The One Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson

On his one-hundredth birthday Allan Karlsson makes his escape from the old people's home and embarks on an unlikely and momentous adventure. Escaping (in his slippers) through his bedroom window, into the flowerbed, Allan makes his getaway. And so begins his picaresque and unlikely journey involving a suitcase full of cash, a few thugs, a very friendly hot-dog stand operator, a few deaths, an elephant and incompetent police. As his escapades unfold, Allan's earlier life is revealed. A life in which - remarkably - he played a key role behind the scenes in some of the momentous events of the twentieth century.