A review by alundeberg
The Waiter by Matias Faldbakken

3.0

I chose to read Matias Faldbakken's "The Waiter" which is strangely enough about a neurotic waiter whose routine is disrupted for many reasons: it is likened to Amor Towles' "A Gentleman in Moscow"; the back cover claims that it is "told in a kaleidoscopic rotation of voices"; a reviewer from the LA Times said, "if you follow the author's clues, you may feel a chill up your spine": and it's set in Oslo, and I've been to Oslo. Only one thing is true: I've been to Oslo. Otherwise, no gentleman, no kaleidoscope, no chills, and ultimately, no point. All we are left with is a neurotic waiter who values traditions and routines and who can wax romantic about the powers of coffee for four pages. In the beginning, I thought the waiter was my spirit animal as I, too, am neurotic and love coffee and speak upon random facts at length. It turns out that my spirit animal likes plot, meaningful conflict, and a strong character arc. I consider myself a fairly adept reader and kept looking for what I might be missing; other than a quirky story, there wasn't much there. The waiter and I quickly parted ways, and I skimmed the last 20 pages looking for the "chill up my spine", but it just left me cold.

If you like stories that are rather absurd and off the wall and you do not need your stories to give you something to chew on, this story about the waiters antics over a couple of days at work might be up your alley. It's well-written and clever sounding, but it's not really for me.