Victor Alderheim has a lot to answer for. Not only has he heartlessly tricked his young ex-wife, Jenny, out of her art gallery inheritance, but he has also abandoned his son, Kevin, to die in the middle of the Kenyan savanna.
It doesn’t occur to Victor that Kevin might be rescued and adopted by a Maasai medicine man, or that he might be expected to undergo the rituals expected of all new Maasai warriors – which has him running back to Stockholm as fast as you can say circumcision without anaesthetic.
Back in Stockholm, Kevin’s path crosses with Jenny’s – and they have an awful lot to talk about, not least a shared desire to get even with Victor. So it’s convenient when they run into a man selling revenge services, who has an ingenious idea involving Victor’s cellar, a goat, some forged paintings, four large boxes of sex toys, and a kilo of flour…
Back in 2009, Swedish author Jonas Jonasson took the world by storm with his multi-million copy bestseller The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared. It was a European publishing sensation, lauded for its quirky and original storyline that cleverly weaves together the life of a hundred-year-old man with some of the most significant events of the 20th century. Now Jonasson returns with his highly anticipated fifth novel, Sweet Sweet Revenge LTD., and I’ll admit, I’ve been looking forward to this.
Like The Hundred-Year-Old Man, Sweet Sweet Revenge LTD. is a wild, hilarious and purely bonkers read. Whatever you do, don’t go into this expecting anything too serious – if that’s what you’re after, you’ve picked up the wrong book. Instead, strap yourself in, and prepare for some rollicking adventures and amusing storytelling.
There’s a lot to love about this novel: the characters are richly imagined and a joy to follow, such as Jenny, who prefers to spend her time with art first, people second (I can definitely relate). Then there’s Kevin, a Swedish-born, Maasai warrior who can stare down a lion, hunt with spear, bow and arrow, and swim across a river full of crocodiles without being eaten. And as far as villains go, Victor Alderhein is just the worst: he’s a nasty, scheming, prejudiced fascist, with no redeeming qualities whatsoever, which makes it all the more enjoyable when he finally gets his just deserts. I also enjoyed reading about the backstories of each of the characters – some of which stretch back generations!
Hilarious, crazy and very clever, Sweet Sweet Revenge LTD. is a delightful revenge comedy from Jonas Jonasson. Fans of The Hundred-Year-Old Man will certainly enjoy this, though I’m sure with Sweet Sweet Revenge LTD., Jonasson will find plenty of new readers too.
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