The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson. A really long title for a fun and quick-moving book.
This book was originally published in 2009 in the author’s home country of Sweden. In 2012 the book was first published in English. Since then, over 6 million copies of the book have been sold. It has also been made into a movie.
Synopsis
Allan Karlsson decides on the day of his 100th birthday that he doesn’t want to stick around the senior home in which resides and be treated as someone incapable of doing things. Once he climbs out of the window and arrives at the bus terminal, he sets off a string of events that are both funny and quite accidental. The story shifts between his past and his present. Along the way, he picks up some new friends, including an elephant.
Positives
Allan is one of the most enduring characters I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. He has an attitude of, “Oh well,” for most of his life. He doesn’t take things too seriously, just serious enough to stay alive to turn 100.
The chance to time travel through important (though maybe minor) historic events is a nice twist. It’s great to see what may have happened behind the scenes of events that people may or may not realize happened.
Negatives
The biggest negative I have with the book is purely a language barrier. I know the book was originally written in Swedish, is set largely in Sweden, and thus has lots of Swedish words and terms that could not be translated into English. Namely, the towns and villages of Sweden where Allan and his friends travel. I did use Google maps a couple of times so I could get a feel for where they were at any given time.
There is a certain sense that the reader needs to suspend their beliefs, ever so slightly, for the stories of Allan’s past to really work. That’s not to say they aren’t believable, it’s just to say that they offer a bit of “Yeah right.” Almost like when you listen to your grandparents tell stories of their youth, and you wonder how much of it is truth and how much is embellishment.
Summary
I really enjoyed reading about Allan Karlsson and all of his adventures. While I was reading, I would often stop and relate his tales to my family. I think that my 18-year-old is almost jealous of Allan and his friends.
This book is so wonderfully unbelievable that you could almost see this being someone’s real life. How does Allan, a man with only 3 years of education, manage to be a part of so many important political things in the world? Especially as he professes to dislike all things political.
If you are looking for an easy read, give The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared a read. You won’t regret it.
Looking for more books to add to your TBR? Check out my other Book Reviews.