I’ve been reading some
serious books so decided I needed something more light-hearted. I picked up this title which I've been seeing everywhere. It is
the first of a series; I think there are four so far.
Martha Anderson, 79,
lives in Diamond House, a retirement home in Stockholm. She and four friends are unhappy with the
living conditions. The manager, Nurse
Barbara, because she is in love with the owner, enforces his cost-saving measures
which include medication to suppress clients’ appetites and make them
lethargic. The five decide that they’d
be better off in jail where they believe they will receive better food, more
outdoor exercise, and more leisure activities.
They escape the home and register at the luxurious Grand Hotel where
they devise a plot to kidnap two masterpieces from the Swedish National Museum
and demand ransom, money which they will hide to improve their lifestyles after
they’ve served their prison sentences.
The book is advertised
as a comic caper, but it is not especially funny. There is some humourous dialogue but there aren't any laugh-out-loud episodes.
As the novel progresses, more and more silliness occurs which just
becomes irritating after a while.
The plot relies on
coincidence too much. For instance, the
League of Pensioners is able to escape because Nurse Barbara is absent. Then they encounter her on a cruise
ship. The plot also depends on the
incompetence of the police. Again and
again, the seniors are able to get away with things because the police are so
inept. The heists are rather simplistic
so it is unbelievable that the quintet is able to succeed.
“Old people can do
things too” (165) is the theme of the novel.
There is a condemnation of ageism and society’s treatment of the
elderly. Seniors are placed in underfunded
retirement facilities where they are treated as if they are totally incapable
of doing things and making decisions. In
society, they are almost invisible and so not taken seriously; therefore, the
five senior criminals are able to escape detection.
As I was reading the
book, I kept thinking that it would perhaps make a better movie. The book is too long; it has too much repetition
and is slow-paced. By removing extraneous
information and focusing on action, a film version might be more
enjoyable. I won’t be reading the other
books in the series because I fear they would be much the same and any charm
has already worn off.
Hi Doreen, I have just discovered your blog and am delighted. Your review of The Little Old Lady Who Broke All The Rules was bang on in my opinion. How to imagine that there are a few others in this series! What began as a great premise, the discontent of old folks in a care facility and their desire for something better turned into a ridiculous series of mishaps. The characters, at first charming , became quite annoying, especially Greta with her horsey laugh. This book would have been a funny short story but yhe author cannot sustain the idea for a novel.
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