Reading period: Week 2 and 3 of June 2017

Stoletý stařík, který vylezl z okna a zmizel. Jonas Jonasson. Panteon 2012 (Czech ebook)

It was an easy reading, one could partially identify with the main hero (because of perceived history and adventurous nature) and some moments were funny indeed. On the other hand there was no deeper thought in the book (or I did not find it).

Spoiler alert The text below contains details of the plot and characters.

Plot

Born in 1905, maps 20th century (mostly middle half (-XX-)) The story begins and ends in 2005

Characters

  • Alan Karlsson
    • language talented: Swedish, Spanish, English, Chinese, Russian
    • modest (he lived on diets for few years, then got salary later)
  • Herbert Einstein
    • simple man (converted to a religion, did not know much about it, it just had funny elephant heads)
  • Amanda Einstein
    • nice to Alan (despite being simple and obtaining high social status)
  • scholar
  • scholar’s brother
  • Dirty Sonya
  • second oldman
  • bad boss
  • police inspector
  • attorney (procurator?)
    • caricature with exaggerated traits (imagining the Book of justice)
  • historical leaders/personalities
    • General Franko
    • Oppenheimer
    • Truman, vicepresident
    • Mrs. Chankeishek
    • Mao Zedong
    • shah in Iran
    • Churchill
    • Stalin

Topics

  • historical views
    • If communists win in China, they’ll confirm Tibet independence.
    • I don’t know more capitalistic land than Cuba.
    • Churchill: Public toilettes are socialism!
    • Czechoslovakia asked SU to help with interior affairs.
  • devaluating the Bible
    • scholar’s brother have to read whole book to find out just the last sentence was wrong
  • everyone’s (common) desire to have an exceptional life – realized by Alan
  • Alan being sterilized (in the end broken)
  • despite happening in 2005 no internets and printed media/TV are the main source of public information (when searching for the lost man)
  • Soviet Union did not take part in Korean war officially (cf Ukraine, Syria)
  • media
    • when 100man’s story did not sell, find another garbage to write about
  • liquidation of dead bodies
    • no DNA verification (bomb on market)
  • embassy functions as reward/bribe
  • large jumps: “After fifteen years on a camp bed…”
  • Swedish social system
    • Alan returned his pension money back to authorities