"Accidental further adventures of the Hundred-Year-Old man" by Jonas Jonasson - 100 year old man returns.
This book is published by Fourth Estate in 2018 and has 368 pages. This is the sequel of one of the best humorous books 'The 100 year old man who walked out of the window and disappeared'
Allan (the 100 year old man, now 101) and his friend Julius Jonsson are living on an exotic island in Indonesia. They take a balloon trip on his 101st birthday. The balloon goes out of control landing them in sea. A North Korean vessel picks them. And from here starts a sequence of impossible and hilarious events.
What do they do in North Korea? Does he get along with Donald Trump or Angela Merkel? Is he a threat to security? What will he do this time? What will be Allan's new adventure?
This book, really, doesn't have a story. It's a sequence of crazy events. The part in North Korea is absurd. But with Trump's entry it becomes hilarious. But it slows down again. Becomes interesting during coffin business and then flattens out on the planes of Africa.
Like the previous book author uses real life Presidents of North Korea, USA, Germany and Russia as characters. They create humorous situations while discharging their duties. However, author reserves special treatment for Mr. Trump.
What stands out is author's ability to nonchalantly create a big contradiction in a single sentence. e.g. 'Trumps father was allegedly arrested at a KKK March. For one thing, it never happened. For another, he was released right away, so what was the big deal?' Or 'President Trump stated that Wallström and Karlsson had not done anything wrong, and warned them not to do it again'. I laughed out loud on a few occasions.
For one, this book doesn't have the story from past that was the hallmark of first book. For another, the story is slow. For a hilarious book to be successful the story too has to be pacy. You can't sustain rapt attention of reader just with the word play, it has to be accompanied by action.
The 101 year old man appears much more agile than he was in the first book. He walks for 2.5 hours. He goes from bonnet of one car to other etc. It appears as if he has shed years when he grew older. In this book he is addicted to a black iPad and keeps browsing news and telling others what he read, whether they are interested or not.
First book of the author 'The hundred year old man who climbed out of the window and disappeared' was excellent and I rated it 'Must read'. See my review posted in December 2013.
However, his subsequent books started to appear repetitive and lacked novelty, even if they presented different story.
Character of an Indian, who is renamed Gustav Svensson, is of no significance. Why is it introduced? Unless, author wants to give it predominant role in yet undeclared sequel.
This book continues the story of 100 year old man, now 101. The book is not as good as the first one, nowhere near. However, if you don't compare it's not bad.
In short it is a crazy, hilarious, satirical black comedy.
Why did I read this book? 1st book was fantastic.
What did I like? Style of narration.
What I didn't like? Lack of Wow factor.
Read it, but don't compare it with first book.
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