Having hugely enjoyed Mr. Jonasson’s first book (‘The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared‘), picking this one up was admittedly a bit of a no brainer for me – and, all in all, I can’t really say I was disappointed. Interweaving fact with fiction, the author takes us on another absurd journey of coincidence, this time from 1970’s South Africa to 21st century Sweden. A large cast of quirky, funny & fully fleshed- out characters (including an “illiterate” mathematical genious of a girl, a useless alcoholic engineer, Chinese counterfeiters, Mossad agents, non- existent Swedes, heads of government and Royalty – to name but a few) populates a plot that is just as far fetched and almost as entertaining as that of its predecessor. Truth be told the story does lag a bit, around the middle and the book could probably have benefited from stricter editing at that point. That said, the plot soon picks up again leading to a pretty great, happily- ever- after finale (with all loose ends tied up …

While I am all for not “judging a book by its cover” I often do judge by the title and, I think, I ought to begin this review by saying that is exactly what happened here. There I was, browsing through possible reads online, when this grabbed my attention and simply refused to let go. That said, I never expected anything quite like what I got as I promptly paid for and downloaded the e-book for my Kindle: Enter Alan Karlsson, our endearing, totally laid- back, totally apolitical protagonist who – on the eve of his 100th birthday – decides to climb out the window of his nursing home and disappear. Moving back and forth from the clever and quirky present plot to a lough- out- loud retrospective of Alan’s mischievous journey through life in the 20th century, Jonas Jonasson ventures miles away from the Swedish noir trend to deliver the delightful, hard to put down tale of his colorful, well- rounded, lovable characters. Hands down one of the best books I have read (so …