Customer Reviews

The Invisible

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Hilmer walked into school on Monday morning like normal, but quickly discovers that this isn't going to be a normal day.

No one can see him. No one can hear him. Hilmer is invisible. Being invisible is a big enough problem on its own, but what makes it worse for Hilmer is the fact that he has no idea why he is invisible.

It doesn't take long for Hilmer to find out that everyone thinks he has disappeared and that many people suspect foul play.

Detective For is in charge of Hilmer's disappearance case. Hilmer decides if he stays close to him, he'll find out what happened and where his body is. Detective For hits many obstacles while trying to figure out what happened on the last day Hilmer was seen. Several local officials encourage Detective For to consider Hilmer a runaway and to not look too deeply into the mystery because it might look bad for the community. The community leaders are hoping the town will become a tourist/vacation spot. Turning up anything negative will bring in the press and possibly turn potential visitors away.

Getting anyone to talk about what is going on in the school is difficult. Detective For can clearly see that Hilmer's locker has been recently painted in order to cover up graffiti. The word "Traitor" is scrawled on top of the new paint job, giving the detective a place to start. He finds out that there have been altercations between many of the locals and the immigrants moving in from other countries. After questioning students and teachers, Detective For learns that Hilmer defended one of the immigrants shortly before his disappearance.

Issues of prejudice, white power, immigration, and hatred surface during the investigation. Can Detective For put together all the clues in time to help Hilmer become visible again?

THE INVISIBLE by Mats Wahl is now a major motion picture; however, after reading a synopsis of the movie, so much has been changed that it doesn't resemble the premise of the book. It would be fair to say that the movie is LOOSELY based on the book of the same name.

Reviewed by: Karin Perry

I really enjoyed this book but the factor that attracted this story to me in the first place (an invisible kid who can't communicate with the world but finds out there's a police search for him) didn't play much of a part in this story. Don't get me wrong I still enjoyed this short story length read, but I feel many people may purchase this novel and feel slightly cheated being that other than for marketing the book, Hilmer being in the story as an invisible entity is pointless as he does not alter the investigation, interact with anyone or have any purpose for the plot, in fact there's very few paragraphs he even appears in at all. The story would have flowed smoothly, in fact smoother without him as his being in the present as an invisible one only lets the reader know for sure something bad has happened to his real self and he's not just a runaway as a lot of the townfolk want the detective to believe. Still lets be honest not many of those of us who read the book probably would have done so without this clever or unethical marketing twist but the reputation of the author may well suffer for future work due to this.

The Invisible is an enjoyable read though, complete with a main character Detective Herald Fors who like any real cop does has his flaws. His frustrations at the incompetent and selfish small town residents who prefer to brush a problem under the carpet rather than find a missing boy so their tourism marketing campaign to the Germans isn't messed up is brilliant reading. Tackling bigotry and hatred but explaining why the main bigot actually developed this rationale was also very well done. I would highly recommend this book and read more novels by this Swedish writer but I think they took a big risk with the minimal invisible non essential plot factor which may put a lot of readers after that sort of thing off side.

Read the book, it's good!

Just how do you go about solving a murder - especially when the victim is supposed to be you? When Hilmer walked into his high school and what seems like a perfectly ordinary day, he finds that he's somehow turned invisible to everyone around him! A police detective arrives at school to investigate a teen's disappearance and in the course of his investigation, turns up undercurrents of bigotry and violence. Hilmer can't remember what happened to him, he can only follow the detective as clues are uncovered - and time is of the essence if what began as a missing-persons case turns into a murder investigation. An especially recommended addition to both school and community library fiction collections, "The Invisible" is a superbly crafted mystery that will leave young readers raptly engaged in the unfolding and deftly crafted story.

I really liked this book! It differs very much (and the final too) from the movie, so be ready to find here absolutely new heroes, if you order "The Invisible" to read about Annie & Nick. But still it is great. Life, society and people as they are.

How would you feel if you beaten one night, but didn't know what has happen to you and discovered that you have become invisible? This is how Hilmer Erikson feels in this story. The title of this book is The Invisible by Matts Wahl. The setting of this story takes place in Northern Sweden and is modern time. The main character of this book is a 9th grader named Hilmer Erikson that has become invisible and is trying to discover why and Detective Fors who is trying to find the disappearance of Hilmer Erikson.

On a Monday morning at Lugnet School, Hilmer Erikson finds out something weird, no one can see or hear him and does not know why. hilmer soon discovers that he has become invisible. Detective Fors is trying to put the disappearance of Hilmer together. He soon finds out that it was a group of kids from Hilmer's school that has kicked him to death. While being beaten, Hilmer is called a traitor for being nice to immigrants. Hilmer finds that his body is still alive and its his spirit that is trying to save him. He waits so that he can learn about the past events in his life.

