“There was something pleasant about books, about their very existence.”

Nombeko Mayeki was born in the slums of Soweto, South Africa during apartheid when Nelson Mandela is considered a terrorist and is incarcerated on Robyn Island. Nombeko is destined to a short, hard life but her luck changes when she is run over by a drunken white engineer. Alive, but blamed for the accident because she was stupid enough to be on the pavement at the time, she is sent to work for the car driver- the brandy-soaked head of a secretive nuclear project. Nombeko may be okay as a cleaner but she is amazing with languages and numbers unlike the engineer who makes a made a basic numerical mistake but unlike Nombeko fails to realise it. Along with three Chinese sisters, a pair of twins who are officially one person and an angry young woman, Nombeko finds herself on the run from one of the world's most ruthless secret service. As the book's title informs us, she ends up saving the life of the King of Sweden along with most of country.

This novel is a bizarre blend of humour and historical fiction with each twist in the tale more unlikely than the one before. The book covers an awful lot of history: from politics and racism in South Africa both during and post-Apartheid, the lineage of the Swedish monarchy, the rise of China as a global power, and the history of nuclear weapons. It also dabbles in art forgery along the way. The book savagely mocks the elites of society, organised religion and fanatics of all kinds.

“Pastors and lay missionaries streamed in to save the Basotho people from evil. They brought with them Bibles, automatic weapons and the occasional land mine."

The main character is likeable if a little frustrating to read about as it's hard to believe that someone so bright would be willing to wait so long to make her mark. The extended timescale also made it difficulty for me to form an emotional connection with any of the other characters. However, overall I enjoyed this novel though not quite as much as I did 'The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window & Disappeared' and whilst I didn't actually laugh out loud it did make me smile on numerous occasions meaning that I will certainly consider reading more of the author's works. ( )

Weirdest book I've ever read! ( )

Ühe idee järgi kahte raamatut ikka naljalt ei kirjuta. Kui "100aastane" pani ikka korduvalt naerma ja hea mitu korda kohe laginal, siis "Tüdruk" vaevu suunurka kergitama. See oli okei, aga ei soovita. ( )

2nd favorite fiction this year (2018)
ironic, dry humor ( )

I remember reading Jonas Jonasson's first novel and being immediately enchanted from the very first page. With that in my mind I was hoping for the same with this his second novel. Unfortunately, this one didn't really hold my attention. It was amusing at times but unlike Jonasson's first novel where the zany action was pretty much non stop, the plot this time was was too herky jerky for me. There were moments of wildcat antics where the heroine Nombeko, showed her brilliance. In these moments, she would shine. Demonstrating that she was a force to be reckoned with, and that messing with her would not be a very good idea. Then things would settle down. Years would go by, where at times Nombeko was nothing more than a mild mannered, meek cleaning lady. And somehow, it just didn't make sense to me that this dynamic, brilliant, and beautiful character would allow herself to be subjected to such harsh treatment from so many people, who were so far beneath her. I just couldn't buy in to it. Why would a woman of her character and talents allow this to happen so often, and for so long ? ( )