Between the Lines is a way for us to provide a book club that doesn’t require face-to-face meetings. Lots of us live out increasingly more of our lives online, so why not interact with each other and discuss what we’re reading online, too?
This month's read is an easy read which poses some uneasy questions. The writer is a young Swedish actor cum author who challenges us to question the value of happiness.
Kirkus Review had this to say about The Invoice while Arifa Akbar wrote this about the book on the Independent website.
Looking forward to hearing what our readers think of this tiny offering about a big question.
On first impression I would call this tale 'Kafka-esque' and in many ways this is a 21st century take on 'The Trial' (first published in 1925); Karlsson' novella hits the same beats as Kafka's. Both stories deal with a man in his thirties being prosecuted by an unknown, remote authority for an absurdist 'crime' (in the case of Karlsson's book it's being happy without paying for it) or something unknowable at all (Kafka's The Trail). Both men are flirtatious with women who work with the totalitarian authority (Josef K with Frau Montag, and Karlsson's character with Maud). The same 'beats' of The Trial are seen in 'The Invoice'. However, the bleak ending of The Trial is rewritten for 21st century audiences in the form of Karlsson's character ...well...his final words certainly would not be 'Like a dog'.
Two questions that came up for me was what is the difference between assessment and interrogation, and a tax/fee and a punishment/consequence? I suppose in many ways little at all.
What surprises me is the central character of Karlsson's work does not question the situation - isn't the happiness we create a product that we create, as opposed to goods/services provided by a government? Shouldn't Karlsson's protagonist be patenting his form of happiness rather than paying tax on it?
However in the 'real' world we truly do 'patent' and sell happiness - in the form of commercials selling us products and the litany of 'self help' books. We need only look at the mission statements of notable companies like Coke and Pepsi that they strive to 'bottle happiness'. As per the log line on the front page 'Can you put a price on happiness? One man is about to find out'. Well, in the 21st century you can!
A theme I would have liked to explore more in Karlsson's book would be how happiness is linked with shame. This is touched on with the romance between Sunita and the protagonist. This small insight into Karlsson's main character is the highlight of the novel yet falls flat when exploring the bigger picture around secret pleasures. How many of us secretly enjoy watching Days of Our Lives? Probably more than we admit.
Overall this is a nice little read on a rainy day. 6/10. -Kiara (Avid reader; teacher; lover; fighter).
Nice blog. Custom invoice books online are the easiest way to get invoice books within a short time. Invoice indicates the sale transaction. It is needed both for seller and buyer.
Business card is the main identity of your business which reflects your reputation in front of the eyes of the visitors so it should be attractive and eye-catchy which can easily grab the attention of the people towards your business and so at by looking at the technology the need of the business cards is increasing and it should be attractive and unique which helps to stand among your competitors.
On first impression I would call this tale 'Kafka-esque' and in many ways this is a 21st century take on 'The Trial' (first published in 1925); Karlsson' novella hits the same beats as Kafka's. Both stories deal with a man in his thirties being prosecuted by an unknown, remote authority for an absurdist 'crime' (in the case of Karlsson's book it's being happy without paying for it) or something unknowable at all (Kafka's The Trail). Both men are flirtatious with women who work with the totalitarian authority (Josef K with Frau Montag, and Karlsson's character with Maud). The same 'beats' of The Trial are seen in 'The Invoice'. However, the bleak ending of The Trial is rewritten for 21st century audiences in the form of Karlsson's character ...well...his final words certainly would not be 'Like a dog'.
ReplyDeleteTwo questions that came up for me was what is the difference between assessment and interrogation, and a tax/fee and a punishment/consequence? I suppose in many ways little at all.
What surprises me is the central character of Karlsson's work does not question the situation - isn't the happiness we create a product that we create, as opposed to goods/services provided by a government? Shouldn't Karlsson's protagonist be patenting his form of happiness rather than paying tax on it?
However in the 'real' world we truly do 'patent' and sell happiness - in the form of commercials selling us products and the litany of 'self help' books. We need only look at the mission statements of notable companies like Coke and Pepsi that they strive to 'bottle happiness'. As per the log line on the front page 'Can you put a price on happiness? One man is about to find out'. Well, in the 21st century you can!
A theme I would have liked to explore more in Karlsson's book would be how happiness is linked with shame. This is touched on with the romance between Sunita and the protagonist. This small insight into Karlsson's main character is the highlight of the novel yet falls flat when exploring the bigger picture around secret pleasures. How many of us secretly enjoy watching Days of Our Lives? Probably more than we admit.
Overall this is a nice little read on a rainy day. 6/10.
-Kiara (Avid reader; teacher; lover; fighter).
Nice blog. Custom invoice books online are the easiest way to get invoice books within a short time. Invoice indicates the sale transaction. It is needed both for seller and buyer.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the blog loaded with so many information. Stopping by your blog helped me to get what I was looking for. custom invoice books
ReplyDeleteBusiness card is the main identity of your business which reflects your reputation in front of the eyes of the visitors so it should be attractive and eye-catchy which can easily grab the attention of the people towards your business and so at by looking at the technology the need of the business cards is increasing and it should be attractive and unique which helps to stand among your competitors.
ReplyDeleteAffordable Printing Services.