Books like El abuelo que saltó por la ventana y se largó by Jonas Jonasson

A few moments before his grand centenary celebration, Allan Karlsson, dressed in his finest suit and slippers, decides that nothing looks good with him. He leaps from the window of his nursing home and vanishes, leaving the mayor and local press baffled. Escaping to the bus station, Allan waits for the first bus and, after a lucky turn of events, climbs aboard with a suitcase full of dubious wealth. Having met figures such as Franco, Stalin, Churchill, Mao’s wife, served as a CIA agent, and aided Oppenheimer in creating the atomic bomb, Allan’s life is a tapestry of extraordinary encounters. Now, on what he thought was his quiet retirement, he threatens to upend the nation in his latest escapade. The Spanish edition of this novel follows a pan‑European hit, with nearly two million copies sold, including over a million in Sweden where it was named Book of the Year and Librarians’ Choice, and topping bestseller lists across Italy, France, and Germany.

First publish date: 2012