Smart story by Swedish writer in current New Yorker

Another fine story (As You Would Have Explained It to Me - or something like that, it's a very long title) in the current New Yorker, by Swedish writer Jonas Hassen Khemiri, grabs you right away and keeps you thinking, keeps you off-balance throughout; reminded me of a Twilight Zone or, more recently, Black Mirror episode although it's more literary and postmodern (or post-postmodern). No spoilers, but to give you the premise: A young man sitting at home mind his own business is confronted with a group of armed police officers at his door who come in to search the apartment and put him under arrest. We're bracing at this point for one of many thousand wrong-suspect stories - to stay w/ the TV analogies, a version of The Night Of, say - but we get a strange twist, as the narrator is certain that the cops are actors and this is a ruse put on by his best friends, Miro and the gang, to celebrate his recent engagement to Katje. The longer the arrest and booking process goes on, the more he tries to "play along"- waving to the surveillance cameras in his holding cell, for ex. - as he's sure this event is a hoax and the video will play at his bachelor party or even wedding celebration - so he wants to keep his cool, and let the guys know he's in on the gag. But this "gag" goes on beyond all reason - right through a criminal trial - he the young man never cracks. So what's going on - is he delusional? The victim of a strange hoax? Playing with us, the readers? I won't divulge anything, but will note there are a # of twists in the narrative toward the end, some of which involve "you," the reader. Very smart story; I don't know anything about this writer, but hope to see more of his work in English translation.

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