Review: the invisible by Mats Wahl

                                      

   the invisible
 Author: Mats Wahl  Publisher: New York : Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007.

Young AdultHardcover:186 pages

Let me just start out by saying, I had no idea what to expect from this book.  It sounded a bit creepy and might have the potential to be very fascinating.  The invisible by Mats Wahl can be associated with The Invisible the movie, which is a remake of the Swedish film(based on this book). Ahhh Swedish literature…truly fascinating isn’t it?  I can now officially say I, Anna, have read Swedish literature (however…it was translated to English…it still counts).  Yes, I do believe this is when someone cracks the joke “You should tell that at parties!” And I laugh dismissively and silently pull on my theoretical confidence pants. 

How cool would it be to be invisible? Pure awesomeness right? WRONG.  I can now say after reading this novel that I never, and I mean NEVER want to be invisible.  So much for wanting to creep on your crush and seeing if he talks about you, or really just being able to hear any piece of gossip you wish.  If you could be invisible anytime you wanted…that could be nice…but how do you know that you’ll ever be able to be visible again? Is there an off button on your invisibleness suit (which is also essentially invisible)? 

Now to the story…let us see how our invisible person fairs…

Summary:
Hilmer Eriksson is our main character and also our invisible boy.  We are introduced to him as he sits in an empty classroom.  While he’s sitting there, two of the meanies in his school come in.  We can gather that they are mean by how Hilmer tries to act oblivious and INVISIBLE.  Ha…little does he know.  Now he’s alone with these two until the other students arrive.  Luckily and surprisingly the two meanies don’t acknowledge him and then they even start discussing mischievous plans while he’s RIGHT THERE.  As if things couldn’t get weirder, Detective Harald Fors walks into his classroom.  He tells the class that there’s a missing student, and that if anyone has seen him to please contact him…and/or the parents…that would be nice.  You should probably contact the parents first…they gave birth to him and raised him so naturally wouldn’t you tell them first?  Anyway, when it comes time to mention who exactly is the missing child; Hilmer gets a very unpleasant surprise…ITS HIM. (dun dun duuuunnn)  His pleas and cries go unheard; no one around him can see or hear him.  And as the Detective closes in and interviews several students at the school, he suspects foul play.  Hilmer attentively glids along as the Detective follows the clues of where Hilmer was the day before he disappeared and…soon both will learn of the tragic fate of our invisible boy.

In this book the point of view changes between the victim, Hilmer, and also the Detective.  You’ll have to read to find out the rest.  I’m no spoiler, though my family could disagree…since I give them a play by play of each chapter. (Thank you Mom for spending countless hours stuck listening to me go into very detailed summaries of every chapter of almost every book I’ve ever read. Love you <3) 

My Rating: 3 stars

Why did I give it 3 stars? It kept me confused and curious of the whereabouts of Hilmer’s body and also what actual “foul play” went on and why.  This was truly a concept I had never really considered.  It’s not just being invisible, but being totally separated from your body, yet still feeling it’s pain.

I recommend that if you love reading, love ghost stories, and love to cry, you should read this book.  I will guarantee that any person with a heart will cry at the ending of this novel… not because it was so great that it provokes tears...but because of the astonishing fate of Hilmer and also that of a VERY SPECIAL friend in particular. *wink wink nudge nudge eyeball eyeball* *Cough.his girlfriend.cough*

Would you like being invisible? What if you were stuck like that for the rest of your life?