Review: The Hundred-Year-Old man who climbed out of the window and disappeared

Title: The Hundred-Year-Old man who climbed out of the window and disappeared
Author: Jonas Jonasson
Release date: July 2012
Age group: All ages
Pages: 396
Synopsis
It all starts on the one-hundredth birthday of Allan Karlsson. Sitting quietly in his room in an old people’s home, he is waiting for the party he-never-wanted-anyway to begin. The Mayor is going to be there. The press is going to be there. But, as it turns out, Allan is not… Slowly but surely Allan climbs out of his bedroom window, into the flowerbed (in his slippers) and makes his getaway. And so begins his picaresque and unlikely journey involving criminals, several murders, a suitcase full of cash, and incompetent police. As his escapades unfold, we learn something of Allan’s earlier life in which – remarkably – he helped to make the atom bomb, became friends with American presidents, Russian tyrants, and Chinese leaders, and was a participant behind the scenes in many key events of the twentieth century. Already a huge bestseller across Europe, The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared is a fun and feel-good book for all ages.

Expectations

I've been curious about this book for a while now. I think the main reason for me to start reading this book is the title. Somehow it intrigues me. I expect a life-story of this man which would explain why he disappeared.  

Review

There was so much humor in this story, sometimes I laughed out loud. As I expected this book was telling the life-story of Allan, the main character. 

This book holds two separate timelines. We follow Allan from the moment he disappears out of the window and we also follow his life from when he was born. The chapters switch from the present to the past which was a nice change. It was very interesting to read about his history and the things he did, although I definitely preferred the present story. 

Through the entire book Allan's view on life comes forward. He learned this from his mother. It comes down to: What happens happens, so there's no point in worrying about it.

Because Allan lives like this, he rarely gets angry or upset. Allan meets a lot of different people who travel with him, which I can't really say anything about, because I don't wanna spoil the story. I can say most of the characters he meets are very well written and have a very clear character-description.

The author integrated a lot of big history events and people within this story, which was great to read about. 

Rating

I recommend reading this book because of the writing, the characters, the history and above all the humor. Great book!