The Hundred Year Old Man - A Review

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

First Released: 2009 (English Translation 2012)

I’VE FINALLY FINISHED THIS BOOK AFTERFIVE HARD WEEKS. The need for emphasis on that sentence was important, as this book has given me so many mixed emotions.

When I first began reading this book, I was intrigued. The quotes on the back of the book (beneath the blurb/summary) claimed it was “an incredibly funny story” as well as “hilarious” – just the kind of book I was after to cure the post-holiday blues. However, by the fifth chapter, I already found myself having issues.

*******SPOILERS MAY HAPPEN HERE*********

The chapters jumped from the present day to sections of the main characters life leading up to the time in which the book is set (2005 in case you were wondering). Yes, they had the dates at the start of each chapter, but it bugged me that the chapters about Allan’s (the main character) past were mixed with the modern day ones, and their lengths were much longer than the present chapters. This probably wouldn’t have bothered me as much if I understood their relevance at the time. It also bugged me because the chapters based on the present day were in fact, so much more interesting, and yes, funnier! The journey Allen makes in the present day is something I would love to have had a book on by itself, but with more detail from the perspectives of the other leading characters perhaps.

Another thing I would have appreciated perhaps was a different approach to the telling of the police chase after Allan. This is more so to do with the fact that the police only get mentioned every now and then at the end of the odd chapter until the very end when they want his story, and even then those characters weren’t particularly likeable. But this may be because we didn’t really get the chance to get to know them as well as the other characters.

One of the aspects I did like was the romance that featured in the book. This happened from the moment Benny and the Beauty met, and I absolutely adored the way that Benny acted toward her. It made me reflect on my own relationship and also be really appreciative of what I have. Another relationship that took my by surprise occurred at the end. However, I will not give too much away!!

*****SPOILERS END HERE*****

Overall, I feel that the book could have been improved, and therefore I rate it 3 out of 5. This is because although there were aspects of the book I loved, including the romance and the current day chapters, I ended up skipping sections because they became boring and didn’t seem necessary to the whole book - which is something I try to avoid doing at any cost, but this time, needs must.