On the back jacket cover, it compares this book to A Man Called Ove (which I loved!) and Where'd You Go, Bernadette? (which I did not care for). So I wasn't sure if I was going to like it or not. I almost hate to admit that I did not care for this book. It's a well written book. It's charming and funny. But it's always a bad sign when I check repeatedly to see how much I have left to read. It just seemed to go on and on. Another issue I had (and couldn't seem to get over, no matter how charming the book), is how ridiculous it was. I can read sci-fi and dystopian novels and not even think about how implausible something might be. But I could not do that with this book.
This story is about five elderly people living in a retirement home who decide they would rather live in prison than their current living situation. They had the idea that they would be better cared for, with better food, more sunshine & outdoor time, etc. in prison than the retirement home. So the ringleader, Martha (79) decides the five of them should commit a robbery so that they would be arrested and spend time in prison. Their first major theft (or what they called a "kidnapping") was stealing a Monet and a Renoir (worth 30 million kroner) from the National Museum. They hold the paintings ransom, (their ransom note is written with letters and words cut from a newspaper) demanding 10 million kroner. The story goes on for about another 250 pages as they succeed in their plan, lose the paintings, lose half the money (that the National Museum left in two shopping carts on a cruise ship), hide money, fall in love, spend time in prison, get out of prison and decide they love the life of crime. It just goes on and on - every single minute of it implausible. It's just too much for me!
So, what did I like? Certainly the author is very creative. She has an engaging writing style and I did chuckle out loud from time to time. The story definitely flowed nicely and the characters were unique and quirky. So in the end, if you like this kind of book, it's a good read. Again, I feel bad giving it only a three-star rating because typically I only rate poorly written books three-stars. But this book was not for me. Glad I'm done. :0)
Wendy's Rating: ***
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