The beginning of this book had me hooked. The midway portion of the book just kinda lingered a little too long. While I did finish it was alright, I've been told that Karlssons previous book was a bit better but the premise was a good one and a very intriguing one

A weird and quirky little book that’s oddly profound. What would you do if you suddenly received an invoice for your life?

A very charming quick, fast paced book. It has a feel good feeling to it. I totally enjoyed it.

"Being alive cost." How much would you be willing to pay for happiness.........give it a try!!

My thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Couldn't get into this one unfortunately, read about 3/4 before I put it down. Perhaps it was the mood I was in?

If You're Happy and You Know It , Pay Your Bill

Karlsson is low-key and deadpan in a chilly but ultimately affirmative way. I enjoyed his first novel, "The Room", which was edgier and much more acerbic than this offering. But, this book follows the same slow-buildup, slow burn humor and pointedness that I guess is becoming Karlsson's calling card.

The book seems simple enough on its face, but it keeps circling around its premise and adding more layers. Our hero receives a huge bill out of the blue to cover his personal share of the overall national happiness. Thinking it's a joke he calls some government office and is told in no uncertain terms that everyone has been surveyed, reviewed and assigned a personal "external happiness" level, upon which a tax has been levied. O.K., that's a funny and very imaginative way to start a Kafka-lite tale.

But then Karlsson starts to spin the idea out. (MILD PREMISE AND PLOT SPOILERS.) Why is our hero's invoice astronomically high when he does not appear, outwardly, to be all that successful or "happy"? Why is his bill much higher than those of his friends who seem so happy and successful? How could he have missed the news that this was going to happen? And then the plot thickens. Is our hero developing a crush on Maud, the very interesting woman who takes all of his calls? Why is it that every time he tries to demonstrate his unhappiness, (in an effort to lower his bill), his unhappiness is found to have a silver lining and his charge goes up?

And so it goes, getting more and more surreal, and yet teasing out interesting thoughts about what constitutes happiness in this modern age. The book isn't preachy at all; it's more like an amiable and engaging collection of parables and fables featuring this perfectly normal everyman who likes ice cream. "Charm" is an overused word, but it fits here, even if there is sometimes a bracing hint of an edge to some of our hero's observations.

Karlsson is Swedish, and in some ways it shows in his occasionally wintry humor. But, if you like the idea of a minimalist, crisp, IKEA design of a book that is wise and funny and full of an especially thoroughly examined, catalogued, and money-valued life, this could end up being a real treat.

(Please note that I received a free ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)