The One Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared

I really enjoyed this quirky Swedish story The One Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson.  Allan Karlsson escapes his nursing home on the morning of his 100th birthday.  He gets to the bus station and buys a ticket for as far as he can go.  While waiting for his bus a young man asks him to mind his large suitcase while he uses the toilet.  In the mean time Allan's bus arrives and the young man is still in the toilet so Allan boards the bus with the suitcase.  This is the beginning of his adventure as Allan meets a man at an abandoned railway station and they open the suitcase and the contents are quite a surprise.  They realise the young man will be wanting it back. Meanwhile the police are looking for Allan, concerned for his welfare.  Also the young man and his boss are very anxious to reclaim the suitcase so Allan and his new friend go "on the run".  They meet other wonderful characters along the way.  The reader learns about them and also there are chapters devoted to the life of Allan Karlsson and his adventures meeting heads of state.  The story is a lot of fun, suspend belief and go along for the ride. 4/5