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PorshaJo's Reviews > Anxious People
Anxious People
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Oh this one pains me, but I'm going to be the outlier on it. I am a fan of Backman. Read a number of his books, saw him speak in person about one of them, and even got to meet him and get a photo with him. Great speaker, engaging, and nice guy, the photo was his suggestion. When I saw he was to have a new book out, again I bugged my library so long ago about....and when it arrived I was number one in the queue. I dropped my other reads and immediately started it. And along the way....I almost DNF'd it.
This one is the story about a bunch of idiots. Ok, so many reviews out there I'll just say there is a bank robbery that goes wrong. There are a bunch of people, idiots, who all come together for this story bringing in topics such as suicide, loniness, grief, cancer, love, anxiety, and more. Oh yeah and a hostage situation. With bumbling police. And, it was just too much, over the top for me. The 'interviews' the police tried to conduct with the witnesses were just obnoxious. I really didn't believe that all of these people treated the police like this and just would not answer them, just unbelievable. (Not that I believe people actually fly on magical brooms and play quiddich, but just different for me.) Perhaps this wasn't the right time for me to read this one. Perhaps I'm starting to gravitate away from Backman. I wasn't supper joyed with Beartown #2.
I will also say I listened to the audio and it drove me nuts. The narration made the characters sound extra obnoxious, just waaaaaay over the top. It's funny, this narrator did another book this year which I absolutely adored and loved, loved, loved the narration. Just not for this one. Perhaps if I read print it might have been slightly different, not really sure. So why did I keep reading? Well,when I thought of DNFing and saw 213 people waiting I thought, finish it, it's just you. So I did, and I'm sure it's just me, or just not the right time.....but I will check out more from Backman in the future. Give it one more try.
This one is the story about a bunch of idiots. Ok, so many reviews out there I'll just say there is a bank robbery that goes wrong. There are a bunch of people, idiots, who all come together for this story bringing in topics such as suicide, loniness, grief, cancer, love, anxiety, and more. Oh yeah and a hostage situation. With bumbling police. And, it was just too much, over the top for me. The 'interviews' the police tried to conduct with the witnesses were just obnoxious. I really didn't believe that all of these people treated the police like this and just would not answer them, just unbelievable. (Not that I believe people actually fly on magical brooms and play quiddich, but just different for me.) Perhaps this wasn't the right time for me to read this one. Perhaps I'm starting to gravitate away from Backman. I wasn't supper joyed with Beartown #2.
I will also say I listened to the audio and it drove me nuts. The narration made the characters sound extra obnoxious, just waaaaaay over the top. It's funny, this narrator did another book this year which I absolutely adored and loved, loved, loved the narration. Just not for this one. Perhaps if I read print it might have been slightly different, not really sure. So why did I keep reading? Well,when I thought of DNFing and saw 213 people waiting I thought, finish it, it's just you. So I did, and I'm sure it's just me, or just not the right time.....but I will check out more from Backman in the future. Give it one more try.
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Anxious People.
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Reading Progress
February 15, 2020
– Shelved as:
to-read
February 15, 2020
– Shelved
September 15, 2020
–
Started Reading
September 20, 2020
– Shelved as:
audio
September 20, 2020
– Shelved as:
challenge
September 20, 2020
– Shelved as:
challengereads-2020
September 20, 2020
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-50 of 118 (118 new)
message 1:
by
Carie
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rated it 2 stars
Sep 20, 2020 12:15PM
Oh no 😢
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I just can’t with this author - ever. Thanks for confirming I should continue to keep my distance. Sorry this did not work for you! Especially disappointing when you were so looking forward to it.
Carie wrote: "Oh no 😢"Well, it just didn't work for me Carie.....but so many on GR just love this one.
Dianne wrote: "I just can’t with this author - ever. Thanks for confirming I should continue to keep my distance. Sorry this did not work for you! Especially disappointing when you were so looking forward to it."Thanks Dianne! Sorry he doesn't work for you, but I get it. This is two in a row for me from him and I'm starting to lean towards he's not for me. I'll give it one more shot. But it will not be for some time.
So sorry this didn't work for you; I love satirical humor such as this, but I totally understand it's not for everyone. Fortunately, we have so many authors and books for all to enjoy. All the best to you. 🙂
Toni wrote: "So sorry this didn't work for you; I love satirical humor such as this, but I totally understand it's not for everyone. Fortunately, we have so many authors and books for all to enjoy. All the best..."Thanks Toni! Yeah, so many people love this one and I'm sure it's a great book to read now, forget about what's going on....but just not for me. But as you said, so many authors and books to enjoy and my list is so long. Hopefully you are reading a few wonderful books now! Glad that you enjoyed this one too!
