I loved the first book I read by this writer, and this book had some similarities in style. You meet some zany characters who meet each other, travel, and have very unusual adventures and interactions with other people. There is a lot of humor, and I really liked some of the people.
My favorite people were, first, the doomsday prophet, who has done calculations so she knows when the world is going to end. She knows that what she does won't matter very much in the limited time we have left, but her deadlines keep passing. That doesn't make her lose her confidence in her predictions.
The idiot was my other favorite character. He has lived his life in the background, never standing up for himself, but taking care of his brother and letting his brother take advantage of him. He is also an insanely good cook, even when he is traveling around with in an RV with no stability.
There is a whole other cast of characters, and American president Obama even has a significant role. I think there were too many people, and too many events, even though the story itself was enjoyable. It's especially fun to see where everyone ends up at the end.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this.

I adore Jonas Jonasson's writing and this title did not disappoint. Hilarity, stupidity, ingenuity, and so much more - just a wonderful and engaging read.

What can I say, I love Jonasson's novels. They're all equally absurd and wonderful. This is no exception.

Several years ago I had read [book:The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared|36578942] by Jonasson and enjoyed it so I looked forward to this one. I must say that I was entertained throughout the read.

Description:
Sweden, late summer of 2011. Self-taught astrophysicist Petra has calculated that the atmosphere will collapse on the 21st of September that year, around 21.20 to be more precise, bringing about the end of times.

Armed with this terrible knowledge, Petra meets Johan, a domesday prophet, and Agnes, a widow of 75 who has made bank living a double life on social media as a young influencer. Together, the trio race through Europe as they plan to make the most out of the time they have left, in more ways than one.

But of course, things rarely go to plan, even the end of the world…

My Thoughts:
This was an adventure where I hate to say it, but I was rooting for the criminals the whole time - especially for Johan and Agenes. I liked those two characters the most. I found the doomsday prophet Petra to be kind of flaky with her doomsday theory for the end of the world. This mismatched group sure knew how to get into and out of all kinds of messes. The journey took the group through many countries and created messy situations whereever they landed. I would recommend to anyone who likes a good adventure with a lot of laughs and improbable situations.

Thanks to HarperVia through Netgalley for an advance copy.

Pro
* Perfect blend of humor and sympathetic characters
* Effective way to make political and social commentary, wrapped in humor
* Impressively researched details
Con
* Feels like a duplicate of previous works in someways

Thank you to Jonas Jonasson, Fourth Estate, and NetGalley for an advanced review copy in exchange for an honest review.

What do you get when you mix a road trip buddy comedy with Forrest Gump? You get a hilarious adventure in The Prophet and the Idiot. There's Johan, who isn't the sharpest crayon in the box, who is on his own after his brother moves to Sweden. Then, you have the prophet (Petra), who has calculated that the world will soon be ending. Then add Agnes, who has never been on an adventure until she meets the duo of Petra and Johan. They're now on a mission to set right past wrongs before the world ends.

This book is a well written, light hearted, and funny story. I really enjoyed the time I spent with these characters and watching them grow. Finishing this book was like saying goodbye to new friends. As with Jonasson's other books, there's social commentary about capitalism, totalitarian governments, and other assorted issues. These were well done and relevant to the story. I also enjoyed the cameo by former President Obama. This one is definitely worth your time.

My thanks to HarperVia, author Jonas Jonasson, and NetGalley for gifting me a digital copy of this book. My opinions are my own.

If you've read Jonas Jonasson before, you know the types of books he writes. Fun stories made up of an unlikely adventure, comedy of errors and coincidences, and surprising interconnections. This story is no different, though it is less complex than "The Hundred-Year Old Man...". In this novel a woman who predicts the collapse of the atmosphere in 12 days (the titular prophet) meets a man who has limited intellectual capacity but is a brilliant cook with an RV (the titular idiot). With the remaining 12 days they decide to try and right some personal wrongs, and in the process pick up a few random people. A series of quirky interactions and fun characters make this a super fun, fast, light read.

This take on the roadtrip adventure was well worth the ride. Author Jonas Jonasson has a firm grip on strong, eccentric characters, settings, and his social conscience. The classic on the run from the law (from boredom, from the past) creates an excellent mix of tension, fun, and absurdity.

Unique take on the buddy road trip novel! Fun characters but story became a bit too convoluted to hold my attention. I think many folks will like this but it just wasn’t for me. I would absolutely try another book by this author. Thanks to NetGalley for a chance to read and review this book!

For more reviews and bookish posts visit: https://www.ManOfLaBook.com

The Prophet and the Idiot (Profeten och idioten) by Jonas Jonasson is a novel telling of an absurd adventure of an astrophysicist, a rich widow, and a genius chef/moron going on a road trip. Mr. Jonasson is a best-selling Swedish author known for showing the absurdities of normalcy.

Petra, an astrophysicist, calculated that the world will be on 12 September 2011. No one believes her but a few days before “the end”, she meets Johan, an idiot and a self-taught master chef.

Johan’s plan is to go and punch his older, abusive brother before the world ends. Joined by Petra and Agnes, a rich widow, the three drive Johan’s mobile home across the globe.

This is the author’s sixth novel, and the ones I’ve read I always enjoyed. Like his other books, The Prophet and the Idiot by Jonas Jonasson (translated by Rachel Willson-Broyles) is an exciting romp involving international politics, fraud, corruption, the mafia, and throw in Barack Obama for good measure.

In true Jonasson manner, the book is well written, satirical, quirky, and a lot of fun to read. The first half is excellent, but I felt the second half fell flat when the schtick was up. It was not as funny, not as interesting. The theme of an ordinary person ending up in the middle of world politics gets lost amid the absurd chaos.

The book combines a fast narrative with humor, touching pop culture, and current events so almost everyone can be “in the know”. This makes the stories, regardless of the old clichés, something that many could enjoy.

This approach, as with many things in life, is both the strength and weakness of Mr. Jonasson’s books. Keeping up the fast pace for over 448 pages is tiring for both the author and readers. Absurd things are happening right after the other, and the novelty of an idiot doing idiotic things wears off after 200 or so pages.

Now, I have to go find some Västerbotten cheese to try.

The Prophet and the Idiot is like the author’s other books in the humour and use of the political landscape of the time it is set. I did enjoy the wry humour and loved the characters, Agnes in particular made me laugh!
I felt like I would have enjoyed it more if I was more knowledgeable about the politics, but I did like the book and would recommend it.

I love Jonas Jonasson books. This is my fourth and he does not disappoint. In this story, Johan's life is thrown into disarray when his brother moves to Rome and to work in the Swedish ambassador's office and leaves Johan to fend for himself. Throughout their lives, Frederik, Johan's brother, has called him an "idiot" and treated him poorly. When they separate, Johan finds another life where he is a master chef and meets many other wacky characters including and right up to President Obama.

Meanwhile Petra, the "prophet" has calculated that the world is going to end in a matter of weeks and is attempting suicide when she meets Johan. They meet Agnes, a seventy something woman who is very accomplished and decides to go along with Johan and Petra on their quests to find Petra's first love, punish Frederik for leaving Johan with only an RV (by punching him in the nose), and meet other characters while they're waiting for the end of the world.

As in other Jonasson books, there are a lot of intersecting stories and characters, some great comeuppances, and essentially a happy ending for all characters. You will never guess where the story is going and frankly my biggest complaint about this book was that it ended rather abruptly. But along the way I really enjoyed the characters and their foibles and can't wait to read my next Jonas Jonasson book!

I received an advanced copy and am giving an honest review.

very very intriguing and funny :D unique perspective from this author and the characters were just funny esp johan. thanks for the arc.

I read this book because I like what Jonas Jonasson has written previously. [book:The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared|36578942], [book:The Girl Who Saved The King Of Sweden|21094993] There's always humor involved in each of his stories. In this book it starts out with Johan and Fredrik Lowenhult, brothers, but with Johan his mother was dying and he was there. It then starts out with Fredrik swindling Johan out of the millions he got in selling her apartment and buying a mobile home for Johan who liked to cook. In finding the mobile home park he drove into another mobile home sending it down a path to the bottom of the hill, thereby opening it up to a woman hanging herself, Petra Rocklund. Johan takes her in to his mobilehome and feeds her. This continues with Johan and Petra until they meet up with Agnes Eklund. Who saves them from the Security Police. then they figure out who they want to harm. It goes on from there into further funny stories stoping when Fredrik was framed for project Petra did. It goes on from there into meeting his father of all things. I really liked this story and recommend it.

