Hitman Anders and the Meaning of It All - Softcover

Jonasson, Jonas; Willson-Broyles, Rachel

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0062458175 ISBN 13: 9780062458179

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers, 2016

Synopsis

From the author of the international bestseller The 100-Year-Old-Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared, a brilliant satirical novel set in modern Sweden--a story of idealism and fanaticism, gangsters and entrepreneurs, sensationalism and spirituality, that explores the values that matter in contemporary life.

In a former brothel turned low-rent hotel, the lives of three unusual strangers--a former female priest, recently fired from her church; the ruined grandson of an ex-millionaire working as a receptionist; and Killer-Anders, a murderer newly released from prison--accidently collide with darkly hilarious results.

Seeing a lucrative opportunity in Killer-Anders, the unlikely trio form an unusual new business. The Priest and The Receptionist will handle strategy and public relations, and coordinate Killer-Anders' "missions." Using the media's obsessive need for sensational, headline-making stories to advertise their talent's superb "skill," they quickly build a clientele of rich Swedish gangsters. Suddenly, they're making an altogether different kind of killing of their own.

But when Killer-Anders begins asking deeper questions about purpose and meaning, his curiosity leads him to an unexpected discovery: he finds Jesus. Desperate to save the money machine they've built, The Priest and The Receptionist devise an audacious plan utilizing Killer-Anders' newfound and decidedly fervent faith.

Mischievous yet big-hearted, filled with Jonas Jonasson's trenchant humor and delightful twists, Hitman Anders and the Meaning of It All is a delightful comic adventure that reminds us it's never to late to start over--and to discover what truly matters.

About this title

Review:

‘Enormous fun ... The subversive charm of it lies in the hints that God, or the Universe or whatever, is smarter and funnier than any of us’ Kate Saunders, The Times

‘Jonasson matches the irreverence of his debut The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared ... It’s a thrilling ride’ Financial Times

‘Should carry a health warning for spouses or partners easily irritated by the sounds of helpless chortling’ Irish Times (on The Hundred-Year-Old Man)

‘A mordantly funny and loopily freewheeling novel about ageing disgracefully’ Sunday Times (on The Hundred-Year-Old Man)

‘Fast-moving and relentlessly sunny’ Guardian on The Hundred-Year-Old Man)

‘Pure, ingenious fantasy . . . it’s “feel-good” set to stun level’ Guardian (on The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden)

‘A comic delight of love, luck and mathematics’ Daily Express (on The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden)

‘Fast-paced, likable, refreshing . . . As unlikely and funny as The Hundred-Year-Old Man’ Observer (on The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden)

From the Back Cover:

A madcap new novel from Jonas Jonasson, author of the #1 internationally bestselling The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared and The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden

A gangster, a vicar, and a receptionist walk into a bar . . .

Killer-for-hire Anders is fresh out of prison and trying to keep his head down when he meets two unlikely new business partners at a 1-star hotel: one, an atheist former Protestant vicar fired from her church, and the other the hotel's receptionist, the ruined grandson of an ex-millionaire. Together they cook up an idea for an enterprising venture involving Swedish gangsters that is set to make them all a fortune--until, all of a sudden and to everyone's surprise, Anders finds Jesus. The perfect plan--if it weren't for Hitman Anders's curiosity about the meaning of it all. In conversations with the vicar, he turns to Jesus and, against all odds, Jesus answers him! Anders's sudden interest in religion might be good for his soul, but it's not good for business, and the vicar and the receptionist have to find a new plan, quick.

As wildly funny and unexpected as Jonasson's previous bestselling novels, Hitman Anders and the Meaning of It All is a zany, feel-good adventure story, tenderly and hilariously exploring belief, redemption, and the fact that it's never too late to start again.

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 0062458175
• ISBN 13: 9780062458179
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 312