Jonas Jonasson: The Hundred-Year-Old Man who climbed out of the Window and Disappeared

'The Hundred-Year-Old Man who climbed out of the Window and Disappeared'

It's taken a while, (recently my lunch hours have been taken up with meeting people, rather than reading; actual real people, rather than fictional!) but here it is: my review of Jonas Jonasson's 'The Hundred-Year-Old Man who climbed out of the Window and Disappeared'.

The book follows the story of Allan Karlsson who, on his 100th birthday, does just as the title suggests. Whilst escaping from the old-people's home, he happens upon and steals a suitcase containing fifty million crowns belonging to the infamous gang 'Never Again', and goes on the run. 

Allan is no simple centenarian. Upbeat, amoral and staunchly non-political - like an elderly Forrest Gump - Allan lives by the motto that 'things are what they are and what will be will be', and manages to successfully bundle his way through the chase, gathering around him motley crew of cohorts, including an elephant, and evading capture by both 'Never Again' and the police. 

The story is a dark, comedic farce, requiring the reader to suspend belief as they follow the various - and numerous - twists and turns of the plot. Amidst this quirky, glorified car chase are flashbacks to Allan's past, and how he found himself involved in some of the most influential moments in history: from saving General Franco's life, to accidentally inventing the atom bomb (and informing both sides of how to do it), to comforting a young Kim Jong-Il after he learns 'Uncle' Stalin's death.

Personally, I found the narrative of Allan's past the most engaging. There's something absurd in Jonasson's depictions of some of the most important political moments in history - the chapter of Allan's dinner at the Kremlin and the portrayal of Stalin as a changeable, fickle, man-child is brilliant - and though the plot is utterly ridiculous, each historic event moves from one to the other, resolving each of the previous, that it's quite satisfying to watch it unfold.

The present day plot goes on a little too long, to my mind; the joke can only go so far, and it wore a little thin. Also, Allan comes across as fairly unsympathetic in these sections. He does, after all, end up murdering 2 members of the biker gang, and with a largely ho-hum attitude, though this is perhaps not helped by the simple, literal writing style which offer little to no description or insight into Allan's mind. The ending also felt rushed to me, and altogether too neat, with Allan  getting away with murder, keeping the money and riding off into the sunset with his new friends. But, I did like how the book ended with the final instalment of the flashbacks, explaining how Allan ended up in the old-people's home and taking us right up to the moment where he decided to climb out of the window at the very beginning of to book, bringing us full-circle. 

Ultimately, for me, the book didn't live up to it's hype; I found it funny, but not in the laugh-out-loud way I'd expected, though I imagine fans of Douglas Adams would like it alot.

7/10.

Margaret Atwood: The Handmaid's Tale

'The Handmaid's Tale'

The Handmaid's Tale is a dystopian novel by Margaret Atwood, first published in 1985. A firm favourite of high school curriculums, the book is set in the near future and tells the story of the totalitarian Republic of Gilead, a militant theocracy which lies within the borders of what was once The United States. Gilead's laws are inspired by the old-testament and see society divided up into a strict, compulsory hierarchy with women as domestic second-class citizens.

In this world, women are colour coded to denote their social status; Wives wear blue, like the Virgin Mary, Daughters are in White, Handmaids - fertile women who provide babies to the childless elite - dress all in Red, and Marthas - household maids and cooks - wear Green.

The story's protagonist is Offred, a Handmaid assigned to a Commander of The Sons of Jacob, Gilead's ruling class, though, of course, this is not her real name. Instead it denotes the name of the Commander she is assigned to, literally meaning 'Of Fred'. Our narrator describes her life as a Handmaid, detailing her day-to-day duties which include mass prayer meetings, public births and 'The Ceremony', where she lies between the legs of the Wife, as if they were one person, whilst the Commander attempts to impregnate her.

Throughout the novel, Offred struggles to reconcile her past with her current existence, and the narrative is interspersed with memories of her college years with her friend Moira and her life with husband Luke and their young daughter. His having been married before, Luke and Offred's marriage was considered adulterous under the new regime, and Luke is now missing, presumed dead, and their daughter has been seized and placed with a childless couple.

The beginning of the book is quite slow with much of the action taking place in Offred's mind. The narrative jumps back and forth into Offred's memories, similar to a stream of consciousness, and initially I found it quite hard going. However, this is purposeful; the narrative is intentionally sluggish and introspective in order for the reader to get a sense of the monotony of Offred's life. But, once context has been established and the present-day story gets going, the book really builds in to something great.

The book is extremely well written, though the literary style can take a little while to get used to due to the marked lack of quotation marks in Offred's memories. There are a lot of theories floating around as to why this is, my personal favourite being that the pre-revolutionary past is no longer considered legitimate or quotable in the new society. Atwood's narrative is also extremely blunt in places; she doesn't waste time on filler text. Everything has a purpose and much of the prose has a depth to it you don't expect from such a brusque writing style. Again, this was arresting to begin with, but it's ultimately one of the best features of the book.

But what really holds the reader's attention is the terrifyingly bleak yet utterly recognisable world Margaret Atwood has created; it is perversely fascinating. Atwood has long maintained that The Handmaid's Tale is not science fiction, rather 'speculative literature', and I have to agree with her. Nothing in the book is futuristic or seems a long way off, especially when contemporary news is flooded with stories of religious militants and female subjugation. It still feels inherently relevant, even 30 years after it's release.

This is not the book to read if you want easy entertainment, and though it is a brilliant book, it would be wrong to say I enjoyed The Handmaid's Tale. Rather, it affected me deeply, and it is an experience I would definitely recommend to others. 

9/10.