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    The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden: A Novel
    The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden: A Novel
    The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden: A Novel
    Audiobook11 hours

    The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden: A Novel

    Written by Jonas Jonasson and Rachel Willson-Broyles

    Narrated by Peter Kenny

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    A picaresque tale of how one person's actions can have far-reaching—even global—consequences, from the author of the bestselling novel The 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. Poor and orphaned, she quickly learns that the world expects her to die young. But Nombeko has grander plans. Little does this cunning and fearless girl know that soon she will steal a fortune in diamonds, outwit a mad scientist kidnapper, travel across the world, fall in with a pair of diabolical assassins, and ultimately save a king--and possibly the world. 

    Jonas Jonasson tackles issues ranging from the pervasiveness of racism to the dangers of absolute power in a charming and hilarious story. In the inimitable voice that has earned him legions of fans the world over, he gives us another rollicking tale of how even the smallest of decisions can ripple out into the world.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateApr 29, 2014
    ISBN9780062333506
    Author

    Jonas Jonasson

    JONAS JONASSON worked as 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. He then sold the company and moved abroad to work on his first novel. Today Jonasson is a global phenomenon. His five novels—The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared, The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden, Hitman Anders and the Meaning of It All, The Accidental Further Adventures of the Hundred-Year-Old Man and The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Skipped Out on the Bill and Disappeared—have sold sixteen million copies in forty-six countries. Jonas Jonasson lives on the Swedish island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea.

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    Reviews for The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden

    4/5

    556 ratings39 reviews

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    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed the offbeat humor and comments re:American politics
    • 4/5
      I gave this book 4 stars due to the admiration I have for JJ’s ability to create such intricate plots. It seems his imagination is really rich and even when he is narrating some apparently random facts, they will lately play a role into another twist of a crazy and improbably probable situation. The humor in this novel is rather subtle, I did not find myself laughing out loud, but I was continuously amused by the story.
      This book will not change your life, but it will make your day more pleasant. There are some interesting political and social comments, cleverly included as part of the narration, showing that JJ is not only an entertainer, but also a quite knowledgeable person when it comes to recent history and politics.
    • 4/5
      Funny lighthearted farce

      This is the story of Nombeko, who stars life emptying latrines in the Johannesburg slums, and through luck, courage and intelligence ends up in a completely different place. Along the way we meet Swedish twins who share a identity if not a worldview , three Chinese sisters who are expert art forgers, a potato farming countess and her anarchist granddaughter, and of course the king of Sweden.
    • 5/5
      Jonasson has done it again. The plot is at least as ridiculous as last time, the characters even better. How he can make the most peculiar twists and turns seem just what you would expect is beyond me. The only question I have now is,'When will his next book come out?'Read in German. BTW The German kept to the original title. Much better than the English one.
    • 5/5
      Fun, especially if you want to know the whole story!
    • 5/5
      The Leo Waterman series from this author were all excellent, enjoyable stories!
    • 3/5
      Loved the beginning but then it was a bit much
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed this humourous and light-hearted approach to the, at times, ridiculousness of political power.
    • 3/5
      Not a bad book, just not entirely my sense of humour, there were times I didn't really get the point and lost what it was about., how ever stil worth the read if you are looking for a book that can distract you.
    • 5/5
      Completely bonkers. Like Loony Tunes for adults.

      The first book by this author was probably the best book I read last year, so I had high hopes for this one. To be honest, I didn't think it would be anywhere near as good, but the synopsis sounded every bit as crazy as The Hundred Year Old Man, so I bought it without hesitation. And I wasn't disappointed. Yes it is completely far-fetched and surreal and I can see why people might be put off, but the story was so entertaining. I loved the characters and the situations they found themselves in, and how all the storylines knitted together. Brilliant!
    • 3/5
      If Terry Pratchett and Terry Gross had a baby, it might be this book. With its combination of Pratchett-like whimsy and wordplay, and Fresh Air emphasis on politics, the author has created a unique story. I didn't give it more stars because despite the enjoyable quirkiness, I felt bogged down in the political discussions which ranged from apartheid to the Mossad to Reagan Cold War rhetoric to Swedish Social Democrats to neo-Nazis to...you get the idea!
    • 4/5
      A very cleverly written book. It addresses aparteid, sexism and other issues in a very amusing way. I have left it aside for the moment as I find it a little too silly to concentrate on at the moment. I think I need something a bit more serious. However I urge others to give it a go as it is worth reading if you are in the correct mood.
    • 5/5
      Fantastic story, brilliantly written.
    • 3/5
      I loved Jonasson's previous book the 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared, so had high expectations for this one. I was a little disappointed. There were two separate stories going on and jumping around in time at the beginning so it was a little confusing. Once I got halfway through, I enjoyed the rest of the book. It was a little crazy, quirky and silly, but enjoyable. The main characters are not the most likable, but the situations they get themselves in save the story.
    • 4/5
      A humorous story well told. The author waves the story well and brings all the prices of the puzzle together well. Worth a read.
    • 4/5
      I read this book while on pain killers for foot surgery and a subsequent infection. It was just what I needed . No deep thinking, an absolutely ridiculous plot and goofy characters. It made for fun, no-thinking required reading while recovering from medical complications
    • 4/5
      Quirky, funny, sharp but too long
    • 4/5
      I have to admit I like this author's style of writing and sense of humour, although it may not be for everyone.
    • 5/5
      I adored this book. I adored the clever interwoven historical storylines. It's not quite as fantastic as the One Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window, but its close. You cannot go wrong if you take this away for a holiday reading. The influence of fate, timing, karma, whatever you call it, cannot be ignored. And this book is full of it.
    • 4/5
      This was a patchy book, there were parts where it was very enjoyable and other parts where it dragged. Certainly the weakest of the three I have read by this author but overall not sorry I read it. It still had the quirkiness of the other two books, and like with the Hundred Year Old Man it portrayed world events well against the backdrop of the story. I will continue to read books by this author.
    • 4/5
      I loved this book! It was crazy and clever and funny and I adored the characters, even the annoying ones. I have no idea how Jonasson dreamed up a plot like this, but he's a genius. I will seek out his other books. I can't imagine how there could be another book as purely entertaining as this one, but I'm hopeful!
    • 5/5
      This book is very good and very entertaining. Jonasson has the knowledge of each countries and put his wild, crazy imagination in making up a story that you can actually picture it happen. Some people looks really thick in this book, but they do exist in the real world. Some part cynical, some part honest, I guarantee you will laugh all the way until you finish the book.
    • 3/5
      Amusing story but very quirky. The characters were interesting and the plot was intriguing – a poor South African girl who’s a math genius escapes from enforced servitude to prevent the assassination of the King of Sweden. There was plenty of political and social commentary on the state of the world, details about the folly of politicians and bureaucrats, and information on South African policy and Swedish heads of state, too much in all. We also get a lot of background on major and minor characters, most of which is quite humorous. Unfortunately, some of them are just too stupid to be believable and turn into comic book characters performing in a slapstick comedy of errors. For example, one falls out of a plane, lands in a haystack, misses the pitchfork in the haystack, and survives to tell the tale. There are way too many of these improbable, tall tales that became silly, then boring, and finally repetitious. Even though Jonasson gives us a happy ending with all the loose strings tied up, even that was too far-fetched. And by the way, the title is a bit misleading because the heroine doesn’t actually save the king of Sweden; I’ll leave it at that so I don’t spoil the ending for you.
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed this humourous and light-hearted approach to the, at times, ridiculousness of political power.
    • 4/5
      This is a fun and entertaining read. It's a lot like a Pink Panther movie - ridiculous, slapstick, and involving a lot of ludicrous coincidences. It's total fluff, but it's engaging and fun.
    • 4/5
      Jonas Jonasson has a gift for political satire couched in extraordinary tales of endurance and intelligence. His characters are at once completely believable and extraordinary caricatures. You want to believe that people like this really do exist (and sometimes you shudder at the thought). The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden is a story of a girl who started at the bottom but struggled her way up through any means necessary. Hers is a story of patient determination to succeed and attain a happy, "normal" life. Much like the other book of his that I reviewed, this book is a rollicking (and at times quite raunchy) ride from beginning to end. For me, it was a solid 10/10. If you enjoy political satires with a bite then I think you'll enjoy this one.
    • 4/5
      After enjoying his previous book "The Hundred Year Old Man Who Jumped Out Of The Window and Disappeared" I was keen to read this, his latest. I found it very similar in writing style, but maybe just a little more far-fetched and unbelievable. Yes fiction doesn't mean factual but this stretched my realm of probability just a tad too far. Having said that, I had a few chuckles over the antics and outcomes of the varied characters and enjoyed the tying up of loose strings which left each of these characters, well nearly all of them …with a happy ending.
    • 5/5
      Madcap romp of a sweet story that features a few wonderful characters and touches on much of modern South African and European history... Quite wonderful. By the author of The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window... etc. Both lovely books.
    • 4/5
      Same author as the 100 year old man who climbed out the window and disappeared. A romp where you need to suspend reality a bit but fun.
    • 2/5
      This was so much fun! For the first hundred pages, anyway: it was really compulsive. But by the end, it feels like a very overlong episode of Inspector Gadget: cardboard cutout characters in absurd situations acting in ridiculous ways. With a great deal of chopping, it could still be a great little novella, but most of its 400 pages would have to go.