The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared: Summary and book reviews of The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson, plus links to an excerpt from The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared and a biography of Jonas Jonasson.
The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared
by Jonas Jonasson
Paperback: Sep 2012,
400 pages.
The international publishing sensation--over two million copies sold
A reluctant centenarian much like Forrest Gump (if Gump were an explosives expert with a fondness for vodka) decides it’s not too late to start over...
After a long and eventful life, Allan Karlsson ends up in a nursing home, believing it to be his last stop. The only problem is that he's still in good health, and in one day, he turns 100. A big celebration is in the works, but Allan really isn't interested (and he'd like a bit more control over his vodka consumption). So he decides to escape. He climbs out the window in his slippers and embarks on a hilarious and entirely unexpected journey, involving, among other surprises, a suitcase stuffed with cash, some unpleasant criminals, a friendly hot-dog stand operator, and an elephant (not to mention a death by elephant).
It would be the adventure of a lifetime for anyone else, but Allan has a larger-than-life backstory: Not only has he witnessed some of the most important events of the twentieth century, but he has actually played a key role in them. Starting out in munitions as a boy, he somehow finds himself involved in many of the key explosions of the twentieth century and travels the world, sharing meals and more with everyone from Stalin, Churchill, and Truman to Mao, Franco, and de Gaulle. Quirky and utterly unique, The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared has charmed readers across the world.
Allan Karlsson is a role model for those who fear sinking into disuse and decrepitude, and the novel's value is in exploring old age as a time that is as lively and colorful as youth. (Reviewed by Elizabeth Whitmore Funk).
Publisher's Weekly
Starred Review. Historical figures like Mao's third wife, Vice President Truman, and Stalin appear, to great comic effect. ... and all help drive this gentle lampoon of procedurals and thrillers.
Kirkus Reviews
Starred Review. A great cure for the blues, especially for anyone who might feel bad about growing older.
The Savvy Reader
If you love history you’ll love all the real historical figures that make an appearance. If you love action, you’ll love how each situation seems to escalate and how quickly the plot moves from mishap to mishap, country to country.
Centenarians' Birthday Celebrations Around the World
While many of us assume that the key to a long life is health and happiness, recent studies from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine suggest that reaching the 100-year mark is a complex blend of genetics, environment, optimism, and emotional wellbeing. Given that recent U.S. census data shows that centenarians make up approximately 0.2 percent of the American population (and in Japan it's even higher, though not without some controversy), it's undeniable that centenarians are becoming only more numerous in countries that have long life expectancies.
Despite increasing longevity, many countries still formally honor a 100th birthday. In the U.K., centenarians receive a telegram from the Queen on a 100th and 105th birthday, as well as each one that follows. Americans receive a letter from the President, and if desired, an announcement on The Today Show. Other countries that have similar centenarian recognition include Sweden, Japan, and Italy. The long-lived Irish are particularly lucky: 100th birthdays are celebrated with a €2,540 "centenarian bounty" and a...
We were going out stealing horses. That was what he said, standing at the door to the cabin where I was spending the summer with my father. I was fifteen. It was 1948 and one of the first days of July.
Old Filth has been acclaimed as Jane Gardam’s masterpiece, a book where life and art merge. And now that beautiful, haunting novel has been joined by a companion that also bursts with humor and wisdom: The Man in the Wooden Hat.
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(871 words).
