“It’s excellent … a drily satirical tour of the world. This tour takes in Swedish liberals, Colonel Gaddafi and of course, apartheid and the South African Prime Minister B J Vorster”

NO MAJOR SPOILERS

After previously reading the 100 Year Old Man when I saw this I knew it had to be included in my Summer Reading List for the Foxy Bookshelf. I’m very pleased to say it absolutely lived up to my expectations and I completely and utterly loved it.

Nombeko, the book’s protagonist, a South African latrine cleaner is the most adorable person, and I seriously wanted to climb into the book and be her friend. Along the way she ceases to exist, tagging along with others, some of whom also cease to exist. Eventually she ends up with something else that definitely doesn’t exist and for something non-existent it’s a big, big problem!

Jonas Jonasson brings a lively tale in The Girl who Saved the King of Sweden and it’s a sensational book. As with the Hundred Year Old Man he perfectly stitches factual history to this fictional tale weaving in fantastic satire and some crazy happenings.

This wonderful way of looking at the world and history through a domestic focus is so clever and in some parts you are even unsure what is true and what is not (the book sent me on several very long Google searches), in other parts the plot is so fantastical you can be in no doubt, although I’d like to see the King of Sweden in a chicken yard after reading.

As before Jonasson takes the reader on a rollercoaster ride with this fantastic novel where you just learn to expect the unexpected. I’m a little of the thinking that Jonasson is completely and utterly mad but he’s one of my favourite authors right now and I can’t wait to see what comes next!