The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson

 



"It all starts on the one-hundredth birthday of Allan Karlsson. Sitting quietly in his room in an old people's home, he is waiting for the party he-never-wanted-anyway to begin. The mayor is going to be there. The press is going to be there. But, as it turns out, Allan is not...Slowly but surely Allan climbs out of his bedroom window, into the flowerbed (in his slippers) and makes his getaway. And so begins his picaresque and unlikely journey involving criminals, several murders, a suitcase full of cash, and incompetent police. As his escapades unfold, we learn something of Allan's earlier life in which - remarkably - he helped to make the atom bomb, became friends with American presidents, Russian tyrants, and Chinese leaders, and was a participant behind the scenes in many key events of the twentieth century. "

Can I just say what an absolute joy this book is to read? Giggling throughout the epic tale of Allan Karlsson's life pre and post his 100th birthday, this book charmed the pants off me.  The modern story follows Allan as he does a bunk hours before his 100th birthday party and follows him to the bus station and the one decision that will change the path of his life forever.  He takes a suitcase that isn't his and so follows a classic caper of bungling cops, mean baddies and some fascinating friends he makes along the way, oh and not forgetting the elephant!!  I did say it was funny.
The flash backs take us back throughout his life and the people he tends to meet.  From Presidents of the USA to Winston Churchill to Stalin we follow how someone so non political as Allan seems to change the history of the world without even trying. The story of him meeting Stalin is a particular favourite and found me giggling out loud on trains!
Jonas Jonasson really is a gifted story teller and I will be shouting about this book for a long, long time.



The Somnambulist by Essie Fox

"When seventeen-year-old Phoebe Turner visits Wilton's Music Hall to watch her Aunt Cissy performing on stage, she risks the wrath of her mother Maud who marches with the Hallelujah Army, campaigning for all London theatres to close. While there, Phoebe is drawn to a stranger, the enigmatic Nathaniel Samuels, who heralds dramatic changes in the lives of all three women.

When offered the position of companion to Nathaniel's reclusive wife, Phoebe leaves her life in London's East End for Dinwood Court in Herefordshire - a house that may well be haunted and which holds the darkest of truths..."

Essie Fox offers the reader a glimpse of gothic Victorian London in this gripping novel.  She paints a picture of gritty urban streets to the luxury of a sprawling estate in Hertfordshire as we glimpse into the life of Phoebe Turner.  Essie Fox is very passionate and knowledgeable about this era and that certainly shows in the details that she writes as it transports you back with all the sights, smells and tastes.
I did think that this would be more gothic then it is and maybe follow some of the sinister characters that were around at the time but as it was I worked out the plot twists way before they happened.  Although she does delve a little into an incestuous relationship that is as dark as it gets really and I for one could have done with a more sinister plot line.
Saying that I did enjoy the book and would look out for any others written by Essie Fox.  All in all a good book club book as there are loads of discussion topics.

Never Fall Down by Patricia McCormick

 

When Arn Chorn Pond was eleven, the Khmer Rouge, a radical Communist regime, came to power in Cambodia, herding the entire population to work camps in the countryside.  Families were separated, and everyone, including children, was forced to work long gruelling hours digging ditches and growing rice.  Tens of thousands of people died from starvation, overwork and sickness.  Many more were tortured, forced to swear they were traitors, then killed and buried in  mass graves that have come to be called the Killing Fields.  Nearly two million people died – one in every four people.  It is the worst genocide ever inflicted by a country on its own people.”

I have to say that I do not know a lot about Cambodia and the war that went on there so was fully engrossed from page one.  The book is written as Arn and takes on his speech patterns and language which did take me awhile to get used to but once I did it was like he was speaking to you through the pages and you went on his journey with him.  And what a journey it was.  Sometimes it was brutal and was very hard to read especially when it focused on the children and how they were tortured. I enjoyed, if that is the right word, the relationships he formed with people he met especially his music teacher and one of the Khmer Rouge soldiers who, in their own way help him to survive and show that even in the toughest surroundings you can form relationships.

 It is hard to get your head around the fact that this is a true story and quite remarkable that Arn and others like him actually managed to stay alive.  It was a draining read but one I would highly recommend especially for those who are learning this period of history in school.

