Nick Pateras | The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared
BOOK REVIEW
The 100-Year-Old Man who Climbed out the Window and Disappeared – Jonas Jonasson
Chuckle-inducing caper that features a who’s who of twentieth century dictators and free world leaders
This comedic novel tells of Allan Karlsson who, on the day of his one hundredth birthday, decides he’s had enough of his current residence in a Swedish nursing home, and climbs out his bedroom window to head in just about any direction at all. He quite fortuitously chances upon a large sum of money in a suitcase, resulting in a charmingly honest story involving criminals, doctored Bibles, and an ex-circus elephant called Sonya. The unravelling of what comes next is revealed in parallel with Karlsson’s astonishing first century of life, a series of witty run-ins with various political leaders ranging from Churchill to Kim Il Sung. Notable incidents include crossing the Himalayas on a camel, spending time with an Anglican missionary in an Iranian prison, and also instructing Truman how to make an atomic bomb – before innocently offering the same invaluable information to Stalin’s government.
"There are only two things that I can do better than most people. One is to make vodka from goats' milk and the other is to put together an atomic bomb."
I found this read thoroughly entertaining and caught myself laughing out loud at several points. Jonasson is an expert at delivering humour in text form, keeping it simple such that it cannot be missed but often so ridiculous one cannot help but smile. I also appreciated that the plot was nimble enough to have me leafing through many chapters at a time, with Karlsson’s ventures often taking a dramatic and rapid turn for the more interesting. Lastly, even though I recognize the book was fictional, it nonetheless inspired me to go explore more of the world by living abroad, continuing to learn languages and generally having richer, more diverse experiences. I certainly wouldn’t mind having a century of memories like Allan Karlsson had should I ever hit one hundred.
-NP, Jan. 2015