Hello Fellow Reader!

How can it be fall already? This year is truly flying by. I have been trying to keep up with my book clubs and Goodreads lists. I am finding that being in two book groups is good from the standpoint that I read two books a month that I generally would not have read but on the other hand, I miss reading some books that I want to read. Do you ever feel that way? My TBR (to be read) pile just keeps growing!

Today, I am going to review a book that I wanted to read. I don’t know where I heard about this book but it sounded fun and so I borrowed it from the local library. The title of the book is The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson. No, it is not a mystery. It is a light-hearted story.

The story starts with the main character, Allan Karlson deciding that he is not interested in attending his 100^th birthday party. The party is being thrown by the nursing home where he lives. The mayor and newspaper reporters are coming to the party to celebrate the big event. Allan sees that he could just escape out his window and walk away. So that is what he does. This is the start of an adventure that has Allan boarding a bus with a stolen suitcase and collecting people and an elephant along his way. Oh, and he even gets married for the first time. And the police are looking for him because they think he might be a murderer. Allan does quite well for being 100.

The tone of the book is humorous and reminds me a lot of the humor in A Man Called Ove. The story tells current day events for Allan but also goes back in time and tells Allan’s truly remarkable life. In reviews, Allan is often compared to Forrest Gump. He has traveled the world and met many historical figures – and he drank with most of them. (He really likes vodka.)

Overall, the book is funny and an interesting story. I found that it dragged through the middle. Allan has a considerable backstory and I found myself wanting to get through it. Allen’s life is interesting and the author did a great job connecting everything. Allan had a lot of adventures during his 100 years.

And it seems to have been made into a film in Sweden where it is the highest grossing film of all time.

My review is mixed. It was a fun amusing story. I like the humor in the book. While all the parts come together, it just seemed to drag a bit in the middle. I read the book in e-book form and did not notice that the book is 396 pages. It is not exactly a quick read but I am not sorry that I read it. (Especially compared to the last few book club books I read.)

I still have next week’s book club book to finish and then I hope to hit that TRB pile. I am hoping there are some good quick reads there waiting for me. I’ll let you know.

Thanks for reading.