Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
Enjoyed this tale of Allan Karlsson. Allan is in a nursing home...what he figures is his last stop....He's in good health though, and he is about to celebrate his 100th birthday....A big celebration is in the works...but Allan really isn't interested...so he decides to escape....He climbs out the window and embarks on a hilarious and unexpected journey....As he goes on the lam, you get to hear the back story of his quite amazing life so far. Nice, easy, fun read.
I actually liked the first 50, maybe even 100 pages. Then the chirpy tone and Series of Unlikely Events became wearying. Then irritating. How many times can a man blow things up? How many obvious clues can a policeman miss?
I see that other readers compared the book to Forrest Gump. To me, it was more like Benny Hill, with an elephant. Nobody in this book was likeable.
I see that other readers compared the book to Forrest Gump. To me, it was more like Benny Hill, with an elephant. Nobody in this book was likeable.
The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared – Review
I really liked this book.
I liked nearly everything about it (hence the four star rating). I liked the present-day story (set in 2005) and I liked all of the little snippets from Allan Karlssen’s past. The only reason that I didn’t rate this as 5 stars is because in some parts it was a little too political and a little too religious – which is ironic because that’s exactly what Allan has no interest for. I also have no interest for it, and I just felt at times it was quite deep down in the weeds of military jargon and political issues. It disinterested me every now and again and I found myself skipping a paragraph here or there and not feeling like I missed out on the story.
I was also disappointed that Julias wasn’t explored in more depth. He had the potential to be an excellent character but sadly the most exciting he got was when he stole a packet of sweets from a petrol station.
Allan is a centenarian who has never lived a normal day in his life by the sounds of it. He ends up in an ‘old people’s home’ and decides that this life is not for him (although he managed to stick out a prison camp for five years – the OAP home was just too much!). He escapes without much thought for where he’s going and where he’s going to end up and it all makes this really wonderful, lovely little story that fills you with hope that things are the way they are meant to be and that ‘it is what it is’.
I’ve never laughed at a book before, and I still haven’t, but this was the closest I’ve got. Some truly brilliant bits of humour in here especially around Herbert Einstein’s character. With that being said, I really did enjoy Allan’s character too – and like I said I just wish Julias’ was expanded on more.
I enjoyed this a lot and it’s unlike anything I’ve read before. I’ve never read a book about a 100 year old man before at least! A friendly reminder that you’re only as old as you think, and it’s never too old for new experiences.
I really liked this book.
I liked nearly everything about it (hence the four star rating). I liked the present-day story (set in 2005) and I liked all of the little snippets from Allan Karlssen’s past. The only reason that I didn’t rate this as 5 stars is because in some parts it was a little too political and a little too religious – which is ironic because that’s exactly what Allan has no interest for. I also have no interest for it, and I just felt at times it was quite deep down in the weeds of military jargon and political issues. It disinterested me every now and again and I found myself skipping a paragraph here or there and not feeling like I missed out on the story.
I was also disappointed that Julias wasn’t explored in more depth. He had the potential to be an excellent character but sadly the most exciting he got was when he stole a packet of sweets from a petrol station.
Allan is a centenarian who has never lived a normal day in his life by the sounds of it. He ends up in an ‘old people’s home’ and decides that this life is not for him (although he managed to stick out a prison camp for five years – the OAP home was just too much!). He escapes without much thought for where he’s going and where he’s going to end up and it all makes this really wonderful, lovely little story that fills you with hope that things are the way they are meant to be and that ‘it is what it is’.
I’ve never laughed at a book before, and I still haven’t, but this was the closest I’ve got. Some truly brilliant bits of humour in here especially around Herbert Einstein’s character. With that being said, I really did enjoy Allan’s character too – and like I said I just wish Julias’ was expanded on more.
I enjoyed this a lot and it’s unlike anything I’ve read before. I’ve never read a book about a 100 year old man before at least! A friendly reminder that you’re only as old as you think, and it’s never too old for new experiences.
this was a delightfully random book. ..it was fun to be along for the ride.
Got just over 100 pages and decided I just didn’t care about finishing. Some of the other one star reviews sum this book up perfectly. I didn’t care about any of the characters and it was a very dry read.
adventurous
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Yes
One of my favorite books of all time.
I liked the stuff he did before jumping out of the window more
Me gustó mucho... tiene sentido del humor, un personaje singular, te lleva página a página de manera muy fluida. De hecho la mejor crítica que puedo hacerle es decir que empecé viernes en la noche y acabé domingo por la tarde. Otra de las grandes ganancias es que pienso que constituye una lección de narrativa en sí mismo, Jonasson sabe manejar los tiempos de lectura, las curvas de interés, sabe cuándo dar y cuando mantenerte en vilo, sabe hacer que quieras leer el capítulo corriendo para saber qué más pasa. Bonito.
This is not a book I would normally pick up. I received it from a friend with high recommendations and I was in need of a new book. So I decided to give it a try and I'm so glad I did. It's at times a strange book that combines a lot of random historical events - and I think that's one of the reasons I enjoyed it so much because I couldn't even begin to predict what might come next. It's well-written and fun to read.
Insufferably cutesy-poo Swedish equivalent of Forrest Gump has taken the world by storm. A hundred year old man escapes a nursing home and, in between bouts of murdering bumbling criminals, we hear his life story, which includes inventing the atom bomb and saving Winston Churchill's life.
The improbability of the book is not its problem; the issue is that Jonasson - or his translator - has written this book as if speaking to a very slow child, in a sing-song register that says "please appreciate my whimsy." The characters are cardboard and Allan is an idiotic creation who is not charming to read at all, to the point that neither of the parallel stories are worth reading. It's not a one star book because there's something about it that is recognisable as the spark that has enamoured others, but for me it was just no fun at all.
The improbability of the book is not its problem; the issue is that Jonasson - or his translator - has written this book as if speaking to a very slow child, in a sing-song register that says "please appreciate my whimsy." The characters are cardboard and Allan is an idiotic creation who is not charming to read at all, to the point that neither of the parallel stories are worth reading. It's not a one star book because there's something about it that is recognisable as the spark that has enamoured others, but for me it was just no fun at all.