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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
Absolutely loving this book so far and am only on page 36.
And continued to absolutely enjoy the entire book. The whole package is a wonderful story that weaves 100 years of international history in the adventure of one man sneaking out of the old-folks home. My laughter while reading might have been a little obnoxious to those in the same room, but it WAS funny. But historical moments include the grim nastiness of war. Just a warning, not a spoiler.
And continued to absolutely enjoy the entire book. The whole package is a wonderful story that weaves 100 years of international history in the adventure of one man sneaking out of the old-folks home. My laughter while reading might have been a little obnoxious to those in the same room, but it WAS funny. But historical moments include the grim nastiness of war. Just a warning, not a spoiler.
Had I never heard of this book and come across it by accident, I might have experienced it the way other readers seem to have; as a quirky adventure tale full of dark humour and entertaining historical anecdotes. Sadly, a hyped up "number 1 international bestseller" reference awakes the critical, sceptical if not cynical reader in me. It took me quite a long time to get into this book (granted, there was too much going on in the run-up to Xmas anyway), and then stick with it, and had one of my book clubs not recently picked it for a future meeting, I may not even have bothered finishing it. Sad but true.
Where others found it "quirky" I thought it twee. The supposed "dark humour" was almost childish, many scenes made me cringe as did the dialogue. Funny? Well, I don't think I laughed out loud once. Ridiculous? Yes. As for the "adventure" story, I felt that the interspersed backstories and encounters with famous political leaders and historical figures were shamelessly lifted from Forrest Gump, so it also lacked in originality. The writing was quite clunky, and I am at a complete loss to understand which aspect has made this book so well received by an international readership other than the undiscerning love for all things (books) Swedish.
I'm rounding up from 1.5 stars - it is a debut novel after all, and it was the author's sojourn in Switzerland that helped him write it, so one star for the Swiss scenery to get another writing career off the ground!
Where others found it "quirky" I thought it twee. The supposed "dark humour" was almost childish, many scenes made me cringe as did the dialogue. Funny? Well, I don't think I laughed out loud once. Ridiculous? Yes. As for the "adventure" story, I felt that the interspersed backstories and encounters with famous political leaders and historical figures were shamelessly lifted from Forrest Gump, so it also lacked in originality. The writing was quite clunky, and I am at a complete loss to understand which aspect has made this book so well received by an international readership other than the undiscerning love for all things (books) Swedish.
I'm rounding up from 1.5 stars - it is a debut novel after all, and it was the author's sojourn in Switzerland that helped him write it, so one star for the Swiss scenery to get another writing career off the ground!
I thought I came up with the idea that Allan is very Forest Gump-like. Turns out it says something along those lines on the back cover. Amusing tale.
It wasn't terrible but I found it a bit of snooze fest 'round about the middle. The beginning was pretty charming but it got messy and didn't get better. There were funny moments, but not enough to save it for me.
The writing style reminded me a bit of Douglas Adams - I found it amusing and funny. The stories about his past life were sometimes tired, but probably needed in order to bring the full story of the book together.
Great story! I'll be getting the large print edition for my mother-in-law, who will be celebrating her 100th birthday this September!
Unusually, I read the sequel first and enjoyed it so much I sought out the first book. Also unusually, I enjoyed the sequel much more than the first book; I might not have even looked for the sequel if I had read the books in order. There were enough flashes of brilliance and dashes of humor to keep me going, and near the very end it picked up and became funnier, and also began to resemble the sequel. So it was good, but not quite as good as I had hoped.
The first few chapters totally drew me in. I was laughing out loud and engaged but then a out 1/3 of the way in, things seemed to slow way down and I lost momentum. A book that time traveled back and forth from past to present day, I was more interested in the present-day story but couldn't get invested enough to finish. After discussing with a friend who was also reading, she noted that the old man started to become very robotic and less human, perhaps less relatable and untrustworthy. Perhaps someday I will pick up again.
I'm going to give up on books translated from Swedish. First there was "The girl with the dragon tattoo" and now this piece of utter dreck.
This manages to be absurd (Monty Python-style) while removing any skerrick of humour. Fair effort, that.
This manages to be absurd (Monty Python-style) while removing any skerrick of humour. Fair effort, that.