The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden by Jonas Jonasson

Title: The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden

Author: Jonas Jonasson

ASIN: B00GFD6X2A

Genre: Comedy / Farce

Print Length: 433 pages

Plot synopsis: Born in a Soweto shack, the opportunities for Nombeko Mayeki seemed limited. Certainly the chances of her becoming an international hero seemed pretty small. So how on earth did she end up on the run from the world’s most ruthless secret service, with three Chinese sisters, two Swedish twins who are officially one person and an elderly potato farmer, and with the fate of the King of Sweden and the world resting on her shoulders?

There is obviously something about this book that I do not get! The blurb describes it as "uproariously funny", but I don't think I even tittered let alone laughed. I bought the novel as a lucky dip prize from Oxfam during the Chipping Norton Literature Festival in 2016 (a good fun idea). I was delighted when I unwrapped it. Coming from South Africa I felt I would have an affinity with the story, but sadly not. I can cope with plots that are left of field, but this one is just too implausible for me. I also found the humour was based on nonsensical situations and over-exaggeration. And I did not really have any empathy for any of the characters, there was just not enough in them for me to engage with. I also found the way Jonasson skipped from dialogue to narrative in the middle of a conversation a little irritating. I did give this book a very good chance, I read all the way to page 183, but in the end it got the better of me.

What do others think?

At the time of writing there were 1,542 reviews on Amazon.co.uk, of which 1,414 were 3* or above, giving an average rating of 4.2*. On Amazon.com, there were 705 reviews, with 92% being 3* or above, giving an average rating of 4.1*. On Goodreads.com there were 28,153 ratings (including 3,113 reviews). Of these 90% were 3* or more, giving an average rating of 3.7*

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