The Prophet and the Idiot

by Jonas Jonasson, Peter Kenny (Narrator)

Svensk sensommar 2011. Petra har räknat ut att atmosfären kollapsar i september. Nu är hon, domedagsprofeten, on the road i husbil med Johan, måttligt begåvad men mästerkock, och Agnes, änka på 75 vårar och en hejare på att tjäna pengar på nätet. Trion har bråttom. Innan jorden går under ska de hinna till Rom där Johan ska ge sin storebror ett sanningens ord och en örfil. Givetvis går ingenting som planerat.

Genres: Fiction, Humor, Comedy, Contemporary, Book Club, Drama, Novels

10 pages, Audiobook

First published June 17, 2022

About the author

After a long career as a journalist, media consultant and television producer, Jonas Jonasson decided to start a new life. He wrote a manuscript, he sold all his possessions in Sweden and moved to a small town by Lake Lugano in Switzerland, only a few meters from the Italian border.

The manuscript became a novel. The novel became a phenomenon in Sweden, and now it is about to reach the rest of the world.

Reviews

[Elin Saari-Bladmyr · Rating 3 out of 5]

My expectations of this was that it would be funny, and it was. I had fun mostly in the beginning, but after a while I started feeling sorry for people no one in the story felt sorry for. Then I started rooting for other outcomes than the characters did. After that the main characters started to annoy me a bit. By the end I simply lost interest in what would happen to anyone since the book was about to end anyway. Therefore I didn't even get upset about the cliffhanger ending, as I usually would.

I don't regret reading this book. It was fun at times. I'm impressed by the authors guts in using famous people so much as he did, I wonder if any of them reacted to it?

Maybe some of the humour was just to raw for me? Maybe I missed something.

Anyway...3 stars from me :)

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Several years ago I had read The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared 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.

[Christopher Febles · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

The problem is that it 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.

[Nemo ☠️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like the other two Jonassons I've read, The Prophet and the Idiot starts off very well, but then seems to lose itself in the later half. Fun satirical notes and fun quirky vibes, but at the end of the day, the whole novel just fell a little flat.

[Bethan Edge · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half of this book was absolutely brilliant. Loved the characters, the ridiculous development of their adventure and how their stories intertwined. The second half completely lost me. Not as funny, interesting or easy to follow. Wish the characters had stayed in the RV and travelled some more. Low key disappointed.

[Toast · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just love these absurd world view novels. They cheer me when I'm down. And they confirm all I believe when I'm up. Please keep them coming JJ, all power to your pen.
Toast

[Sapphir · Rating 3 out of 5]

Again a whimsical picaresque novel by Jonas Jonasson about the adventures of three odd main characters and several minor characters that make really strange bedfellows. (I’ve reused a huge part of this sentence from a different Jonasson book review because it fits again here.) Also this book is bizarre and entertaining, with a bold dose of world politics and social criticism.
Unfortunately, it’s sometimes a bit too brutal for my taste, the protagonists seem inconsistent and reading the book it felt as if the author made fun of his own characters way to often – which no author should ever do if he wants to make them sympathetic to the reader!
3 stars.

[Jonathan K (Max Outlier) · Rating 2 out of 5]

A story of the Swedish version of the the three stooges taking a journey, the difference being the movie characters are funny and this is anything but. I tossed it to the DNF pile where it belongs which is a shame since the 100 year old man books were hilarious

[Guillermo SB · Rating 3 out of 5]

Genero comedia, 446 paginas, 8 horas tiempo de lectura, narrada en tercera persona, capítulos cortos, un protagonista principal y cuatro secundarios, un único ámbito temporal y varios espaciales.

Esta es la sexta novela de humor del escritor sueco Jonas Jonasson, en mi opinión el mejor narrador de comedia, al menos en Europa, junto con el alemán David Safier; dicho esto, y con el aprecio, respeto y admiración que le profeso (en mi perfil tengo colgada una foto junto a él en la Feria del Libro de Madrid de hace unos años) me entristece decir que, en este ultimo volumen, el autor no ha estado a la altura de los precedentes.

Aunque tiene momentos estelares en que su ironía, sarcasmo y humor inglés provocan una sonrisa cuando no una carcajada abierta, lo cierto es que en su conjunto el libro me ha resultado pesado, la historia no es atrayente y algunos personajes resultan insustanciales.

