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a hearty 3.5 stars
(English title: Hitman Anders and The Meaning of It All)

short review for busy readers: what are two down-and-out opportunists to do when they are threatened by a dim blub of a killer? Go into business with him, of course! Humorous in the Scandinavian “hyggelig�� style without being heart warming. Wonderfully amoral characters. Social commentary on religion, media and Sweden.

in detail:
My GR friends and followers will know my heavily-established dislike for anything heart warming and over interest in anything featuring cop-less crime. Given that, and having heard the name Jonas Jonasson since his breakthrough hit The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared, how could I resist a novel called “Murderer Anders and His Friends (with One or the Other Enemy)�� or the English translation title “Hitman Anders and The Meaning of It All��.

And it’s not bad, avoiding heart warming while not veering too far away from the pleasantness of ��A Man Called Ove�� style stories. The set up is very good: two unlucky opportunists sell the bodily harm services of a not-too-bright felon to the Stockholm underworld, skimming a tidy profit off the top.

Works…until the felon finds Jesus and doesn’t want to hurt people any more. Uh oh, the golden goose is refusing to lay! What to do?

What ensues is a road movie of scheming and an attempt to keep the money rolling in by exploiting media interest and various regulation loopholes.

Unfortunately, road movies all follow the same structure - roam around and have different adventures until some vague destination is reached - which Jonasson does rather competently, but that doesn’t get around the limitations of the idea.

It’s only when Hitman Anders and his crew settle down in one place towards the end of the novel that the plot really open up and the fun starts. (The botched two-way assassination attempt is simply glorious!)

My biggest critique is not the structure, though, but that Jonasson takes no risks with his story. We’ve got a entire ensemble of violent, amoral, lying, cheating, murdering characters (hurrah!)…and yet it all feels rather safe. Conventional. Picket fences and freshly mowed lawns.

Nice.

Hyggelig.

The social critique is the same. Where it could have had some real bite, it stays pleasant and just a bit tittering behind a politely raised hand.

In summary, I think there was far more to be gotten out of this tale. In the notes, Jonasson says he had trouble with the plot and was thankful for some last minute ‘saving�� ideas.

This is my first Jonasson, so I can’t say if he perhaps stretched his limits a bit too far for comfort or not. Still, it’s a pleasant, mildly humorous read that will certainly appeal to fans as well as a wider audience.

A solid 3.5 stars.