Heidi led the group in a departure of our usual summer Bake Offs. She had read the comedic novel by Jonas Jonasson, a best selling author. The book is entitled The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared.
Allan is about to be honored with a 100th birthday party
when, for no particular reason, he decides to climb out the window of
the retirement home where he lives and do some aimless traveling. How
aimless? “Can you travel somewhere from here?” he asks the ticket clerk
at the local bus station.
A
customer with an urgent restroom issue leaves his suitcase with Allan,
who promptly boards a bus with it, not realizing it is stuffed with
cash. That sets off an adventure in which he is pursued by various
nefarious types, most of whom come to unfortunate ends. It is one of
these whose body draws the attention of the cadaver dog, but the police
official investigating the increasingly odd string of events Allan is
leaving in his wake is inclined to discount the dog’s report, thinking
that perhaps Allan is causing a false reading.
“Older people don’t smell like we do,” the official explains to a colleague. “A sweeter smell, sort of — a bit cadaverish.”
As
Allan ambles on, he picks up some friends and an elephant, and we also
learn about his rather eventful life through flashbacks. Turns out the
fellow was a catalytic force in some major historical events. Who knew?
The book was also made into a movie. The trailer can be seen at the website below:
Some of the members of our group read the book; others couldn't get into it, myself included. Many reviewers have compared the character Allan to Forrest Gump.
Perhaps some of the humor is more Swedish and depends on that culture to provide the hilarity. Several members of the group could identify with an older person that they knew or related to. Some thought of their parents and what could be coming or already present in their battle with aging. One thought that Vonnegut, John Collins, and John Irving write somewhat like this.
The absurd coincidences and the old man's participation and indeed change of history added humor, recognition, and funny elements.
Several thought that Allan, the main character, was a mindful person. He lives in the moment all the time. However, there is almost a pathological nature to his presence in the moment. Could it relate to Allan's love of alcohol through much of his portrayed life. Is he really suffering from dementia? Every terrible problem he runs into, he just skips along. He does not fear death. He didn't even think about it. Whatever happens happens. Also perhaps due to the conviviality of the alcohol effect, Allan is able to make friends with the most awful people, and in the end change history
Heidi summarized what she knew about the typical Swedish collective psyche and how it relates to the main character, Allan. Allan believes that without alcohol, you can't solve world problems. It should be noted that alcohol is very expensive in Sweden. The Swedes drive to Germany to load up the old Volvo. Scandinavians don't drink during the work week, but on the weekend, it is party drinking associated with binge drinking, violence, argumentativeness, etc. This comprises a large component of the Swedish culture. To some degree, this novel showed some of the melancholy that exists in these northern cold climes. The people seem to live in tranquility, quiet, reserved, and seem to be people with few words. Vodka loosens that reserve. They use it to get out of their shells.
Interestingly, the author's father was an ambulance driver and his mother was a nurse.
Certainly, this discussion and book was a change up for our group. And it provided a source for an interesting discussion.
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