The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared

Jonas Jonasson

With vodka, dynamite, murder, an elephant, and Einstein’s brother, Allan Karlsson will take you on two incredible, absurdly brilliant, escapades. The exploits he gets up to aged 100 are nothing compared to the preceding years he spent ambling across the globe meeting world leaders and being involved in major historical events. Highly entertaining, wry and dark, suspend your disbelief and jump straight into this screwball romp. A delight to read.

Extract

'If you'll excuse us, Mr Prosecutor, we've told you everything. But if you absolutely want to hear us talk some more then I can probably remember one or two adventures from my time as a CIA agent - or even better from my trip across the Himalayas.'
Sometimes your mouth seems to go its own way while your brain stands still, and that was probably what happened to Prosecutor Ranelid when - contrary to what he had just decided - he happened to comment on Allan's latest nonsense:
'You crossed the Himalayas? At a hundred?'
'No, don't be silly,' said Allan. 'You see, Mr Prosecutor, I haven't always been a hundred years old. No, that's recent.'

Parallels