I started the meeting this month with a little background information about Anxious People author Fredrik Backman. Not the usual background. On his professional Facebook page, he wrote that he is “really bad at meetings.” “I either talk too little or talk too much and eat all the snacks and I get into too many fights because I’m apparently ‘too emotional’ and ‘take everything personal’ and a couple of other things.”[i] And in an interview with Publishers Weekly, he acknowledged his personal history with counseling for anxiety, that he was shot in the leg during a robbery, and that he came up with the idea for Anxious People because he and his wife had been house hunting.[ii]
I asked if people had been aware that they were reading a story that was imagined outside the USA and translated from Swedish. Most of us had not considered that it was in translation. We discussed the difficulty of translation and how you can know what is lost? One of us has read Gabriel García Márquez’s work in Spanish and wondered how the poetry could ever be captured. Yet many translated classics are still beautiful to us. Did the Anxious People translator Neil Smith anglicize any of the situations as well as the words?[iii]
Our first responder had noticed the varied meanings and humorous use of Stockholm and Stockholmers. We enjoyed the book, although most found it confusing initially. Really, who talks to the police the way these hostages did! Another of us had even gone back to re-read and take notes so that she could keep things straight! Three readers listened to the audiobook and found it well done and enjoyable. Some of us had watched at least a few episodes of the Swedish television series on Netflix (dubbed), but we had mixed reviews.
One member had discussed Anxious People with another book club in which someone noted that Zara had signs of Asperger syndrome. In his youth, he had known a wealthy woman much like Zara. We considered why Zara would not open the letter – because she feared it would make her responsibility for the man’s suicide real and permanent. Instead, she lived for ten years with the guilt. We believe “It’s not your fault” was the perfect observation.
The non-linear storytelling and wisecracking tone could not hide the sometimes heart-wrenching impact of suicide, anxiety, and fear of failure, especially for parents. As with our previous selection, All Adults Here, we found humor in the accuracy of some of the situations and one of us noted that loneliness is a societal problem – not just in romantic relationships. People need places to go and things to do and chances to interact with others. We accepted and were pleased that the author tied all the characters together.
Who was our favorite character? Most of us couldn’t choose! The most remarkable answer was not an active participant in the story: Knut, Estelle’s husband. We got to know him through her memories. As I write this, I am moved to think how people live on and leave a mark they may never realize.
We did not discuss as much as I would have expected about the twists and unexpected characterizations such as a female bank robber, Roger the stay-at-home dad, and the other “worst hostages ever!” After an hour, we could have kept going. Reading and discussing are just the start. Will we ‘read’ a situation or person with more empathy and understanding now? Like Knut, does the impact of what we read rise in our memories and in our future discussions? I certainly hope so.
- Other Works Discussed:
- Thirteen Reasons Why (2007) by Jay Asher
- A Man Called Ove (2012) Fredrik Backman
- A Man Called Ove (2015) Swedish film based on the book
- A Man Called Otto (2022) forthcoming film starring Tom Hanks
[i] December 28th entry, web accessed 4-10-2022: https://www.facebook.com/Backmanland
[ii] Doll, J. (2020, July 3). Fredrik Backman steals from himself. PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved April 10, 2022, from https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/authors/profiles/article/83761-people-are-strange.html
[iii] Just in case you’re interested, I discovered that translator Neil Smith is Canadian. Here is an interview: Admin. (2020, November 27). Book translation: An insider’s perspective. Dead Good. Retrieved April 14, 2022, from https://www.deadgoodbooks.co.uk/book-translation-an-insiders-perspective/ Publication date listed on article is November 28, 2012
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