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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
So I DNF'd the hundred year old man who climbed out the window and disappeared. Although it's got an interesting title, it was recommended by a friend who said that she didn't finish it and she didn't enjoy it. But I thought I'll give it a go, but I didn't get on with it really. I only read about 40 pages.
It just was really weird. I think it was supposed to be funny, but I just didn't really get the humour. Like it just talked a lot about how the old man was an old man and that's why he did things, and like made comments about how he was old so he dripped wee on his slippers when he went to the toilet. Which honestly made me feel a little bit sick thinking about old wee man slippers. Like, why did the old man go out the window for a birthday?
Like, I guess that's the point of the story. I didn't get that to can get to that point. But it's his birthday party. Would've thought you'd want to at least attend. And then it has like a random backstory like of him as a child hundred years ago which obviously was like the well I think it was the beginning of the nineteen twenties.
The second world war and also like the Russia and Sir Nicholas II, the tsar and the Bolsheviks. And then randomly started talking about Karl Marx. But instead of calling him Karl Marx or like the theory Marxism it just kept referring to him as uncle Karl and I just thought it was really weird. And then randomly he decided to blow things up in a quarry and blew someone's head off which I think was supposed to be funny because then he spoke to the head and the head didn't respond but I didn't really get that. And then it had a random bit about forced sterilization of Negroes and Jews and he was forcibly sterilized but he didn't mind.
And I just thought what has this got to do with it? So yeah. I didn't finish because I didn't think it was funny. I thought it was a bit weird and I didn't really care. Like the old man was supposed to go out and steal, I think, a suitcase of money and then the guy tracks him down.
But I just didn't feel anything for the old man. I just thought he came across a bit stupid. So yeah. I don't recommend it and I don't really know how it's apparently a international best selling sensation. Maybe perhaps if you're Swedish or Russian maybe you'd sort of understand the old man a bit more Or maybe if you have, like, the right sort of sense of humour and you're interested in, like, Marxism.
I don't know. Wasn't my cup of tea. Not gonna finish it. Not gonna waste my time.
It just was really weird. I think it was supposed to be funny, but I just didn't really get the humour. Like it just talked a lot about how the old man was an old man and that's why he did things, and like made comments about how he was old so he dripped wee on his slippers when he went to the toilet. Which honestly made me feel a little bit sick thinking about old wee man slippers. Like, why did the old man go out the window for a birthday?
Like, I guess that's the point of the story. I didn't get that to can get to that point. But it's his birthday party. Would've thought you'd want to at least attend. And then it has like a random backstory like of him as a child hundred years ago which obviously was like the well I think it was the beginning of the nineteen twenties.
The second world war and also like the Russia and Sir Nicholas II, the tsar and the Bolsheviks. And then randomly started talking about Karl Marx. But instead of calling him Karl Marx or like the theory Marxism it just kept referring to him as uncle Karl and I just thought it was really weird. And then randomly he decided to blow things up in a quarry and blew someone's head off which I think was supposed to be funny because then he spoke to the head and the head didn't respond but I didn't really get that. And then it had a random bit about forced sterilization of Negroes and Jews and he was forcibly sterilized but he didn't mind.
And I just thought what has this got to do with it? So yeah. I didn't finish because I didn't think it was funny. I thought it was a bit weird and I didn't really care. Like the old man was supposed to go out and steal, I think, a suitcase of money and then the guy tracks him down.
But I just didn't feel anything for the old man. I just thought he came across a bit stupid. So yeah. I don't recommend it and I don't really know how it's apparently a international best selling sensation. Maybe perhaps if you're Swedish or Russian maybe you'd sort of understand the old man a bit more Or maybe if you have, like, the right sort of sense of humour and you're interested in, like, Marxism.
I don't know. Wasn't my cup of tea. Not gonna finish it. Not gonna waste my time.
The blurbs on the cover of this book (about it being "playful" and reminding you to "live life to the fullest") almost made me not want to read it, but fortunately, Jonasson doesn't buy into all the saccharine fictionalized self-help nonsense and instead focuses on telling a solid, clever story of a life well-lived. Allan Karlsson, on the verge of his 100th birthday, decides he needs a change of scenery and walks away from his senior living home (in his indoor slippers no less) and directly to the closest bus depot. When he meets an ill-tempered youth in the station and elects to steal the young man's suitcase (because why not?), the reader is made to quickly understand that Karlsson is no doddering old fool; he's a man on a mission that he just so happens to make up as he goes along. His first step is asking the bus driver to take him as far a a 50-crown note will get him, which leaves him in the middle of a forest with a disused train depot. And just like that - he's (slowly) off on a journey that introduces him to other curious folk, while he evades the police and unsavory rightful owners of the suitcase (which just so happens to be stuffed with millions of crowns in drug money). Karlsson's easy-going nature is shown to be a trait he has carried with him since his youth. Jonasson tells the story of his centenarian protagonist through snippets of memory and snapshots in time. For a man completely disinterested in politics, Karlsson ends up meeting everyone from Chiang Kai-shek's wife to Presidents Truman, Johnson, and Nixon (all on separate occasions). As a self-taught "explosives expert," he manages to both escalate and then neutralize the nuclear policies of the Cold War superpowers. None of these experiences (for better or for worse) happen because of Karlsson's overwhelming intellect or plotting; throughout the story, Jonasson highlights his protagonist's wit and willingness to roll with the punches. Stuck crossing the Himalayas alone? Find a camel, some affable Persian revolutionaries, and learn how to make goat's milk vodka. Sent to a gulag for offending Stalin? Not so bad when it happens to be in the busy (and temperate!) port of Vladivostok. The story bounces back and forth between the present and Karlsson's 100-year past with ease - the historical trips down memory lane are just as amusing as the present-day narrative of Karlsson (complete with his old man shuffle) dodging the Swedish police at every turn. While the cover commentary may have initially put me off, Jonasson does provide his readers with some philosophical gems - my favorite being that Allan Karlsson never understood the point of being grouchy when you didn't have reason to be. The book may not have taught me to "live life to the fullest," but it did remind me to look for opportunity everywhere and drink more vodka.
Quirky written book of a wonderful adventure. Makes me feel good and just hits every note. I love the history and the way he interacts with these monuments moments in time.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-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
I was told this was a quick read, but I didn't really find it so - it was denser than I thought it would be. That said, I had a great opportunity to tear through most of it when I spent the day in the hospital in the birthing unit. (All is well.)
It was not as uproariously funny as I had heard about it being, but it definitely provoked the odd chuckle out of me. It was more political than I expected it to be, as well, and a lot of politics that I knew absolutely nothing about. All in all, an enjoyable read, though I doubt I would pick up the sequel. (The OB in the hospital that I saw said that by the third book, she was tired of the writing.)
It was not as uproariously funny as I had heard about it being, but it definitely provoked the odd chuckle out of me. It was more political than I expected it to be, as well, and a lot of politics that I knew absolutely nothing about. All in all, an enjoyable read, though I doubt I would pick up the sequel. (The OB in the hospital that I saw said that by the third book, she was tired of the writing.)
A bit lame and a bit dull. There was an interesting story in this novel. A picaresque reworking of Don Quixote or Candide. But this didn't really work for me. I liked the meetings with important figures of the 20th century but that idea was executed better by William Boyd in Any Human Heart. This felt so contrived but I guess that picaresque novels.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol
Moderate: Gun violence, Forced institutionalization, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Rape
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No