 

Once again many thanks to Emma for the loan of the book:

http://www.bookangelbooktopia.com/

 



Black Heart Blue by Louise Reid

“Hepzibah and Rebecca are twins.  One beautiful, one disfigured.  Trapped with their loveless parents, they dream of a normal life.  But when one twin tragically dies the other must find a way to escape.  Because if she doesn't then she'll end up like her sister.”

 

Blue Heart Black is a dark menacing book telling the story of twin girls, Rebecca and Heph.  Heph is the beautiful one whereas Rebecca is disfigured due to her suffering from Treacher Collins Syndrome.  They live in a very small village with their Mother and Father, who is a vicar.  From the start we know that one of the twins has died and the story is told by both sisters before and after this event, Heph before and Rebecca after. In this way we get to find out more about each sister and their painful upbringing with a, frankly, sinister Father.  This is a tense tale of abuse and religious fervour and not for the feint hearted but if you can stomach it Louise Reid writes the two sisters so well that you are gripped from the outset and as emotional as the book becomes you want to see it though if only to find out what happens next. The girls have such a deep love that connects them that this is where you find the light passages of the book and so have a mini break from the darkness that surrounds them.  The book has moments where you want to cry and then shout out in anger at their situation.

 

Please do not get me wrong, this is an enthralling read and I highly recommend it and will now look out for other books by Louise Reid.

 

Many thanks for Emma at Book Angels for the loan of the book:

http://www.bookangelbooktopia.com/

The Summer Book by Tove Jansson

“An elderly artist and her six-year old grand-daughter, while away a summer together on a tiny island in the gulf of Finland.  Gradually, the two learn to adjust to each other’s fears, whims and yearnings on independence, and a fierce yet understated love emerges – one that encompasses not only the summer inhabitants but the island itself, with its mossy rocks, windswept firs and unpredictable seas.”

 

This is the first book I have read by Tove Jansson but I know her from writing the Moomins so I was excited to see what sort of grown up book she would write and I was not disappointed.  She writes with such vivid prose that you are instantly transported to the little island where she had similar experiences with her family.  The story is all about the bond between grandmother and Sophia, sometimes they love each other, sometimes they can’t stand each other but more often than not there is always humour at the core of their relationship.  This is not a long book but Tove Jansson manages to delve into such varied subjects from death and questions about heaven to how an angleworm feels when he is split in half!  I have to say that this is one of the best books I have read this year.  It is really easy to read and I love a book where you find yourself smiling as you read it.  Go on I urge you pick up a copy today.



A Dangerous Inheritance by Alison Weir

“A Dangerous Inheritance tells the dramatic story of two heroines, separated by time, but intriguingly linked by history’s most famous murder mystery.”

 

It seems like fate that I finished this book on the day that they verified Richard III’s bones were found in a car park in Leicester as this book tells the story of the Princes’ in the Tower but takes a different look at it through the eyes of two girls.  The girls are Katherine Grey and Katherine Plantagenet separated by a nearly one hundred years but sharing a common bond by trying to solve the mystery of what happened to those boys in the tower.

Katherine Grey is the Sister of Lady Jane, the Queen who reigned for just 9 days and her story follows what happens to both Jane and Katherine as their parents stop at nothing to get them the Crown of England.  We know what happens to Jane but I hadn’t read much about Katherine so it was really interesting to see the story from her eyes.  From her early marriage to Harry whom she falls head over heels in love with to her incarceration in the Tower by Queen Elizabeth I the book shows her spirit and also her determination not to turn out like her Sister.  Katherine wants the Crown at the start but realises after all that it is love she craves.

Katherine Plantagenet is someone I had never heard of.  She was King Richard III’s illegitimate daughter who wants to believe that her Father is not the demon that he is portrayed.  She remembers the kind hearted Father who she lived with in Middleham who she could tell anything to and she does all in her power to carry on with that belief.  When the rumours start about her Father having the two Princes’ put to death she tries her hardest to find some evidence to the contrary and that is where the mystery starts.

I really do enjoy books by Alison Weir as you don’t realise how much history you are learning whilst you read.  She is such an imaginative story teller that you get carried away in the era that she is writing about and all too soon the 500 hundred pages have flown by.  I was intrigued to see how she would write the events with Richard III as there is a lot of hearsay about this King but I found it all believable and really wanted Katherine to find out something that would exonerate her Father.  Of course she doesn’t as after all this is a book about history.

If you haven’t picked up anything by Alison Weir I would highly recommend any of her books, just jump in and let the history wash over you.