The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson

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I’ve been meaning to read this since last year, so with little knowledge of the plot outside the obvious title info, I decided to make The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared my first listen through my Audible subscription.

Writing up a gist for this novel is hard to do when the title spells it out so plainly, but I’ll give it a go! Allan Karlsson, sick and tired of director Alice and her strict policies on meal times -which include the absence of Karlsson’s favorite alcoholic beverage - finds himself compelled to escape the nursing home minutes before his 100th birthday party is about to commence. What happens after is an outrageously timed story of humorous coincidence and crazy luck. But even more interesting are the jaw-dropping events that lead up to Karlsson’s latest adventure.

This story totally deserves the international bestseller title. With infectious characters and delightful dark humor Jonasson has brought a very unique telling of some of modern history’s darkest moments to the table. Karlsson’s a protagonist you can really stand behind, his ever-constant jovial perspective on life seeps into your head as you read - reading just a chapter easily turned a few of my own sour moods around! Through lies, deceit, and unbelievable outcomes of some of the stickiest situations imagined it’s odd that friendship, however short-lived on occasion, abounds in this story. Its appearance brought this hilarious tale, down-to-earth and let the best of human nature shine.

I don’t think I’d have enjoyed this book as much as I did if it weren’t for my digesting it in an audio form. The narrator did a marvelous job and the story unfolded so perfectly, it just felt like a story that needed to be read aloud. Highly entertaining and laugh-out loud funny. 4 out of 5 stars!