A Swedish novel, The Little Old Lady Who Broke All The Rules by Catharina Ingelman-Sundberg, is a charming story of a group of senior citizens stuck in a nursing home.
The premise of the book is that the leader of the group, Martha, is tired of nursing home life and does not want to end her days in a nursing home whose management has gotten progressively more stingy. So, she hatches a plan with four of her fellow residents, to “break out” of the home and commit a robbery. However, they do not want to keep the loot, but want to get caught so they go to prison and enjoy the good food and shelter offered by prison. Things soon go awry.
The book is an endearing and heartwarming tale of respecting our elders and realizing that life should not end at retirement. Ingelman-Sundberg brings life to an older generation that is often overlooked and quickly forgotten. She asserts, through her story, that life should not end when a person gets old.
Each member of the gang brings their own unique talents. For example, Brains brings the innovation and Anna-Greta brings the math and money management skills. Their combined talents help their plan to succeed.
There are many surprising and funny scenes. For instance, the planning and execution of the robbery is hilarious. The group is overlooked as suspects because the thought being old people would never be able to pull off a heist of epic proportions.
A must-read for people who overlook the older and mostly wiser seniors in our world.
