This is the sequel to The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out Of The Window And Disappeared – he certainly enjoys a long title!
Jonas Jonasson actually never intended to write this book – here’s an excerpt from the forward:
“I’d already said everything I wanted to say about what was perhaps the most miserable century ever. The idea had been that if we reminded one another of all the shortcomings of the twentieth century, maybe it would make us better at remembering and less inclined to make at least those mistakes again. I packaged this message of mine with warmth and humour. Soon the book spread all over the world.It sure as hell didn’t make the world a better place.”
We start where the last book left off, on an island in Indonesia with Allan and Jules and a fair amount of cash! However around Allan’s 101st birthday things start to get complicated again and before you know it, we’re off on a North Korean ship with a load of uranium…
Where the first book ran two timelines, this just follows from this point onwards, yet we bump into several world leaders and all sorts of trouble. Allan has found himself “a black tablet” which he fast becomes obsessed with, and infuriating for the others he’s with. He’s a brilliant character, ridiculously laid back in even the most stressful situations.
The whole book is just silly funny, even though it sounds so political, it’s all just a bit ridiculous – in a really warm way.
ineke.co.uk 