En definitiva, éste que era para mi uno de los libros mas esperados de los últimos años (su ultima novela se publico en 2021) ha sido una puntual decepción en la magnifica obra del autor.

No obstante, no todo es negativo en la obra ya que tiene algunos momentos tan absurdos como estridentes, cuenta con un personaje principal realmente entrañable y permite trasladarte, a través de la mente del autor, por numerosas ciudades y varios continentes.

[Bianca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I simply love the way Jonas Jonasson writes and the ideas he comes up with. Big fan!

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Daniel]

Kurzweiliger, harmloser Spaß. Ein bisschen erinnerte mich die Story rund um drei merkwürdige Gestalten (einen Idioten mit unglaublichen Kochfertigkeiten, eine Weltuntergangsprophetin mit Rechenschwierigkeiten und eine ältere Dame, die gleichzeitig ein jüngerer Fake ist) an den Humor von Douglas Adams oder Terry Pratchett.

Jonasson kommt - und hier überrasche ich sicher nicht - zwar nicht an die beiden ran. Er versucht es aber auch gar nicht. Stattdessen lässt er alle, die das Buch lesen, mit dem Gefühl zurück nichts wichtiges gelernt oder getan zu haben. Und das ist bereits deutlich besser als Zeitunglesen.

[Alexander · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 stars.

Not my cup of tea.

At times educational, fun and entertaining. Sheds a light on how corruption is carried out and hidden for the public eye. And how to remain in power, at all costs.

It works for a while but repeatedly it becomes boring.

Most times rather dull, slow, unbelievable and with no depth or reflection to the story.

Characters are bland/pale with no development.

Not easy to read, in my opinion, the writing is blunt, not flowing.

The author done a fair bit of research which he should be credited for.

Happy I could finish this one.

[Pandahanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boken började bra och var ganska underhållande. Dock blev den andra halvan av boken tråkigare och tråkigare. Det kändes som att mycket av storyn var ren utfyllnad. Synd då jag gillade Hundraåringen... Och Analfabeten...

[Bert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mooi boek, humoristisch en waarbij een deel van de wereld problematiek wordt meegenomen. De schrijver was een journalist en dat merk je ook in dit verhaal terug.

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bonkers, ridiculous but so good!
Enjoy a road trip from Sweden to America with the Prophet, the Idiot and a violet haired fake influencer. Along the way, there will be appearances by the Russian Mafia, Interpol, and Barack Obama.
Johan (the Idiot) finds himself on a road trip with Petra (the Prophet) after crashing into her camper van at an inconvenient moment. What follows is a race across Europe trying to rectify wrongs before the world ends. Along the way, Agnes joins them and before long their journey takes them to an African Island and roles in government. That's when things don't quite go to plan.......
If you want a serious read, don't pick this book up. If you want to get lost in a crazy world where, quite often, things don't really make sense, then this is for you.
Jonas Jonasson isn't every one's cup of tea. This story is far-fetched and ludicrous at times, but for me, it is his best yet.

[Mae Lender]

Vana hea ja turvaline Jonasson. Kuna pooled, esialgu küll utoopilisena näivatest, jamadest on täitsa elust enesest, aga kõik need katastroofid lõpuks siiski lahenevad, siis see mõjub kuidagi... lootustandvalt. 

Vahepeal oli mul Jonassonist kerge üledoos, aga pärast pikka pausi suutsin taas lugeda. Tõsi, algusots läks libedamalt, hiljem tekkis taas küllastus. Eks neid pöördeid ja torme lajatatakse lugejale ikka õige hoogsalt. 

[Kate Moreton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not the best of his books but in true form, totally convoluted plot with a million twists and turns geographically and in plot development. Always good for a laugh and to get inside the minds of the quirky characters!

[Maťa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5/5

Jonas Jonasson ma baví už veľa rokov. Alebo bavil, nie som si totiž istá, či mi šesť kníh od neho predsa len nestačilo.

Moja láska k jeho písaniu sa objavila už pri jeho úplne neznámej prvotine Storočný starček, ktorý vyliezol z okna a zmizol. Píše proste veľmi vtipne a jeho diela sa nepodobajú dielam žiadneho iného autora. Zlá správa je, že to vlastne nie je nutné, lebo sám Jonasson zvládol napísať rovnakú knihu 6x, akurát zmenil postavy, aby sa nepovedalo.
Z neznámeho dôvodu to nie je taký problém, ako by sa mohlo zdať, pretože je to stále zábavné a baví ma to a má to veľmi... zaujímavé postavy.