I am disappointed for you, PorshaJo, as much as I love Backman and know you loved some of his previous books, how disappointing. I will say that I read it rather than listened to the audio, and I think that might have made the difference. Terrific, honest review, my friend!
It's not just you! It was so over-the-top silly. I read it and it wasn't improved on the page. As you know I couldn't finish it. Not my cup of tea! The way the witnesses talked to the police was utterly ridiculous 🙄
So sorry this didn’t work for you, PorshaJo! I’m a big Backman fan and do plan to read it soon, but am no stranger to being an outlier on a hyped book � Hope you love your next read!
Cheri wrote: "I am disappointed for you, PorshaJo, as much as I love Backman and know you loved some of his previous books, how disappointing. I will say that I read it rather than listened to the audio, and I t..."Thank you Cheri! It was disappointing but it happens. Not all books work for everyone. I know so many loved this one and happy to see that it was a 5 star read for you. But there are just so many books out there to read...so on to the next! :-)
JanB wrote: "It's not just you! It was so over-the-top silly. I read it and it wasn't improved on the page. As you know I couldn't finish it. Not my cup of tea! The way the witnesses talked to the police was ut..."Glad it wasn't just me Jan but sorry it didn't work/and you did DNF it. Smarter than me. Yeah, the witnesses, I kept turning it off then as it was just so over the top I couldn't take it. But then I finished. I'm giving him one more try but I'm starting to think he might not be for me anymore.
Brandice wrote: "So sorry this didn’t work for you, PorshaJo! I’m a big Backman fan and do plan to read it soon, but am no stranger to being an outlier on a hyped book � Hope you love your next read!"Thanks Brandice! It's funny when you are the outlier for a book so many love....same in the opposite direction. But this is why I love GR that you get to read so many honest opinions on books. I do hope that you love this one when you get to it. Looking forward to your thoughts!
Based n my feed, you aren’t an outlier on this one.
Sorry this didn’t turn out so well for you. Hope you love your next book!
I've read and loved most of his previous books. I've just started this one and have to agree with you, I'm just not feeling it.
I don’t know whether it’s the translations or what, but I’ve never been able to get past the first couple pages of any of his books.
Kelli wrote: "Based n my feed, you aren’t an outlier on this one."That's good Kelli. Not all books work for everyone!
Lindsay - Traveling Sisters Book Reviews wrote: "Sorry this didn’t turn out so well for you. Hope you love your next book!"Thanks Lindsay!
Tania wrote: "I've read and loved most of his previous books. I've just started this one and have to agree with you, I'm just not feeling it."Oh sorry to hear it's the same for you Tania! The over the top nature of it all just didn't appeal to me. Better luck on your next one.
Artemisia wrote: "I don’t know whether it’s the translations or what, but I’ve never been able to get past the first couple pages of any of his books."Interesting Artemisia! Hopefully you are reading something wonderful now that you love!
Great review, PorshaJo! We can't love them all. I hope your next book is a 5 star read!
Terrific, honest review, Porsha !!!
Debra wrote: "Great review, PorshaJo! We can't love them all. I hope your next book is a 5 star read!"Thank you Debra! How true and a good thing we always a TBR pile. Or mountain in my case!
Megan wrote: "Terrific, honest review, Porsha !!!"Thank you Megan!
This is not working for me either!
Sherri wrote: "This is not working for me either!"Sorry it didn't work for you either Sherri! Better luck on the next one.
You aren't alone PorshaJo. Crazy read!
Sorry it didn't work for you, good on you for persevering. I appreciate your honest review. I read the novel, so I can't comment on the narrator. May your next read exceed your expectations.
Sorry you didn’t like it. I loved it sooooo much 💕
Carol wrote: "You aren't alone PorshaJo. Crazy read!"It was crazy Carol! I'm glad you liked this one.
Bianca wrote: "Sorry it didn't work for you, good on you for persevering. I appreciate your honest review. I read the novel, so I can't comment on the narrator. May your next read exceed your expectations."Thanks Bianca! They all don't work for everyone. But I'm finishing up a really good read now. Overall this year, I've had more great reads than disappointing ones. Happy to see you liked this one!
Melissa � Dog/Wolf Lover � wrote: "Sorry you didn’t like it. I loved it sooooo much 💕"Thank you Melissa! I'm so glad to hear that you loved this one so much!
