thrown together with people who seem to have little in common with one another? How did your experience compare to the one Anxious People depicts?

3. Societal and Cultural Context 

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

• Many argue that certain aspects of modernity—increased urbanization, rapid technological development, declining job security, etc.—have led to an uptick in loneliness, alienation, and mental illness. How does Anxious People intervene in this debate? What solutions, if any, does it offer?
• How important is it that the novel is set in the author’s native Sweden? Are the novel’s key concerns relevant in other countries?

4. Literary Analysis 

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

• The narrator of Anxious People is unusually opinionated, often commenting directly on characters and events. What effect does this have? How does it jibe with the novel’s message about avoiding preconceptions?
• Consider one of the novel’s married couples (Julia and Ro, Anna-Lena and Roger, Estelle and her late husband, etc.). What tensions within the relationship emerge over the course of the novel? How do those tensions relate to Anxious People’s broader ideas about the foibles that both divide and unite humanity? 
• Most of the novel unfolds in one of two places: a police interview room and an apartment. How do these relatively small, confined spaces contribute to the novel’s ideas about literal and figurative captivity? How do they compare to the bridge that features prominently in several characters’ memories?
• What does it mean to be an “idiot,” according to Anxious People? How does the meaning of “idiocy” change over the course of the novel? Does Backman suggest that some risks are worth taking, even if doing so is objectively foolish?

5. Creative Engagement 

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

• The title of Anxious People is essentially the same in English as in the original Swedish; however, it is not uncommon for works to receive titles that differ more substantially when translated. What other titles might work well for this novel?
• Imagine adapting Anxious People for TV or film. How would you handle elements of the novel that rely heavily on a textual medium (e.g., the confusion regarding the bank robber’s sex)?
• Compile a reading list of 3-5 more books for someone who enjoyed this novel.

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