The Room, by Jonas Karlsson

Jonas Karlsson's commentary on modern office life, The Room, is a strange and entertaining little fable.  Bjorn works at an office doing . . . well, we're not really sure what exactly he does.  Writing reports, trying to work his way up the ladder.  In any case, he finds people around him generally insufferable.  Which is OK, because people find him to be insufferable, too.

When he moves to a new floor, Bjorn comes across a room, a small, apparently unused office.  He takes advantage of the fact that no one else seems to be using it, and finds there a place of respite and, in fact, a place where he can get lots of work done.  The catch is that no one can see the room, and when he enters it, others see him standing beside the wall as if in a trance.  Awkwardness ensues, and the rest of the office insists that he not do that.

I'm not sure if we ever know whether there is some portal or supernatural room there, or if it's all in his head, but that's not really the point.  Karlsson's project is exploring our relationships with others and with the world around us, in the office or otherwise.  Bjorn regularly turns conversations and interactions around, viewing himself as superior to the people around him.

I got a kick out of Bjorn's social interactions.  He has an ongoing feud with his desk mate, whose messy habits inevitably intrude upon Bjorn's neat streak.  In spite of himself, he nearly engages in an office romance, although even when meeting this attractive lady his social aloofness persisted: "'My name's Margareta, by the way.' 'Oh,' I said, then thought that I ought to say something more.  She looked as if she were expecting a reply, but what could I say?  What could I possibly have to say about her name?  Her name was Margareta.  Okay.  Good.  Nice name."

Comparisons have been made to Kafka, and I think they're apt.  Karlsson doesn't write with the depth or the utter darkness that Kafka's fiction has, but The Room is an offbeat, entertaining story worth a read.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!