The Distinctly Competent District Councillor

by Jonas Jonasson

The charming and original story of a small, declining community's struggle to survive in the shadow of the all-consuming metropolis, from the multi-million copy bestselling author of The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared .

All over the world, people sleep blissfully in cosiest of Traumbett beds, made in Hamburg. They've successfully cornered the market everywhere except Sweden, which is why the new owner, Konrad Kaltenbacher Jr, is desperate to expand there.

Seeing an opportunity to attract 800 new jobs back to her small, decaying town of Halstaholm, new district councillor Julia Bäck jumps right into spearheading a persuasive campaign with an unprecedented charm offensive to win the contract over Stockholm. A roundabout is hastily renamed in honor of Angela Merkel and adorned with black, red, and gold flowers; a German school is quickly established under the leadership of three elderly pensioners; and the town swimming pool is rapidly transformed into a beerhouse – it had been empty for years anyway!

Julia's tenacity impresses the German dream bed boss Konrad Jr… but has she bitten off more than she can chew?

Genres: Fiction, Humor, Contemporary, Audiobook, Swedish Literature, Short Stories, Comedy

144 pages, Hardcover

First published November 12, 2024

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

[Verelien · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jonas Jonasson staat bekend om zijn humorvolle en absurdistische romans. En dit keer heeft dit allemaal in een novelle van 140 bladzijde gestopt.

Het lastige aan een novelle is het weinige aantal bladzijdes en hoe je daarin goed uitgewerkte karakters en een afgerond verhaal moet stoppen. Dat is hem gelukt. Oke ik had graag nog iets langer door gewild, maar het was netjes afgerond.

Ik heb meerdere keren hardop gelachen en dit boek met een grote smile op mijn gezicht gelezen. Zijn boeken zijn eigenlijk een beetje van die sterke verhalen waarmee die ene vriend altijd op de proppen komt. Ze komen ongeloofwaardig over, maar het kan wel gebeurd zijn, al lijkt het wel heel onwaarschijnlijk.

Er zaten ontzettend leuke personages in en ook zeer verschillende. Sommige waren heel loveable, andere totaal niet. Je kan niet alle karakters in detail uitwerken in dit aantal bladzijdes, maar je kreeg genoeg van iedereen mee om een beeld van de karakters te krijgen. Sommige waren lekker eigenzinnig of vrij sassy. Heerlijk gedaan! Alle personages in dit boek voegen iets toe.

Een verhaal over doorzetten en niet opgeven. Een boek die je dichtslaat met een glimlach op je gezicht.

Bedankt AW Bruna voor het recensie exemplaar.

[John Hatley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a highly entertaining book. It has a little of everything, above all, Jonasson’s brilliant sense of humour.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a Lovley little read.

The distinctly competent district Councillor is a light, fun, entertaining read. If you're after a short book perhaps to get back into reading or don't have much time, this is a great book for that.

You get to understand the character's personality with only little descriptions as it is only 130 odd page book. You don't feel like you're missing any gaps of information. A well written well-rounded book, would recommend. I quite enjoyed it and would like to read another book from this author.

[Myriam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eine wunderbare, herzerwärmende und lustige Geschichte für zwischendurch!

[Mojca Rudolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Avtor zapiše, da je želel napisati knjigo o prijateljstvu med ljudmi različnih narodnosti in ta knjiga je njegov mali prispevek k mednarodnemu prijateljstvu. Tako za zaplet zamisli nemškega izdelovalca sanjskih postelj ter malega švedskega mesteca, ki je v popolnem zatonu, s propadlo tovarno, vedno manj prebivalci in ogromno brezposelnostjo, ter novo županjo, ki želi rešiti mesto z nenavadnimi potezami.
In tako dobimo novodobno pravljico. Mičkeno spominja na dela Backmana, najverjetneje zaradi posebnih junakov in zapletov, ki res mejijo na pravljično sfero. Vsi junaki so ali beli ali črno. A vendarle mi je bila ta kratka knjigica strašno všeč. Je ravno prav duhovita, in zeeeelo pozitivna, meni pa se zdi, da prav takšnih zgodb manjka. Več ali manj nam v spominu ostanejo le izjemno težke tematike. Razumem. Žalost in bolečino poznamo vsi in se nas dotakne. A humornih knjig je precej manj, še manj ljudi jih omenja kot priljubljene knjige.
Če sem od tega avtorja zmogla le Tik pred koncem sveta, ostalih pa, kljub večkratnih poskusih, ni šlo, pa sem ob tej neizmerno uživala. Nekaj čisto preprostega, duhovitega, nenavadnega, za popolno sprostitev in za eno pravljico za lahko noč, kajti prebrana je bila v enem samem večeru, nasmeh pa mi je še vso noč plesal na obrazu...

