Idiots, man. Idiots everywhere…and I liked it.
Shortest Summary Ever: There’s a bank robber and a hostage situation. 2 cops – a father and son trying to end the stand off. A therapist. But the hostage situation is not what the book is truly about – it’s about people. Fallible, honest and dishonest, funny and sad, loved and unloved – people, even the idiots.
Thoughts: This is my first Backman novel and I’m impressed with his witticisms and dead-on characterizations. This book was the 2020 away from it all that I have been craving. A bumbled bank robbery turns into the strangest hostage situation ever – a cast of characters one could only throw together from a pot luck table. (PS this would make a cool play!) The characters are likable, laughable, terrible and altogether – valuable because they are PEOPLE. That’s what made this novel – a look at people we would despise and some who just make us laugh or cry – emotion, feeling… but not in a touchy-feely wind-beneath-my-wings way. More of a “hey I know that dude. What a jerk!” Real people. Who sometimes surprise you in real ways.
You know THAT guy and you know HER but do you know WHY they are the PEOPLE they are?
Enjoy the journey.
All my reviews available at scrappymags.com around time of publication.
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Recommend to: Those looking for different, quirky, a little weird.
Not recommended to: Mainstream bookers or those seeking belly laughs… it’s not quite hilarious.
Thank you to the author, NetGalley and Atria Books for my advanced copy in exchange for my always-honest review and for making me happy I have no home-hunting to do right now.
