Matias Faldbakken

Matias Falkbakken has written two other novels in addition to The Waiter but is the only one translated into English. I mention this because for a moment, I thought it must be the novel that inspired Pete Buttigieg to learn Norwegian so he could read an author’s other books. Then I recalled it was published late last year, so it came too late for that story. Nonetheless, it is a book that could inspire someone to learn Norwegian.

Very little happens in The Waiter. There is a restaurant show more named The Hills, one of those historic grand European restaurants with a generations-old tradition of good service and haute cuisine, complete with a musician who plays piano on the mezzanine above the tables which are covered with old linens kept spotless by The Waiter using his table crumber in his uniform whose manufacture is unchanged from the past.

The constancy of The Hills is ideal for The Waiter, a sensitive soul whose job has two criteria, as he explains, “I have to show pride in my work, and I have to be self-effacing. The pride in my work makes me adhere to rigid routines which are vital for my well-being, since being highly sensitive means that I don’t like surprises or change. The self-effacing aspect means that I can interact with and serve people without having to get involved.”

This all comes crashing down when a young woman comes to The Hills and moves from one table of guests to another, so regulars become irregular by interacting and not just with each, but with The Waiter. This creates the “complex social contexts” that creates the “inner collapse” of our narrating waiter. Over the course of five days we proceed from the constancy he loves to chaos and crisis, though really, it’s just some people eating at a restaurant.

Describing the plot of The Waiter does it an injustice, it’s magic is that with almost no plot, a tense, suspenseful story of inner turmoil and collapse is woven with prose that takes my breath away.

I think The Waiter is one of those books people either love or hate. It is mostly the inner monologue of the waiter who is stuck in his routines but who is also deeply steeped in culture so he can marvel at the fractal design of romanesco and the particulars of art, music, and history. He is never boring as he natters on, but the most peril he faces is going to the storage cellar for some wine and pinching the outside of his hand in a drawer.

The Waiter is a compelling book. I was perhaps a fifth or less into the book, wondering what it was going to be about when the next thing I knew, I was done without coming up for air and I enjoyed every minute of it.

I received an e-galley of The Waiter from the publisher through NetGalley.

★★★★★
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Well, that was odd. It's very much not going to be for everyone and I'm not 100% sure it was for me, but I think I liked it.

It's the story of a waiter's disintegration when a new element—a carefree, enigmatic young woman—is introduced into his perfectly ordered world. The Waiter works at The Hills, an old white tablecloth restaurant that has become a bit shabby and ever more eccentric over time. He has his regulars, who are as predictable in what they choose to eat as they are in where show more they are seated. And then the Child Lady happens and an element of chaos is introduced and the predictable becomes unpredictable and it throws The Waiter off his game. He makes mistakes. He begins to ramble in his speech. He injures himself. He is both fascinated and repulsed by the Child Lady—may, in fact, be a little in love with her in spite of himself—and he becomes increasingly erratic.

This descent into chaos and eccentricity is entertaining to watch, but also uncomfortable. There is a slightly voyeuristic feel to the whole thing and it doesn't always seem as if the author had much sympathy for his character, nor expected the reader to. In spite of the slightly uncomfortable feel with which it left me, this was also the kind of odd, quirky, eccentric book that I delight in. show less

The waiter is a hidebound traditionalist working at one of Oslo's foremost dining establishment, The Hills. He exists to serve, but also has high expectations of his guests and his colleagues in terms of their conduct within The Hills' hallowed environs.

At the outset, the waiter is a man in command of his surroundings, albeit under pressure. His equilibrium begins to be disturbed when a beautiful ingenue his thinks of as Child Lady arrives and starts breaching protocols, such as showing up show more an hour late and ordering quadruple espressos. Child Lady begins to exert her charms on other regular guests and the increased departures from the waiter's stiff, formal routines begin to leave him frazzled and his equilibrium starts a steady slide into chaos.

This idea has the makings of a very good comedy in the style of Wodehouse, for example, or of a neat parable about the folly of tradition for the sake of it in a modern world. Sadly, it is neither; it is just a character study about the gradual discombobulation of somebody that the author doesn't really succeed in making you care about anyway. show less

This was rather interesting, it was sort of a stream of conscious/character study, all from the point of view of a somewhat neurotic waiter in a fairly upscale restaurant. He comes across a bit like Adrian Monk, although the mysteries he encounters aren’t deadly.

Free review copy.