Monday 18 March 2013

The One-Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson

This book wins the prize for having the longest title of the year.  It also wins the prize for the book whose title I can never remember correctly.  But none of that matters because if you ask anyone who reads if they've read the "one-hundred year old man" book, they will know exactly which book you are talking about.  And they will, in all likelihood, have read it.  And it is a distinct probability that, like, me, they will have found it an entirely entertaining experience, as did I.

In a series of highly improbable but no less hilarious coincidences and happy meetings, a man with not many days left in his life, enjoys his remaining days and enlivens the lives of a few other no less deserving eccentric characters who cross his path.

Even more remarkable is the astonishing Forest Gump like influence his past had on key events in history spanning the entire globe and affecting just about every significant international crisis along the way.

This book was fun because it allowed a bit of a reminder of my history over the lasts 100 years whilst I was laughing out loud to the hysterical situations this mild mannered individual found himself in and then dug himself out of.

I gave this book a 4 out of 5 stars and would recommend this to anyone over the age of 45.  Any younger and the history lessons might just fly right over their head.

No comments: