A reluctant centenarian much like Forrest Gump (if Gump were an explosives expert with a fondness for vodka) decides it's not too late to start over . . . After a long and eventful life, Allan Karlsson ends up in a nursing home, believing it to be his last stop. The only problem is that he's still in good health, and one day he turns 100. A big celebration is in the works, but Allan really isn't interested (and he'd like a bit more control over his vodka consumption). So he decides to escape. He climbs out the window in his slippers and embarks on a hilarious and entirely unexpected journey, involving, among other surprises, a suitcase stuffed with cash, some unpleasant criminals, a friendly hot-dog stand operator, and an elephant (not to mention a death by elephant). It would be the adventure of a lifetime for anyone else, but Allan has a larger-than-life backstory: Not only has he witnessed some of the most important events of the twentieth century, but he has actually played a key role in them. Starting out in munitions as a boy, he somehow finds himself involved in many of the key explosions of the twentieth century and travels the world, sharing meals and more with everyone from Stalin, Churchill, and Truman, to Mao, Franco, and de Gaulle. Quirky and utterly unique, The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared has charmed readers across the world.


一名年過百歲的老人，像極了阿甘正傳的主角阿甘，前提是阿甘如果也是個爆破專家與伏特加愛好者。他認為人生一切為時未晚，毅然決定重頭來過……在經歷漫長、充實的人生後，阿蘭住進了養老院，並相信這是自己人生的最後一站。然而，值得一提的是，阿蘭依舊身強體壯。某日，他終於迎來了一百歲生日。盛大的慶生會如火如荼地展開，他卻意興闌珊，只希望可以克制一下自己的伏特加癮。於是，阿蘭決定逃離一切。他穿著拖鞋爬出窗外，踏上了一趟充滿歡樂、全然未知的旅程──發現一個裝滿現金的皮箱、遇到一些討人厭的壞蛋、一個友善的熱狗攤老闆，和一頭大象（就別提大象造成的意外傷亡了）。對任何人來說，這都會是場絕倫的人生冒險，但阿蘭卻有著更加不凡的人生故事：他不僅目睹了一些 二十世紀的重大事件，甚至在其中扮演重要角色。從一個製作彈藥的小男孩開始，他莫名發現自己捲入了許多二十世紀的關鍵大事，同時周遊世界各地，和多位大人物共進佳餚，舉凡史達林、邱吉爾、杜魯門、毛澤東、佛朗哥、戴高樂等。本書以新奇、獨特的故事內容成功吸引全球讀者！