Review: The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson

~ Jennifer @ The Relentless Reader

The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson
Publisher: Hyperion Books
United States Publication Date: September 2012

Description:

A reluctant centenarian much like Forrest Gump (if Gump were an explosives expert with a fondness for vodka) decides it’s not too late to start over…

After a long and eventful life, Allan Karlsson ends up in a nursing home, believing it to be his last stop. The only problem is that he’s still in good health, and in one day, he turns 100. A big celebration is in the works, but Allan really isn’t interested (and he’d like a bit more control over his vodka consumption). So he decides to escape. He climbs out the window in his slippers and embarks on a hilarious and entirely unexpected journey, involving, among other surprises, a suitcase stuffed with cash, some unpleasant criminals, a friendly hot-dog stand operator, and an elephant (not to mention a death by elephant).

It would be the adventure of a lifetime for anyone else, but Allan has a larger-than-life backstory: Not only has he witnessed some of the most important events of the twentieth century, but he has actually played a key role in them. Starting out in munitions as a boy, he somehow finds himself involved in many of the key explosions of the twentieth century and travels the world, sharing meals and more with everyone from Stalin, Churchill, and Truman to Mao, Franco, and de Gaulle. Quirky and utterly unique, ” The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared” has charmed readers across the world.

My Thoughts:

Crazy, silly, sweet, quirky, hilarious. Every page in this book is action packed and you’ll have no idea what is going to happen next. Go ahead and guess, you’ll never be able to predict a damn thing. This was an absolute joy to read…it was like listening to your funny drunken uncle trying to give a history lesson. Delightful! 

FYI, the book was originally rejected by firms in the U.K. and in the U.S. (Fools! Fools, I tell you!)

Read this book. If you have to beg, borrow, or steal it…do so!

I’m serious…what are you waiting for? 
What Other Bloggers Thought:

Published by Jennifer @ The Relentless Reader

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