The One Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson

I liked this book a lot and had a great time reading it.  I wasn't expecting it to be the best thing to happen to modern literature (it certainly isn't that) but it was thoroughly enjoyable for what it is: a stratospherically tall tale about the history of the 20th century.

Let me start by answering some of the book's critics.  The work is derivative, yes, and it uses the same conceit as Forrest Gump - that a nobody was influential in shaping popular culture (or, in this case, modern history). Yet Forrest Gump was not the first to use such a device - I'm thinking of the Illuminatus! trilogy.

Secondly, the novel's structure and storytelling style is uncannily similar to those employed by Kurt Vonnegut.  Vonnegut's style of storytelling pre-dates the modernists, so he wasn't that original in this respect.  As for structure - well, tell me how many authors have been wholly original in that department?

Finally, the central character, Allan Karlsson, doesn't really develop over the course of the novel, and he seems incapable of forming lasting emotional bonds with either people or credos.  So?  This may be central to literary fiction, but not all fiction has to be literary - it would be a dull world if that were the case.  Some just want to tell you a story to cheer you up, and there is nothing wrong with that.

Having said that, what could possibly be right with the book?  Well, it does bear an uncanny resemblance to some of Kurt Vonnegut's work but without the latter's sardonic inflection.  That's a good thing in my books.  Allan thinks the world is what is and goes along for the ride.  And what a ride it is.  A lot can happen in a hundred years, and a lot of it happens to Allan. I don't want to spoil the fun by giving the plot away, because a lot of the fun is in finding out what happens next.  

If you are the kind of person who can't loosen the corset enough to let a silly story carry you away, then this book isn't for you.  If you are a stickler for historical accuracy, then forget it. If you want to enjoy a tall tale, then this one is one of the tallest.