Blurb:
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.
My Review:
This story as evident from the title is about a hundred-year-old man, Allan Karlson.
Allan Karlson lives in an Old Age Home. He decides run away from that place on his 100th birthday.
The story opens in two folds. Firstly in the present, which describes his days after leaving the old age home. The author simultaneously tells us about his past. His entire journey and how he ends up in the Old Age Home. I found the theme of the story very exciting. Events occurring one after the other with new names coming in the picture with almost every chapter.
The flashback part was filled with lots of facts and names of people and places making it difficult to read. But I read it anyways, skipping pages over pages. By the time I reached the end, I realised that there was no link of the past with present until last few chapters (which can also be read without actually knowing the background). It felt like wasting a lot of time in the information which was not really relevant.
If you are reading this book and are not interested in knowing the ‘extra facts’ just like me, you can skip the chapters dated before 2005. I hope this suggestion helps and make your reading more pleasurable for this book.