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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
funny
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Take the way history is explored in Forest Gump, but instead of loveable dopey romantic, the main character is a Swedish explosive engineer that trots all over the globe. But that's honestly just the filler for the book, for the most part. There's the whole ongoing plot with the stolen suitcase, gangsters, new friends and a baby elephant too. Hilarious read, absolutely reccommend
Enjoyable. What I found amazing was not the characters themselves, but rather the author's process of revealing the background to the characters in a way that changes my preconceptions a out the behaviour and motivations. In this respect, I found the book rewarding, in that it reawakened me to the fact that behind every hundred-year-old-man (or anyone, really) is a lifetime of experiences and "character development" which is rarely revealed. The story itself is enjoyable and entertaining, especially as the themes of the protagonist develops. Only 30% into my century, the book also leaves me almost giddy about the adventures that are to come!
Engaging four stars
Rewarding three stars
Enduring two stars
Engaging four stars
Rewarding three stars
Enduring two stars
This was okay. It started out kind of quirky and fun but it dragged on and on and got more and more ridiculous so that I lost interest and didn’t finish it. I would have liked it more if the author had quit while he was ahead.
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Forest Gump like entertainment. One crazy situation after another. You just keep wondering what world event will happen next.
It all starts on the one-hundredth birthday of Allan Karlsson. Sitting quietly in his room in an old people's home, he is waiting for the party he-never-wanted-anyway to begin. The mayor is going to be there. The press is going to be there. But, as it turns out, Allan is not...Slowly but surely Allan climbs out of his bedroom window, into the flowerbed (in his slippers) and 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, we learn something of Allan's earlier life in which - remarkably - he helped to make the atom bomb, became friends with American presidents, Russian tyrants, and Chinese leaders, and was a participant behind the scenes in many key events of the twentieth century. Already a huge bestseller across Europe, The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared is a fun, feel-good book for all ages.
A few months ago I bought The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared when I found it after stumbling across it on the list of Top 100 Paid books on Amazon. I was intrigued by the title & by the idea of the story. The reviews were all 5-star & it seemed like a good purchase, especially at the really low price it was selling for at the time.
Then I started reading it & I was so disappointed! I found the writing style hard to come to grips with & I wasn't connecting with the main character, Allan Karlsson, so I stopped reading it after about the 3rd chapter. But the thing was, I must have connected with Allan more than I realised, because I couldn't stop thinking about him & wondering what he was up to! So, after a few days I decided to suspend reality & give the 100-year-old man a try again. I am so glad that I did! I ended up loving this book - loving the crazy cast of characters & laughing out loud at the audacity of what Allan & his cohorts were getting up to.
I have seen this book described as the book form of Forrest Gump, but I think that this does a disservice to Jonas Jonasson's writing & to his story. The Hundred-Year-Old Man is nothing like Forrest Gump. Now, even though I did love the book, there are points in The Hundred-Year-Old Man when it took me a few minutes to realise what was happening because the book is written in both the present & in the past - where the story of Allan's life is told in flashbacks, but sometimes there is no warning that this has happened/is happening, which meant that a few times I had to go back & re-read passages to figure out what was happening.
Other than that though, I really cannot complain about this lovely little book & I am so glad that I gave it another go!
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
It took me a little while to get into this book but it was a lot of fun to read.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced