Hitman Anders and the Meaning of it All: Jonas Jonasson
If you've ever bemoaned how dark and apocalyptic everything seems to have become, and longed for a resurgence of capers, slapstick tomfoolery and characters you can cathartically and heartily laugh at, knowing, in no universe, are you are stupid as them; but, also not wanted to have the experience ruined by misogyny, casual racism or sloppy writing, then Jonas Jonasson's novels are for you.Unlike me, just look at that first sentence, Jonasson knows how to be succinct.
Within his curtness of writing, he manages to create striking images and make wildly unlikely scenarios seem completely mundane; this is where the humour lies. An elaborate death involving a bomb, and implausible serendipity, will be executed in a single sentence.Jonas Jonasson was a journalist and TV producer before he retreated to fiction writing; his critiques of public bodies and other Swedish bureaucracy make this glaringly obvious, it's the elephant he wants to be petted in the room. On his website, he remarks, "Joking about the world is a never-ending story".
Hitman Anders is undoubtedly ridiculous, but there is enough skepticism and dryness within the characters, or the narration, that it will be far more memorable than many others of its ilk.
Hitman Anders and the Meaning of it All, contrary to what the title may suggest, is no call to arms, but it does encourage us to poke fun at ourselves and our values, something often missing in the comedy crime genre. T
his book could offend you if you are stuffy about religion; there may be some imbibing of alcohol, use of guns and unqualified priests sermonising within a church, but Jonasson handles these moments blithely and easily; as if organised religion could have been an incidental theme within his novel. I imagine he'd approach the hierarchy within a supermarket and the hierarchy within the kingdom of heaven with equanimity.
The story revolves around a hitman, an ex-priest, and an unambitious receptionist, who become strangely invested in one another, for various morally questionable reasons. The three are soon up against the interest of the press, criminal underworld and even the Queen of Sweden, two of them want to be millionaires and the third wants to be allowed to commune with Jesus regularly; armed with red wine.
What's not to like? Well-paced, easy to read and just hilarious. Read this!
Quotes from the book:
“If there's anything I can do...' is the type of thing every person in the service industry likes to say but doesn't necessarily mean.”
“The priest and the receptionist joyfully and contentedly shared their genuine dislike of the world, including the entirety of the Earth's population. The burden was now only half as great, since each of them could take on three and a half billion people rather than seven billion alone.”
“I'm not sure that my existence will be made any brighter by hearing about others who live in darkness. But I suppose I could listen to the gist of it as long the story doesn't get too long-winded.”
You might like this book if you liked:
The Little Old Lady Who Broke All the Rules, Catharina Ingelman-Sundberg
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, Gail Honeyman
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
