A short, satirical parable about a simple man leading a contented existence, who receives an enormous 'happiness tax' bill from the government that forces him to question his outlook on life.
...[a] clever, Kafkaesque parable ... Karlsson expertly wrings humor from the contrast between the bizarre, increasingly alarming circumstances in which his narrators find themselves and their low-key, matter-of-fact responses ... One of the many trenchant questions The Invoice asks is, What price happiness? But even better, this droll satire reminds us that sometimes there's just no accounting for joy.
This absurd, gently humorous novel satirizes our impossibly burgeoning debt; our materialistic society; our mad, insatiable need for more and more and better, and our suspicious and ever-watching governments. It is, especially in these days of so many depressingly similar novels, refreshingly original and thought-provoking.
The Invoice is not merely a neat little morality tale. It has a charming oddness mixed with a bit of menace, like Kafka with a soft spot — not to mention a taste for romance ... Some readers may find the protagonist a bit flat or passive. I read him as a pleasantly unassuming everyman ... The Invoice is a quick, amusing read for anyone in the mood for an inventive diversion.