I share the same sentiments! Love the author, and Beartown is perhaps one of my favorite and one of the most poignant novels I’ve read. But this one just didn’t do it for me... it was a little too all-over-the-place and I didn’t feel connected to any of the characters.
Amanda wrote: "I share the same sentiments! Love the author, and Beartown is perhaps one of my favorite and one of the most poignant novels I’ve read. But this one just didn’t do it for me... it was a little too ..."Agreed Amanda and sorry it didn't work for you either. Better luck on your next read.
So sorry this didn't work for you PorshaJo! It happens sometimes.. certain books just don't resonate. I hope you find a book that strikes you and that is a 5 star read! Nice honest review!
Susanne wrote: "So sorry this didn't work for you PorshaJo! It happens sometimes.. certain books just don't resonate. I hope you find a book that strikes you and that is a 5 star read! Nice honest review!"Thanks Susanne! Agreed, they all can't work for everyone. And my book after this was great and reading another one I'm really enjoying. So every once in awhile, we have one that doesn't work. Hope you're reading something wonderful now too!
I almost dnf it too. Hope you are enjoying your current read PorshaJo!
You don't seem to be the only one in your little outlier corner and it's making me pause, but it really seems as if the audio really didn't help. Still enjoyed reading your thoughts!
Holly wrote: "I almost dnf it too. Hope you are enjoying your current read PorshaJo!"Oh sorry it didn't work for you either Holly! I've just finished a really good one and into another I'm enjoying. Hope you are finding a good read now too!
Victoria wrote: "You don't seem to be the only one in your little outlier corner and it's making me pause, but it really seems as if the audio really didn't help. Still enjoyed reading your thoughts!"Thanks Victoria! Yeah, more and more I'm seeing others feel the same. The audio was just way over the top but not sure if the print would tame it. If you do try it, hope it works for you!
Fantastic review, PorshaJo! The more and more I read about this book, the more I realize that it is not for me. I hope you love your next read!
Meredith wrote: "Fantastic review, PorshaJo! The more and more I read about this book, the more I realize that it is not for me. I hope you love your next read!"Thanks Meredith! So many people love this one but have been seeing more who do not. And reading books is quite a selective process as we can never get to them all so we must choose wisely. My one after this I really enjoyed. But they all can't be gold. Hope you are reading something wonderful!
Thank you! I thought I was the only one not liking this book. And yes maybe it is the narration. I’m listening to and every single character is infuriating. Who talks like this?? The entire story doesn’t seem plausible to me. I’m Swedish so I thought I would like it but I really don’t and I’m halfway through. Will finish it though since it’s for my bookclub. I started reading Bear Town in Swedish, I thought it would be better in the language it was written in but I couldn’t finish it. Maybe this author is not for me. Loved the movie “A man called Ove� so maybe his stories work better on screen.
Jessica wrote: "Thank you! I thought I was the only one not liking this book. And yes maybe it is the narration. I’m listening to and every single character is infuriating. Who talks like this?? The entire story d..."Sorry it's not working for you either Jessica! But glad I'm not alone in thinking the narration is just ridiculous. The 'realtor' was the worst voice. Good for you for finishing for your book club though. I did like Ove and Beartown #1, but Beartown #2 started going downhill for me. I did see they are going to release Beartown on screen in Swedish, hopefully that will work for you. On to better reads.
We are in the minority.. but so glad someone else didn’t enjoy this book
You all aren’t alone....I wasn’t a fan o this book, either! Reading about all these neurotic people was annoying and getting on my nerves! I read it in small time frames....I don’t need more anxiety!
Amber wrote: "We are in the minority.. but so glad someone else didn’t enjoy this book"Sorry it didn't work for you either Amber, but glad I'm not alone. Better luck on your next read!
Donna wrote: "You all aren’t alone....I wasn’t a fan o this book, either! Reading about all these neurotic people was annoying and getting on my nerves! I read it in small time frames....I don’t need more anxiety!"Ha how true Donna! They were so obnoxious and it was just worse on audio I felt. Sorry it didn't work for you either!
Dianne wrote: "I just can’t with this author - ever. Thanks for confirming I should continue to keep my distance. Sorry this did not work for you! Especially disappointing when you were so looking forward to it."I can’t either Dianne! Sorry, PorshaJo!
Karen wrote: "Dianne wrote: "I just can’t with this author - ever. Thanks for confirming I should continue to keep my distance. Sorry this did not work for you! Especially disappointing when you were so looking ..."Haha - thanks Karen!
