Anxious People

This book surprised me in the best way. Chosen as our book club pick for the month of July, I was given a vague premise of the story before beginning. Never did I expect this book to exceed my expectations so effortlessly.

Firstly, I loved the writing style. The 3rd party narrator describes a story in a way that makes you immediately doubt everything they say. The anecdotes flip back and forth very quickly as if to say “these details don’t matter” until they later do.

Not only is this book a lighthearted mystery, but it also produces a breadth of deeply complex characters whose relations are revealed slowly one at a time. It was hard to tell which characters were supposed to be the good guys vs the bad guys because they all just seemed so deeply human.

The story is beautifully told, turning to the reader multiple times for points of reflection to really compel you to put yourselves in the shoes of each character in the midst of the story. What would you do? But you would never do that, because you’re a good person.

This book touches on so many relationship themes, from complicated families, to rocky marriages, to suicidal ideation. Each character is introduced with an air of unique desperation that unites them all in that particular apartment building.

This book is a quick read with a lasting impression, I can’t wait to read more from this author.