I think that the theme of this book is to watch out for others and to always be aware. The meaning of title The Invisible is about Hilmer being Invisible. I think the pacing of this book was very good and the authors craft was very detailed and he left you wondering throughout the whole book. I didn't think that this book was in Christian perspective because there was a lot of swearing throughout the story but in the ending there was people praying. The genre of this story was realistic fiction because everything in this book could happen in real life. I thought this book was excellent and I would recommend it to people who like mysteries.

I'm ducking my head in shame as I say this but... I liked the movie more than the book. And the movie wasn't even all the great (although I did enjoy it). And they changed a lot. But, I know why I preferred the movie, and I'll include that in my review.

What story am I talking about you ask? The Invisible by Mats Wahl. I'll talk about the book first...

The story itself had a lot of potential. The book starts with Hilmer going to class. It doesn't take him long to realize that no one seems able to see him. Then, a police officer comes into the classroom to announce that Hilmer has disappeared, and anyone with information should come forward. Hilmer is confused and concerned. He decides to follow the officer to determine anything he can about what is going on. He panics as he realizes that he can't remember anything from the day he disappeared. After that, other than a few disjointed, awkward paragraphs, we are no longer listening to Hilmer, and are instead following the police officer, Detective Fors, and it's his thoughts we hear.

Once we switch narrators, the book loses whatever momentum and appeal it had. There is absolutely no sense of urgency to the story. Everything meanders calmly from one place to another. This tempo is fine in certain stories, and at times, it can actually enhance the reading experience. But no one wants to read a meandering story about a boy who has disappeared and it is assumed that someone made him disappear. Every interview was the same- You are looking for the boy? - Yes, do you know anything? - No, can't say that I do. - Let me know if you think of anything. - Ok. - (SHORT TIME LATER, same person) You knew about this--seriously important piece of information--before?! - Umm, Yes... - Why didn't you tell me?! - I didn't know if it was important, and I didn't want to bring it up... It could cause unnecessary trouble, ya know? Don't make a big deal about it... It could be nothing. Wouldn't want to cause concern now and make the tourists think we were a bad sort, ya know?

None of the townspeople seem to care about this missing boy. Other than Fors, none of the police officers seemed overly concerned about it either, which is shocking because they suspect that someone killed him. It took forever for them to get the dog out to track the scent, and they made a big deal about sending anyone else out there to help. It just seemed ridiculous and bla. No one wants to read how unconcerned a town is when a local boy shows up missing, especially when all the information they have makes it pretty clear that it is very unlikely he would have chosen to leave on his own.

The book was dull, unimaginative and mostly a waste of time. It was originally written in Swedish, and some of the pacing problems I noticed could have come from the translation, but I'll never know and it just wasn't a great read. It wasn't horrible, there just isn't much to recommend the book. It's a great idea, with great potential but the book did nothing with either. This is probably the only time I will say this, but do yourself a favor and just watch the movie instead... (Lightning is now going to strike me down in my hypocracy, but seriously... It's worth it this time...)

I know that this is going to make me sounds ethnocentric, but I liked the movie better because they made it more American, and more something that I could relate to. The movie also focuses more on the missing boy, and we follow him as he desperately tries to figure out what happened to him, where his body is, why no one can see him, and what he could possibly do to save himself. They changed the actual motivation behind the attack as well as the reaction of his assailant, and they fixed the pacing problems. We actually care about Nick as a person (they changed his name.) and not just as Detective Fors' current assignment. Nick still can't remember what happens and is really confused. At first, he thinks he is dead and it takes him a little while to realize that he is still alive, somewhere. The scene with the bird when Nick realizes his body is still alive is one of my most favorites.

The movie really is quite a bit different from the book, but I can't help but think that each change is an improvement. I know I just committed like, the cardinal sin of being a reader/book lover, but I had a really hard time relating and being drawn into the book, but the movie was quite good, rather suspenseful and definitely kept my attention the whole time.

Have any of you read the book or seen the movie? Or both? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this! (And please, don't hate me! I always prefer the book to the movie. I'm allowed this one time, right?!)

I purchased this book for my son's summer reading assignment for school. Here is his review: I am sixteen years old and enjoyed this book. The material was age appropriate, suspenseful and very descriptive. The author painted a vivid picture in my mind.

I enjoyed the US film so much that I thought I'd give the book a try. Though they shared most of the same characters, the storyline was much different. The book did not explain why Hilmer/Nick was beaten to death, and what happened to the perpetrators. There was no resolution. The book is told more from the detective's point of view, while the movie focuses on Nick's observations and interactions. I was not bored reading it, but I was a bit disappointed when I finished. And other than some mild language, it is safe for younger (and more sensitive) readers.

As Detective Fors conducts his investigation, he turns up undercurrents of evil in the town, which have mostly used Neo-Naziism as a vehicle for their problems. Officials of the town have endeavoured to hide those traces, and look the other way.

Had it been met and fought, things might have been different - but this is fiction, and designed to get one to think about what might have been.

There is a saying that runs somethng like, "To free the guilty is to condemn the innocent." Or, as Albus Dumbledore put it, "Remember Cedric."