I love stories where a group of older (or elderly) humans go on an adventure. It seems much more low stakes and more geared towards fun because there is nothing to lose. This book follows in that same style- it is at points genuinely funny, like laugh out loud on the subway funny. However, in parts it made me sad, the idea that sometimes older people fall for things that ar enot true and can get hurt in the process. There was alot going on in this book- sometimes it felt like too much and the characters got lost in the craziness but all in all an enjoyable read.

Johan is a few drips short of a fjord, but that doesn’t mean it’s OK for his brother to cheat him out of his fortune. He drives his RV on an adventure, but he doesn’t make it out of the parking lot before he bumps another camper down a ravine. The owner turns out to be Petra, a failed scientist with a prediction for the end of the world. With the limited time they have, they set out to right some wrongs and maybe get what’s coming to them before Armageddon. Along the way they encounter an Instagram star, a sham president of a banana republic, and maybe a POTUS or a UN Gen-Sec or two.

The combo here is more creative than the person who thought peanut butter and chocolate went together. (I sense a poll coming…Vote in the comments below.) The doomsday concept is clever and fits well with Johan’s arc. Johan himself provides plenty of laughs: who doesn’t love the 100-percent-literal straight man? The initial efforts to bring together unrequited love and stolen inheritances is hilarious and endearing. Agnes, the elderly IG star, is a welcome addition to the road trip ensemble.

From there, the story weakens. The original plot is interspersed with tales of the waning Soviet years and Gorbachev’s failed effort to save them. Somehow some guy named Aleko is involved in it all. Hard to tell if he’s evil, or manipulative, or crazy, or all three. Either way, there was far too much exposition here for my taste. Understanding it requires a deep knowledge of European politics, in which I’m sadly not versed.

That sets up a zany caper involving fake airports, UN visits, meetings, elections, economics, and fraud. It kinda gets explained, but my eyes and brain got fatigued from trying to figure who was doing what and why. So, I had that fog of reading I get sometimes, like when I tried to read Proust: stuff’s happening, I can understand the words, but I don’t know what’s going on, and I don’t have the energy to try.

Cool idea, and some likeable characters. Jonasson can obviously write. If you can follow the serpentine plot, you might like it.

Thank you to HarperVia and NetGalley for an advance review copy in exchange for my honest review.

It’s late summer 2011 when Johan sets off on his own after his older brother leaves for Rome. As Johan is not the world’s best driver, the RV his brother left for him to live in is precariously navigated to a campground. Brake pedals and gas pedals are awfully close to each other, so who can blame Johan when he runs into the only other motorhome in the park? Johan is thus introduced to Petra, an astrophysicist who has calculated the timing of the end of the world – in a few short weeks.

Johan and Petra are determined to live the best of what is left of their lives. They set out to right old wrongs and pick up a few new friends (and enemies) along the way. Their journey will take them across Europe, into Africa, and over to America. And with friends like former Soviet leaders and Obrama with no r, how can things go wrong?

If you enjoyed Jonasson’s The Hundred Year Old Man Who Jumped out of the Window and Disappeared, you’ll definitely love this one! The wit and satire are top notch, the characters are hilariously flawed, and the connections our protagonists make come full circle at critical moments. I adore this author and laughed out loud multiple times during this read!

A good mystery that really kept me going. This is a great weekend read to escape in. Thanks for the opportunity to read as I thoroughly enjoyed.

This was a NetGalley approved read for me. My third Jonas Jonasson book and one movie based on the book are the works I've enjoyed so far, and this was another great read.
His character work is always gripping and relatable in some way or another. This book was no different. I love his multiverse-esk worlds where one little 'what if' situation turns the known world on its head in a big way. This wasn't a 5 star read only because of the heavy political lean but it was a close one, if I could give a half rating this would be a 4.5 rating. Can't wait for the next work, these are so fun! A great palate cleanser read.

I love his style of writing- it’s so quick and quirky and always hilarious. This book is fun and has a great name. Plus, I love the cover - thank you!!