Jonas Jonasson
Jonas Jonasson is the Scandinavian Carl Hiaasen, retelling a 20th-century Thousand and One Nights.
Not enough of a description? Huh.
Like Hiaasen (and his Florida-insane cohorts Tim Dorsey and Dave Barry), Jonasson starts with the every-man anti-hero who gets sucked into an increasingly unbelievable series of events. However, unlike the usual schmucks in these stories, 100-year-old Allan Karlsson has not lead a peaceful and blameless life. As he bumbles along, picking up other friends and loonies, he spins his fantastic back-story. All of the disparate and ridiculous threads come together for a satisfying, if wholly ludicrous, ending. Great stuff.