The Girl Who Saved The King Of Sweden - Softcover

Jonasson, Jonas

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1443431605 ISBN 13: 9781443431606

Publisher: Harper Perennial, 2015

Synopsis

A wildly picaresque new novel from Jonas Jonasson, author of the internationally bestsellingThe 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared.

In a tiny shack in the largest township in South Africa, Nombeko Mayeki is born. Put to work at five years old and orphaned at ten, she quickly learns that the world expects nothing more from her than to die young-be it from drugs, alcohol or just plain despair. But Nombeko has grander plans. She learns to read and write, and at just fifteen, uses her cunning and fearlessness to get out of Soweto with millions of dollars' worth of smuggled diamonds in her possession. Then things take a turn for the worse . . .

Nombeko ends up the prisoner of an incompetent engineer in a research facility working on South Africa's secret nuclear arsenal. Yet the unstoppable girl pulls off a daring escape to Sweden, where she meets twins named Holger One and Holger Two who are carrying out a mission to bring down the Swedish monarchy . . . by any means necessary. Nombeko's life ends up hopelessly intertwined with those of the twins, so when Holger One and Holger Two arrange to kidnap the Swedish king and prime minister, it is up to our unlikely heroine to save the day-and possibly the world.

In this wild romp, Jonasson tackles issues ranging from the pervasiveness of racism to the dangers of absolute power while telling a charming and hilarious story. In the satirical voice that has earned him legions of fans the world over, Jonasson gives us another rollicking tale of how even the smallest of decisions can have sweeping-even global-consequences.

About this title

About the Author

Jonas Jonasson was a journalist for the Expressen newspaper for many years. He became a media consultant and later set up a company producing sports and events for Swedish television, before selling his company and moving abroad to work on his first novel. He is the author of The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared, The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden, and Hitman Anders and the Meaning of It All. He lives on the Swedish island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea.

Review

“A funny and completely implausible farce about a woman, a bomb and a man’s frustrated ambition to overthrow the king of Sweden... The rest of the world will chuckle all the way through it.” (Kirkus Reviews (starred review))

“A funny and improbable tale with characters from South Africa to Sweden demonstrates how even the most seemingly insignificant people can change the fate of the world.” (Denver Post)

“As unlikely and funny as The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared.” (The Observer)

“A comic delight of love, luck and mathematics.” (Daily Express (London))

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1443431605
• ISBN 13: 9781443431606
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 400