When nursing home resident Allan Karlsson climbs out the nursing home window to avoid his 100th birthday party and to get his hands on some liquor he accidentally ends up with a suitcase full of cash. He then boards a bus without a destination to get away from the home's vile director, who strictly controls the community's vodka consumption. Meanwhile, the mayor has shown up for the birthday party to find out that his photo op has disappeared and sends the entire police force after the geriatric fugitive. Once the suitcase owner/thief discovers his money is gone, he gives pursuit. Soon everyone finds out a 100-year-old man can be very resourceful. Joining Allan's journey is the owner of a hot dog stand, a crime boss, a watermelon farmer, a beauty, and a criminal-crushing elephant. This impossible and impossibly hilarious odyssey is peppered with famous people and memorable events from history with a twist of the bizarre. Narrated by Steven Crossley, this is a marvelous marriage of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Forrest Gump and highly recommended. Verdict Readers will be absolutely charmed by Allan and his adventurous spirit as well as his companions, both human and otherwise. ["This quirky novel is a sly, satirical look back at international relations in the 20th century through the eyes of an old man who has seen it all," read the review of the Hyperion hc, LJ 9/1/12.-Ed.]-Terry Ann Lawler, Phoenix P. L. (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Jonasson's laugh-out-loud debut (a bestseller in Europe) reaches the U.S. three years after its Swedish publication, in Bradbury's pitch-perfect translation. The intricately plotted saga of Allan Karlsson begins when he escapes his retirement home on his 100th birthday by climbing out his bedroom window. After stealing a young punk's money-filled suitcase, he embarks on a wild adventure, and through a combination of wits, luck, and circumstance, ends up on the lam from both a smalltime criminal syndicate and the police. Jonasson moves deftly through Karlsson's life-from present to past and back again-recounting the fugitive centenarian's career as a demolitions expert and the myriad critical junctures of history, including the Spanish Civil War and the Manhattan Project, wherein Karlsson found himself an unwitting (and often influential) participant. Historical figures like Mao's third wife, Vice President Truman, and Stalin appear, to great comic effect. Other characters-most notably Albert Einstein's hapless half-brother-are cleverly spun into the raucous yarn, and all help drive this gentle lampoon of procedurals and thrillers. Agent: Anna Soler-Pont, Pontas Literary. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Desperate to avoid his 100th birthday party, Allan Karlsson climbs out the window of his room at the nursing home and heads to the nearest bus station, intending to travel as far as his pocket money will take him. But a spur-of-the-moment decision to steal a suitcase from a fellow passenger sends Allan on a strange and unforeseen journey involving, among other things, some nasty criminals, a very large pile of cash, and an elephant named Sonya. It's just another chapter in a life full of adventures for Allan, who has become entangled in the major events of the twentieth century, including the Spanish Civil War and the Manhattan Project. As Allan's colorful and complex history merges with his present-day escapades, readers will be treated to a new and charmingly funny version of world history and get to know a very youthful old man whose global influence knows no age limit. An international best-seller, this is an engaging tale of one man's life lived to the fullest.--Gladstein, Carol Copyright 2010 Booklist