Čo ale neodporúčam, je audiokniha. Ja som vo všeobecnosti odporcom tých hrozných hudobných vsuviek medzi kapitolami, ktoré sa v českých audioknihách z nepochopiteľného dôvodu nachádzajú, ale tu to bol iný level, lebo kapitoly sú tu veľmi krátke, neraz majú dve-tri minúty a tak bol ten hrozný zvuk počuť stále.

Keby ste to potrebovali zhrnúť, tak ma to nebavilo, lebo som to už čítala, ale vlastne bavilo, lebo ešte nie v tejto podobe. A odporúčam vám to, ale nie tak úplne, lebo ste to už asi čítali. Ale keď to už máte čítať, tak to čítajte a nepočúvajte.

[Kristina Korsvik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Morsom og absurd bok. Johan (idioten) blir forlatt av sin storebror og hersker, og må lære å klare seg på egenhånd. Like etter møter han Petra (profeten) idet ho holder på å ta sitt eget liv, men som Johan tilfeldigvis redder ved å bare være ein elendig sjåfør. Petra meiner at dommedag er nært forestående (2 uker til jorda går under). De har altså bare noen få dager på å rette opp all urett som har skjedd de. På ferden møter dei Agnes, ein 75årig blogger med lilla hår, ein illeluktende dansk kumøkksjåfør, Barack Obama, og til slutt ender de opp på ei Afrikansk øy som herskes av ein gal russisk diktator. Du skjønner vel greia no!

[Mathijs Smits · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ja helemaal leuk, maar de laatste honderd pagina’s hadden niet per se gehoeven.

[Helen the Bassist · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jonasson's winning formula continues. I think this book is his best to date. Part road trip, part revenge plot and part Michelin starred recipe book. Truly bonkers but full of heart.

[Ben Ayers · Rating 1 out of 5]

After reading the blurb, I thought this sounded like quite a fun idea for a novel. In the end (or rather, not in the end: at page 200/425), I was bored by it. That makes it a DNF for me, which doesn't happen often.

It sets out to be funny, but almost all the humour was about how ignorant 'The Idiot' is, which I found a bit tiring. I personally didn't warm to him or the other characters. I sound like a Scrooge, but just not for me. Summer holidays are a great opportunity to read, and I have too many books I want to enjoy to plough through over half of one I'm not into.

[Thekla · Rating 1 out of 5]

Abgesehen vom Cover hat mir das Buch leider gar nicht gefallen!
Die Grundidee, dass sich neugewonnene Freunde gemeinsam rächen, fand ich super. Dieser Teil war aber leider wahnsinnig kurz gehalten.
Stattdessen ging es in 3/4 des Buches um eine komische Politik-Story, die mich total gelangweilt hat, sodass ich mich am Ende richtig quälen musste, das Buch überhaupt noch zu beenden.
Die Charaktere hatten allesamt keinen Tiefgang und waren mir egal.

[Margaret Wakeling · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing which is a shame as I’ve loved most of his other books. Bits of it were amusing but it didn’t gel together. Three of unlikely characters wanting to get their own back on those who bullied them and all within a few days before the prophet of doom predicted the world would end.

[Frida · Rating 1 out of 5]

Lite smårolig någon enstaka gång, annars bara konstig... Ingen stortline som hänger ihop

[☆ · Rating 3 out of 5]

היה ספר משעשע, אבל די מוזר. נכנסתי אליו מהתקציר שתיאר עלילה אחת ובערך בחצי הספר השתנתה העלילה למשהו שונה לגמרי, אבל לאחת שעדיין היה כיף לקרוא ולכן אתן לו 3 כוכבים.
זה הספר הראשון שאני קוראת מאת יונס יונסון, ואין ספק שסגנון הכתיבה שלו ממש מיוחד, אבל אני לא חושבת שהייתי רוצה לקרוא את שאר הספרים שלו.

[Ingrid · Rating 3 out of 5]

De humor van Jonasson is herkenbaar en makkelijk weg te lezen. Het was deze keer soms iets te vergezocht, maar nog steeds prima om even ongedwongen te ontspannen.

[Rine Bekkelund · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helt ok å lese på ferie. Føler han prøver å gjøre det Fredrik Backman gjør men med mindre hell.

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

That was a hilarious and fun read!
Totally absurd in the most laugh-out-loud way.
I will never be able to think of “Obrama” the same way anymore 🤣