Want a bit more Swedish comedy in your life? I can’t get enough of it thanks to Jonas Jonasson, and his new book and fourth novel The Accidental Further Adventures Of The Hundred-Year-Old Man promises to deliver a story just as hilarious as his first novel from the same series.
Author: Jonas Jonasson
Genre: Comedy
Published: July 2018
Synopsis
The sequel to Jonas Jonasson’s international bestseller The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared
It all begins with a hot air balloon trip and three bottles of champagne. Allan and Julius are ready for some spectacular views, but they’re not expecting to land in the sea and be rescued by a North Korean ship, and they could never have imagined that the captain of the ship would be harbouring a suitcase full of contraband uranium, on a nuclear weapons mission for Kim Jong-un …
Soon Allan and Julius are at the centre of a complex diplomatic crisis involving world figures from the Swedish foreign minister to Angela Merkel and President Trump. Things are about to get very complicated …
(Taken from Goodreads)
My Review
I’ll start by saying I’m a big Jonas Jonasson fan – I’ve read all of his novels to date and eagerly await more. There’s something so original about his writing; the humour is clever and witty and the way he writes is so easy to read. With every book I’ve read of Jonasson’s I’ve found them almost impossible to put down, and have regularly found the bath water I was sitting in to become cold because I’ve been so engrossed in the book!
The Accidental Further Adventures Of The Hundred-Year-Old Man doesn’t fail to disappoint either, and I’d say it’s probably my second favourite of all his books so far. It’s great to be able to revisit the first set of characters he wrote (and clearly loves), and this time round the story is even more bizarre than the first one. I’ve seen a few reviews claiming that it’s too unrealistic but I have to disagree there – whilst many of the situations are astronomically unlikely that’s kind of the point, and the humour Jonasson creates from each one is in a league of its own. I lost count of the moments I laughed out loud (generally you can tell how funny I find a book by how many weird looks I get from my partner – I got a lot whilst reading this one).
What really added to the comedy this time is that Jonasson introduced actual real people into the story – written as characters, of course, but still quite accurate in their actions and talking styles. Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un were written brilliantly as was Angela Merkel, and I looked forward to every scene that had them in. I’m not entirely sure if Trump and Jong Un would agree with me about their fictional selves being hilarious but that just makes it funnier.
I also love the supporting characters that Jonasson brings to life in his books – each one is explored in-depth, and you feel like you really know them whilst reading. Even minor characters who puts so much thought into, and it’s refreshing to read a book by an author that’s really mastered this element of writing. It’s not only the character development that is great but the chemistry between each character, and the dialogue is vivid and engrossing. One thing I’ve found with Jonas Jonasson’s books is that every sentence included has a purpose – there’s no fluff to be found.
Final Thoughts
The Accidental Further Adventures Of The Hundred-Year-Old Man really is a book worth reading, as are the other books by Jonasson. With short, digestible chapters and so many twists and turns that you just have to keep reading, this is certainly one to put at the top of your to-read list (just make sure to read the previous book first!).
Purchase Links
If you’d like to purchase either of these wonderful stories of Alan Carlsson’s mind-boggling adventures then you can do so here:
The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out Of The Window And Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson – Amazon UK
The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out Of The Window And Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson – Amazon US
The Further Accidental Adventures Of The Hundred-Year-Old Man by Jonas Jonasson – Amazon UK
The Further Accidental Adventures Of The Hundred-Year-Old Man by Jonas Jonasson – Amazon US
I’d totally recommend reading Jonas Jonasson’s other two books as well – you can purchase them here:
Hitman Anders And The Meaning Of It All by Jonas Jonasson – Amazon UK
Hitman Anders And The Meaning Of It All by Jonas Jonasson – Amazon US
The Girl Who Saved The King Of Sweden by Jonas Jonasson – Amazon UK
The Girl Who Saved The King Of Sweden by Jonas Jonasson – Amazon US
Author Bio
Jonas Jonasson was a journalist for the Expressen newspaper for many years. He became a media consultant and later set up a company producing sports and events for Swedish television, before selling his company and moving abroad to work on his first novel. He is the author of The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared, The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden and Hitman Anders and the Meaning of it All. He lives on the Swedish island Gotland in the Baltic Sea.
(Taken from Amazon)
Have you read any of any of Jonasson’s books before? Which one is your favourite, and why did you enjoy it so much? Please let me know in the comments and don’t forget to like and pin! You can also check my other recent book reviews here:
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine – Gail Honeyman
The Summer Of Chasing Dreams – Holly Martin
Choosing Me: Love Letters From A Poet – Bill Weber
This is great. I really enjoyed reading your post on the Jonasson book. I’ll be honest and admit I’ve never read this book. I’ll be sure to add it to my reading list. Thanks for the review and recommendation.
Thank you, and that’s great!
Sounds quite interesting. Might check it out myself. Your reviews are very well written, they’re always a pleasure to read 😊
Thank you! Make sure to check the first one out before 😊