The Hundred Year Old Man who got on my Wick

[KurriKurri]

Am sure there have been other threads as it has been around for a while and very hyped, but I've only just read it - as a book club read.

I hated it - didn't get the joke (well I got it, but wasn't sure why it needed to be repeated to the point of tedium) didn't like the old man, thought it was a Forrest Gump rip off but much less charming. Maybe it lost something in translation, but it was not for me at all. I am sure everyone at book club will love it and I will look like a right old misery.

Anyway if you haven't read it, I unrecommend it, if you have what did you think - am I being very unfair? ?

[Tournesol]

I also didn't like it and did not laugh once. I just did not like any of the characters and found it too much of a 'caper'. I did grind through to the end though because I try to not give up on a book.

[Theas18]

I quite like it! Am nearly at the end and the poirot esque meeting with the prosecutor where Alan insists on telling them the truth " well it was when I with Churchill that the exact same thing happened..." and it gets less and less believable but, as we've been through it all already we know it's truthful! "Can a 100yr old man smell as if he's already dead to a dog, because he must be nearly dead because he's 100yrs old?? "

Couple of chapters left.

[Supermam]

Hated it - gave up on it quite soon. Life's too short - whether you're 100, or not!

[jaynebxl]

Dull as dish water. Persevered til half way through then had to admit defeat.

[spex11]

I enjoyed the book as a 'one-off'. I wouldn't seek out something similar, but it was nice to read something different and original. Not 'lough out loud' funny at all, but quirky and fun.

[spex11]

Sorry, meant 'laugh'. Of course.

[KurriKurri]

Interesting to hear peoples views - of my book group (nine people) two liked it, one was indifferent, and six of us disliked it.

One lady who liked it, is quite elderly and had lived through a lot of the events it refers to - and she said she did laugh out loud at a lot of it and thoroughly enjoyed it because of it's silliness, also she hasn't seen Forrest Gump so wasn't making the comparisons that some of the rest of us were.

[Knackerelli]

I didn't like it. As pp have said, the repetition got annoying and I didn't like how outlandish it got. But then I also can't cope with farce so probably not the best book for me!

[TheCrowFromBelow]

There was a joke?!
I didn't finish it. I very rarely leave a book half-read.

I hated the Sisters Brothers as well. Left that 2/3 read.

[hackmum]

It's a satire. it's looking at some of the worst excesses of the 20th century from the point of view of someone who is simultaneously naive and apparently amoral. (A reader's review on the Guardian put it like this: "does Karlsson not understand the import of what happens in the world around him because he is too stupid or because he is too smart?" www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2012/jul/25/first-book-award-johan-johansson)

If you don't get that, then you won't enjoy it. But don't assume that if you don't like a book, the fault is in the book.

[JohnFarleysRuskin]

I couldn't finish it. Thought it was very dull. (And reminded me of my dad) ;)

[TheCrowFromBelow]

But don't assume that if you don't like a book, the fault is in the book.

how rude

I got the satire, clearly my attempt at it missed the mark. I just found it laboured and I didn't enjoy it.

I don't think everyone can enjoy every single book that has been written.

[Bunbaker]

I read about two thirds of it and gave up because I was so bored. I noticed the Forrest Gump similarity straight away.

I got the satire, but got bored at the repetition.

What happened in the end?

[DuchessofMalfi]

I kind of agree with hackmum's comment. We all like different books, and see different things in them.

A recent example I can cite is Funny Girl by Nick Hornby. I found it dull, stilted, and lacking in depth. It was a struggle to finish it, and I gave it a 2/5 star rating on Goodreads. Other people who are reading it for the MN Bookclub read have loved it. I fully accept that the fault in not enjoying the book is mine :o

[southeastdweller]

If you don't get that, then you won't enjoy it

How patronising, hackmum.

[KurriKurri]

at the idea that those of us who didn't like it are desperately dim

I thought the satire was crude and laboured. Satire isn't always well executed.
But I'm happy for those who enjoyed it - it's always nice when you find an author or a book you enjoy. I don't think there is necessarily a question of fault on any sides, tastes vary - spice of life and all that.

I thought The Finkler Question stank as well, but the Booker judges obviously disagreed with me. I can live with that.

[greenhill]

hackmum yes, it may be a picaresque adventure in the style of "The Expedition of Humphrey Clinker" by Tobias Smollett, considered to be a great work in the English literature canon. However, it's equally long winded and could do with more editing: the joke loses its humour with frequent repetition.

Perhaps some of the people who didn't enjoy it have read better versions of the same type of novel, rather than not getting it. Wouldn't it be boring if we all liked exactly the same type of thing?

It reminds me of people saying how marvellous Oasis were because there was nothing else like it around at the time, yet hadn't heard The Rolling Stones songs that had influenced the band

[Shakey1500]

I loved it. Surprised at the ending though

[Bunbaker]

What happened at the end then?