At the start of this crazy farce we are introduced to a latrine cleaner from Soweto in South Africa. This young lady, Nombeko, has natural leadership skills that fuel her ambitions and offer her way out of the township’s slums.
There are many less interesting characters in the plot including the twins who are both called Holger. It was felt that the eldest twin would not have been missed by any of our group members if he had been killed off in early childhood.
A written slapstick comedy only comes alive if the plot and the humour work. The mix of factual but hard to believe historic information, alongside the poisoning of dogs to effect an escape and a fragmented storyline did not make it a memorable or enjoyable read. Perhaps in its original language this might have been a better book.
Jonas Jonasson has made himself a name in Sweden as a journalist, consultant in the world of media and he also produces television programmes. A previous review by our group offered 7 out of 10 for his first book and best seller, ‘The Hundred Year Old Man who climbed out of the window and disappeared’. With this, his second book which is similar in some ways, we were not so generous with our praise. We only gave it 4 out 10.