The Answer Is No Review: Say ‘Yes’ To Something Else
Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Have you seen those viral videos where someone who is no longer in their 20s rejoices when their going-out plans or parties are canceled? Or memes about introverts, like the one where someone looks awkwardly and says, “when you find out your daily life is called ‘quarantine’ by the rest of the world during the pandemic” (which was hilariously relatable for me, btw)?
The Answer Is No by Fredrik Backman is like those videos and jokes, except while they get over in one little image or 20 seconds, Fredrik drags the joke out for 68 pages. And it’s barely funny. The story follows Lucas, who is very “happy” working from home, eating Pad Thai, playing video games, and keeping human interaction to a minimum. But his worst nightmare comes true when he is constantly drawn into conversations with his building residents because of a “frying pan.” Lucas is essentially a recycled version of Ove, the protagonist from Fredrik Backman’s bestselling novel A Man Called Ove, except Lucas is younger, a true loner, and has no romantic partner, dead or alive.
Pesky building board members, freeloading neighbors, and cult members—all sorts of humans invade and destroy Lucas’s happiness. “It’s a frying pan that’s ruining Lucas’s life. We’re getting to that now,” chapter five ends with this quote, and I couldn’t help thinking, “It’s this story that’s ruining my day. I’ll get to that in my review soon.” The Answer Is No is essentially an absurd tale about futile human interactions, and feels extremely repetitive, despite several characters and incidents taking place in a short course of time.
I really wanted to give up after page 30, and in fact, I did, but then I went back and finished it over the course of three days. In my book review for Cleo McDougal Regrets Nothing, I mentioned my self-destructive habit of suffering through books no matter how uninteresting they are. And this was only 68 pages, after all—I powered through in absolute misery, over a period of three days that too. The only time I sort of chuckled in this supposedly “hilarious short story” (according to its Goodreads description) was when an official mimics Lucas like a child who doesn’t have a good comeback for an argument. Okay, maybe my sense of humor is broken? I don’t know. If, unlike me, you enjoyed A Man Called Ove, you might like this novella-sized tale too. The ending was kinda clever, and fitting, but this could’ve easily been a 10 page short story.
If you’re asking me whether you should read it, The Answer Is No.
Rating: 1 on 5 stars. It’s on Kindle Unlimited though.
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