Book info

• Title The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared
• Author Jonas Jonasson
• Year 2009
• Genre Contemporary

Sitting quietly in his room in an old people's home, Allan Karlsson is waiting for a party he doesn't want to begin. His one-hundredth birthday party to be precise. The Mayor will be there. The press will be there. But, as it turns out, Allan will not... Escaping (in his slippers) through his bedroom window, into the flowerbed, Allan makes his getaway. And so begins his picaresque and unlikely journey involving criminals, several murders, a suitcase full of cash, and incompetent police. As his escapades unfold, Allan's earlier life is revealed. A life in which - remarkably - he played a key role behind the scenes in some of the momentous events of the twentieth century.

Thoughts

Don’t be put off by the overly long title, this is a fun read. It took me a while to get in the right zone for it, but once I was there it was great. The style is something unusual - at first I thought it was a translation thing, before realising it was a deliberate style choice. It’s sort of impersonal, with thoughts and dialogue often written in prose rather than speech, and there are lots of nicknames with continued use - the young man with blond hair and a leather jacket, for example.

The story is told from two different periods in time - the first in which the one hundred year old man of the title does indeed jump out of the window and embarks upon an adventure, and the second following his life up until that point. Towards the end, the two threads join together to come back to a satisfying conclusion.

The ridiculous adventures that our hero, Allan, finds himself in are very reminiscent of Forrest Gump - happening to be in the right/wrong place at the right/wrong time, and bumping into lots of famous faces along the way. Whereas Forrest has a poignant and often sad outlook, though, Allan has a resolutely positive and optimistic attitude to life. It’s refreshing, almost inspiring. But mostly the book is funny. Some great characters, some crazy scenarios, and a lot of fun along the way.

Rating: 4 / 5