Anxious People

Anxious People – Frederic Bakman

This is one of those novels that manages to be hilarious, sweet, and depressing all at once. As the author Frederic Bakman tells us early on in the novel, “This is a story about idiots”. Yes, it is, but they’re lovable idiots all the same. Even the ones who really aren’t that cuddly still manage to make us root for them and we understand why they may not be particularly pleasant.

This is one of those stories that really doesn’t have that much of a story. It’s really an introspective tale where we get to know the cast of characters even though not a lot of action occurs.  We meet a bank robber who really isn’t a bank robber. As soon as we know the bank robber’s background and present situation, we have sympathy.  This “bank robbing” isn’t an occupation, it’s a one-time event that happens due to an unfortunate situation that occurs due to nothing other than what one could call dire straits.

It’s never a good thing when one attempts to rob a bank and then discover during the robbery that the bank doesn’t even carry cash. Such a modern world we live in. So when the unsuccessful thief runs away, the only place nearby is an apartment that is currently being shown to a group of people by a real estate agent.  Imagine being at a somewhat innocent apartment showing when an intruder barges in waving a gun while wearing a ski mask. The gun doesn’t even look real, but let’s not go there.

Well, since the bank robber really isn’t a bank robber, we know that these innocent bystanders won’t actually get hurt, but we have a hostage situation regardless.  We spend most of the story inside the apartment building getting to know all of these people a bit better.  Most of them have a somewhat colorless sad existence, but there’s still plenty to laugh at.

There’s a little more to the story.  The police in this small (somewhere in Sweden, I think) town consists of a father and son (Jim and Jack) and we learn about their fragile yet touching relationship as all of this drama unfolds.  There’s also a bridge in this town that serves as a background to the story. It seems like this bridge is known for a suicide or two with other “unsuccessful” attempts at ending one’s life as well.

So with all of this going on, we manage to laugh out loud a lot, but we genuinely feel for all of these people.  Author Frederic Bakman has written several novels with this sort of theme that runs through them – people who aren’t quite with it, and they let out their frustrations through anger and a sense of hopelessness. Yet the reader can see that they’re actually hurting and we really do desire a happy ending for all of the parties.

I’ve read several of Bakman’s books, and I’ve been mostly satisfied. This one was possibly the best.  An internet search shows that there are dedicated fan pages and “book clubs” where readers can discuss their assumptions and conclusions about this bizarre set of characters in this well-told story.  This is a sign of a great book. A book that when you’re done reading, you’re not quite ready to let the characters go.  Having resources available when you can reflect and compare notes just makes you more attuned to the story and the characters.  This was a lovely experience and well worth the time. A book that might even appeal to those who don’t find any sort of satisfaction from reading, even.

Terms of Endearment

Terms of Endearment – Larry McMurtry

Before I begin the actual review of this book, a little bit of personal history (this is, after all, a blog).  When I was in Junior High and early Senior High, I was never a book reader. The only time I ever read a “proper” book was if I had seen the movie.  So I read ‘Jaws’ and the ‘Star Wars’ books, but other than that, the idea of reading a real actual book seemed awfully intimidating. Around my Sophomore year in High School, I picked up a copy of Stephen King’s The Stand, and I was able to put away that intimidating fear for good.

I mention this because I would guess that the reason many people picked up this book was because they saw the movie, and the movie was an Academy Award winning smash hit.  I also imagine a lot of those readers were probably disappointed.  For those who are a novice to the process of a novel becoming a movie, it can be quite jarring to see just how much can get changed.  There’s a lot of money involved when books become movies and those who write the checks want to ensure they get a proper return on their investment.  So often big changes are made for the big screen.

I did see the movie. January 1984. A long time ago. I remember it being a great movie (and a very good choice for a 17-year-old to take a date) but it was a long time ago.  I never would have picked up the book except for the fact that it was authored by Larry McMurtry.  A bit of a shock since McMurtry is mainly known for his ‘Lonesome Dove’ novel along with its sequels and his many other various western adventures.

And the book is very good. It’s funny and it’s sweet. It’s introspective and the characters are very well thought out. The story is about Aurora Greenway.  She’s a widow in her late forties and quite wealthy.  She’s not in any rush to get old or pine away for her deceased husband.  Whether it’s fear, loneliness, or a combination of the two, she has a light-hearted acerbic view of her latter-day life.  She’s determined to march to her own beat and not let anyone else dictate how she is to live her life.

The novel describes this 48-year-old as “buxom” and….well….she has plenty of suitors. Most of them are rich older men who chase her all over the place.  She must be some catch to have this much attention.  She has every one of these men wrapped around her little finger, and is quite happy keeping things as is.  One gets the impression that she’s afraid to settle with any of them since that will rob her of whatever youth she has left.  So these men chase her, woo her, buy her flowers and other expensive gifts, yet at the same time they scream an awful lot at her as she resists many of her advances.  Love has a way of making us behave rather stupidly.

Then there’s her 22-year old daughter Emma who lives across town in a garage apartment with her new husband Flap.  Emma seems an awful lot unlike her mother and the two have a rather odd relationship. There doesn’t seem to be much tenderness, yet you get the feeling that their constant bickering has been going on for the entirety of Emma’s life, so Emma never gets fazed with her mother’s consistent ill-natured comments.  As the story begins, Emma finds herself pregnant, and although Aurora never says so directly, we suspect that she’s horrified that she’s actually old enough to be a grandmother.  What will all of her suitors think?

Then there’s Aurora’s long suffering maid Rosie who although is an employee of Aurora, you can’t help but think that Rosie is the main person that Aurora needs in her life to keep her flamboyant behavior in check.  Rosie has a husband Royce who would never win any Husband-of-the-Year contest, and we read an awful lot of their putrid lives when Rosie isn’t working in Aurora’s mansion.

The last 50 pages of the book shifts focus, and we now read more about Emma. The story fast forwards ten years, and Emma and Flap have a less than stellar marriage. They now have three kids, a hard time tolerating each other, and a host of extra-marital affairs. It’s during this time that we finally see Aurora and Emma develop somewhat of a bond. It’s sweet but not really surprising. The wonderful thing about McMurtry is that even though insults roll off the tongue of Aurora constantly, we also know that deep down she really is just trying to desperately stop the wheels of time from aging her.

So regardless of whether or not you’ve seen the Academy Award film, the book is very sweet and will leave the reader feeling satisfied. Just don’t expect a carbon copy of the movie.