The Invoice

by Jonas Karlsson

It's an unremarkable life, I guess, nothing special. I'm in my thirties, I work part-time in a video store in Stockholm, most of my friends are busy with their families, I live alone. I suppose you'd say I have an ordinary life... But I love this city, and even though my flat is small it suits me, I'm comfortable here. In the summer, the sun shines in through my windows at just the right angle and I can hear all the sounds of summer life down in the street. And there's a really good ice-cream stall just near my building, which sells my favourite flavours. So, ordinary maybe, but happy. Yes, I think it's fair to say I'm a happy man. And isn't that enough?

A love story and a charming, surreal and funny tale about happiness, The Invoice will change the way you see your life.

• ISBN10: 1784702188
• ISBN13: 9781784702182
• Publish Date: 1 January 2099 (first published 7 January 2016)
• Publish Status: Cancelled
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Vintage
• Format: Paperback (A-Format (178x111 mm))
• Pages: 192
• Language: English

Reviews

[Heather]

"A passionate film buff, our hero’s life revolves around his part-time job at a video store, the company of a few precious friends, and a daily routine that more often than not concludes with pizza and movie in his treasured small space in Stockholm. When he receives an astronomical invoice from a random national bureaucratic agency, everything will tumble into madness as he calls the hotline night and day to find out why he is the recipient of the largest bill in the entire country."



Our hero lives a small life.  He doesn't pay much attention to the outside world.  He works part time at a video store that specializes in obscure foreign films that no one wants to rent.  He had a girlfriend once but she left him to go marry the man her family chose.  He has one friend.

When the bill comes it is a shock.  Why would he owe 500,000 kronor (about $55,000)?  Who does he owe it to?  He calls the number on the bill and finds out.

Everyone in the world is being charged a fee for the happiness in their lives.

He has the largest bill in Sweden.  He's sure there has to be a mistake.  He is allowed to appeal and this starts an investigation about whether he truly is the happiest man in Sweden.



I related to the man in this story.  He doesn't have a life that anyone would objectively describe as great from the outside but he is satisfied with his situation.  As much as I come across as sarcastic and cynical at first glance, I'm actually a happy person.  It pains me to say it.  I don't want to be an optimist but it seems to be a fact.  I was told this in no uncertain terms by my ex-husband.  In fact, he listed it as one of my major flaws.  "You're happy in whatever situation you're in," he spat at me in true anger.  He took that to be a character flaw that led to my lack of desire for social climbing.  Recently, I had lunch with a former coworker.  At one point she said to me, "You don't like to seem like it, but you're nice" in a tone usually reserved for statements like, "You are a horrible racist pig."

Another thing that raised the hero's bill was his ability to see the best in situations and to learn from them.  I'm afraid that in both of the above situations I was thinking as they happened that each was going to make a wonderful story.  When my husband complains about the time in St. Thomas when I almost had us fall off a cliff into the ocean at night I always respond, "We had an adventure!"  Oh, I am so screwed when my happiness bill comes due.

This is a great short story about finding out what is truly valuable in life.

What do you think that your happiness bill would be?

 

 This review was originally posted on Based On A True Story

[layawaydragon]

I just won a copy in a Goodreads First Reads Giveaway.

I entered because it’s outside of my typical reading scope with an interesting premise I thought I could get into.

It is an easy read that flows while you’re not paying attention.



It’s dry and boring to be honest. I think coming at it with the right expectations and mindset is important. It’s a happy, carefree bouncy little book.

For the first half, I felt the same as our nameless protagonist: apathetic. I wanted to like it but couldn’t be arsed to. Nameless is a boring fellow with his head in the sand. He’s not bad but he’s bland and forgettable. The writing was good, but be prepared for it to skip the standard highlights and wax poetic about a soda floor stain in a video shop.

I made it about 50% before I left The Invoice to site over my weekend. I didn’t know how it was going to end, but I couldn’t care less. I could’ve dropped it forever, except that’s not my MO.

I picked it back up Monday at work where he starts conversing with Maude and we learn about Sunita. The Invoice seemed to reward me by picking up as well. Nameless’s introspection starts to advance his character Finally things start moving forward though still the speed of molasses.

The turn of events after Sunita was obvious. Most of the story was telegraphed actually. I don’t want to call it heavy handed, but…It’s like a literary fiction novel was made into a movie.

It’s meant to be introspective and thought provoking but I didn’t get it. It seems to be money=happiness for too many people, but it actually reinforces the idea to me. After all, Nameless was stressing, melancholy when trying to deal with his invoice debt. Then… the debt goes away and he’s happy again. Even has a new romance interest after so many years alone and pining. If it’s not meant to be about the money, shouldn’t he be happy regardless? Would’ve made more sense for a punishment or something instead of letting him off scot free. It’s obvious that the goal of redistributing money to even out happiness works out. People having to pay are more negative, while those getting money have had a burden lifted. So…I don’t get it.

Maybe it’s because I’m a poor American who’s struggled my entire life with no support or proper safety net. I know firsthand how money can relieve so much stress and pressure. Studies show how it wrecks you and leaves lasting scars. Maybe it’s because I can’t stop planning just in case for my family so the message comes off trite and stupid. Nameless is an unattached bachelor with zero debt or problems. Advice from him doesn’t apply for most people. Maybe it’s because my relax days are about the simple things like doing nothing or reading anyways. Maybe I’m just not the right audience. Maybe you are.

Even with all that, I liked how it ended. It fits the plot and matches the emotional atmosphere. If you’re lost inside the protag’s head it’ll go smoother. Even though I’ve been able to do so for fantastical and vastly diverse people, Nameless and I didn't click. I couldn’t forget who I was and how it felt so out of touch with reality as I know it.

While it wasn’t the book for me, I’d recommend it if you like this sort of writing or would appreciate the message.