I’ve gotten to really like Fredrik Backman this year, and by happy luck his short story “The Answer is No” was available as a ‘first read’ for Amazon prime subscribers. It’s the story of a happy loner named Lucas, who by virtue of his online job, almost never has to leave his apartment. His evenings are spent drinking wine and playing video games, and that’s just the way he likes it. But then someone litters, and the apartment complex’s self-appointed Board arrive at Lucas’ door, where he is pulled in kicking and screaming into an increasingly absurd, but ultimately sweet, story. If that reminds you a little of A Man Called Ove, that’s probably not an accident, but this has far fewer suicide attempts (as in, none) and the absurdism is ratcheted up. There’s still seriousness here, of course, and as Lucas is drawn into his neighbors’ crazy stories he learns about pain and human connection. If you like Backman, this is everything he’s good at but in miniature!

Highlights:

Lucas is happy. This is a very provoking thing to the world. Because people aren’t supposed to be happy, they’re only supposed to want to be happy, because how otherwise are you supposed to be able to sell things to them?

Rules are rules. It is illegal to dispose of cameras on a hill.”
“BUT IT’S NOT A HILL!” Lucas says, possibly in all capital letters.
“It is illegal to shout at a city official,” the man informs him.

The lunatics are just trying to find a little thing to give their lives meaning, Lucas. Just like the rest of us. They’re just trying to be happy.

Lucas nods with enormous satisfaction, like a raccoon who’s fallen into a trash can filled with cotton candy.

“You took the bus to a bank robbery?” Green Shirt wonders. Purple Dress looks a little offended. “Well, if we could afford a getaway car we wouldn’t have had to rob a bank, now would we?”