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novella was absolutely bonkers and knew it. Newly minted mayor of down-on-its luck Hastaholm, Julia Bäck, needs to find a way to turn her Swedish town’s prospects around. She settles on persuading a German bedding giant to open its new factory there. What follows is a wholly implausible but broadly delightful romp about the comedic lengths Julia and her ragtag task force are willing to go. For fans of Parks & Rec and those needing something lighthearted and breezy.

[Žiga · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zagotovo ni višek umetnosti, je pa knjiga, ki ti na obraz nariše nasmeh. In včasih je to več kot dovolj. Čeprav je kratka, da bralcu več kot marsikatera knjiga s 500+ strani, ki jo pozabiš že nekaj dni po tem, ko jo odložiš.

[Saar Steverlinck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gelaagde en vinnige feelgood; dat heb ik graag!

[Floor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mijn eerste boek van Jonasson en ben erg gecharmeerd van zijn hoopvolle, humoristische en ietwat sprookjesachtige stijl. De Boer, de Vrouw en de Brandewijn ligt al op me te wachten!

[Margaret Wakeling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. Enjoyed every minute of it especially after the previous two books I’d read.

Typical Jonas Jonasson, totally preposterous but made me laugh.

[Lizzie Eves · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a fun light read! Absurd and witty so I enjoyed it :)

[Justin Berry · Rating 4 out of 5]

A shorter than usual offering from this author,but unmistakably in his own imitable style.
This for me had hints of Magnus Mills, which is no bad thing, and this kept me entertained and amused from start to finish.

[Dave Hambleton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice little beach read.

[Bridget · Rating 4 out of 5]

A shorter story than Jonas Jonasson’s usual style, but it follows the same familiar format: an unlikely ragtag group of heroes thrown together to battle the odds, outwit the bad guys, and ultimately achieve their aim.
Fun, lightweight, and satisfying.

[Ken Fredette · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was good book to read as it was from the heart as far as I could tell. Jonas used all his favorite things to write about to tell this story. He made it funny as he describes what these people went through to get the final contract signed. He takes Konrad Kaltenbacher Jr. and doesn't describe him as a loving person except for his girls. Jonas leaves this part of Konrad until the end. But Julia was a new mayor and made mistakes along the way that put her in troubled with the law. She used everybody to get what she wanted and the contract was signed even after she went to jail. We can ascribe this to Konrad's change in his behavior with Julia.

[Sabrina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gute 3,5 Sterne. Sympathische Charaktere, kurzweilige Geschichte, zum Lächeln.

[Clara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Einfach wirklich nicht mein Humor.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mans vet vad man får. Och slutet är inte vidare svårt att räkna ut. Men det är underhållande och roligt.

[Freya McKenzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this read! I've learned to anticipate from Jonas convoluted plot twists and completely insane characters, but really, at no point could I have predicted how much I'd come to love - or hate! - some of the side characters in only 132 pages.

It's lighthearted and fun, and I maybe dock it some points only for being a bit too simplistic. It's easy to root for Julia and hate Kenneth, and what more do you need from a story than a heroine for whom everything works out in the end (a happy ending is generally expected from Jonas Jonasson, even when it looks unlikely) and a cartoonishly clowny villain?

There's not that much to say about it, because there's not much to it at all, but it was a book I'm glad I picked up!

[RolloTreadway · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure why Goodreads is telling me that I'm trying to review a book that hasn't been released. I got it from the library. Hurrah for libraries! Anyway, this was a simple, charming story. Likely won't stay in my mind for long. But it's a nice diversion.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's about as pleasant and ephemeral a summer read as you can find...but at least it's honest and up-front about being a simple feel good story for our current times. In that respect, it achieves its goal.

[Vivien Behling · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mag eigentlich alles an Jonas Jonasson. Diese kleine Geschichte ist leicht zu lesen und bringt einen zum Lächeln.

[Evelien · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heerlijk grappig, fijn luisterboek!

[Laurien · Rating 4 out of 5]

knuddig en cute ♡

[Sula Verdievel]

Geluisterd naar dit verhaal
Grappig, ideaal tijdens huishoudelijke klusjes ☺️

[Tammo Meijering · Rating 2 out of 5]

Att läsa denna bok är som att sitta och scrolla insta reels. Hjärnröta rakt igenom. Men vet inte vad jag förväntade mig heller. Berättelsen är i många delar bara obskyr.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Silly, quirky, funny

[Manon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Al jaren geen JJ meer gelezen, maar blijft heerlijk komisch, absurdistisch en feelgood. Waar we allemaal meer behoefte aan hebben, denk ik zo. Meer Jonas Jonasson!!

[Linde Braeckman · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5*

[Linda Gullov · Rating 4 out of 5]

Herlig, hektisk og morsom