“The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed out the Window and Disappeared” by Jonas Jonasson – It’s Never Too Late

The very descriptively-titled book, The 100 Year-Old-Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson follows the life of a man about to become a centenarian, who did exactly what the title said. 

While everyone was preparing for his birthday, Allan Karlsson couldn’t care less and decided that despite his age, it wasn't too late to start his life over again.

And so, without so much as a second thought, he dons his slippers and climbs out the window, disappearing under everyone’s nose. What follows is one of the most eventful and somewhat surrealistic adventures to ever befall a man as Karlsson wonders on through the city stumbling from one surprise into the next, and those involve a suitcase full of cash, criminals, an elephant, hot dogs, and more.

When I read it, I had the impression that the book was basically split into two different sections (though it wasn’t made explicit): there is the adventure Karlsson is currently going on, and then there are the adventures he had over the course of his lifetime. 

Much in the spirit of Forrest Gump, Karlsson is accidentally one of the most influential people of his time, playing a key role in many of the twentieth century’s key moments; his life led him from working as a munitions boy all the way having dinner with Stalin and a number of other political figures.

Rest assured, both parts of his life are well worth reading about; the one in regards to his past feels like a soft and melancholic reminiscence while his current adventure feels like a surrealistic frenzy. 

The abrupt and comedic moments are well mixed with the slower and more introspective ones, making for a well-paced read that feels smooth; things are never moving too fast or too slow.

What really makes the book more than enjoyable is just how perfectly absurd everything seems to be. Despite not being the sharpest tool in the shed, Karlsson nevertheless manages to have an extraordinary life that was more important than that of practically everyone in real life. 

However, his persevering and hard-working demeanor gives a certain credibility to his accomplishments, and in the end, rather than watching an old man fumble through a series of misadventures, you actually live and experience every moment with him, laughing and worrying as he does.

In the end, if there is some kind of moral or lesson to be learned from this book, I’d say it’s that it is never too late to take hold of your life and at least try to steer it in the direction you want to. 

The important part is truly doing all you can and persevering; if you do not stop, there is a pretty good chance that you will get what you want, or at least something close enough to it. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone who wants to see life in all of its splendor and glory.

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Jonas Jonasson Personal site Jonas Jonasson is a journalist and writer of Swedish origin, and his best-known work of writing is without a doubt The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared. He received numerous awards, including the 2010 Swedish Booksellers Award and the 2011 German Pioneer Prize.

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