The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window And Scared

The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared, is the story of Allan Karlsson, a centenarian who has become fed up with life in his nursing home, and decides that embarking on a journey is a better alternative to rotting away in a retirement home. Allan embarks on the day of his 100th birthday, with no plan in mind, and the story unfold through his continuous stream of misadventures and messy conflicts. Allan Karlsson is celebrating his 100th birthday in the opening on the novel. Allan physically is similar to most elderly men, he has thinning white hair and a slightly hunched back, however he is in great shape for a man of his age. Despite his impressive health for a centenarian, some physical issues are evident, most notably his “Glacial walking pace” (page 54), and his troublesome knees. Allan jokes that he is not a “fashion plate” (page 3), and that few are at his mature age, as he wears old man slippers, which he jokingly refers to as his “pee slippers”, an old fashioned brown suit. Essentially Allan is what you would expect of an elderly man.

In fact, the entire story is initiated due to his desire for a grand adventure. However, the most important and defining quality is his sense of humour, which at times, impairs his decision making. Allan is able to find levity in the darkest of situations, such as in page 43, where Allan is presented with a very troubling situation, and decides to change the topic to his breakfast, “you’ve got these eggs just right, not too hard, not too runny”. This trait is also shown in the early chapters of this book, when Allan decides to steal a suitcase, because he doesn’t have anything to