Excerpt from The Accidental Further Adventures of the Hundred-Year-Old Man by Jonas Jonasson, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

By way of explanation for his selection of Belafonte over anyone else, Allan pointed out that Julius had a soft spot for this newer, youthful sort of music. Julius appreciated the gesture and didn't mention that the artist in question hadn't been young since the end of the Second World War. Compared to Allan, he was, of course, a child.

Although the superstar's visit to Bali provided no more than a speck of colour in their otherwise dull grey existence, it would prove to affect Allan and Julius for a long time to come. Not because of what Belafonte sang, or anything like that, but because of what he brought along and devoted his attention to during breakfast prior to his journey home. It was a tool of some sort. A flat black object with a half-eaten apple on one side, and on the other a screen that lit up when you touched it. Harry touched and touched. And grunted now and again. Then tittered. Only to grunt once more. Allan had never been the nosy sort, but there were limits.

'Perhaps it's none of my business to pry into the young Mr Belafonte's private matters, but if I may be so bold as to enquire what you're doing there … Is something happening in that … well, in that?'

Harry Belafonte realized that Allan had never seen a tablet before and was delighted to demonstrate. The tablet could show what was going on in the world, and what had already gone on, and it verged on showing what was about to happen. Depending on where you touched, up came pictures and videos of all imaginable sorts. And some unimaginable ones. If you touched other buttons, out came music. Still others, and the tablet began to speak. Apparently it was a 'she', Siri.

After breakfast and the demonstration, Belafonte took his little suitcase, his black tablet and himself, and headed to the airport for his trip home. Allan, Julius and the hotel manager waved adieu. The artist's taxi had no more made it out of sight before Allan turned to the manager and asked him to procure a tablet of the same sort Harry Belafonte had been using. Its diverse contents had amused the hundred-year-old and that was more than could be said about most things.

The manager had just returned from a hospitality conference in Jakarta, where he had learned that the main duty of hotel staff was not to deliver but to over-deliver. Add to this that Messrs Karlsson and Jonsson were two of the best guests in the history of Balinese tourism, and it was no wonder that, by the very next day, the manager had a tablet ready for Karlsson. And a cellular phone to boot. As a bonus.

Allan didn't want to seem ungrateful, so he didn't mention that he had no use for the phone since everyone he could imagine dialling had been dead for at least fifty years. Except Julius, of course. Who had nothing to answer with. Although that particular point could be remedied.

'Here you are,' Allan said to his friend. 'It's really a gift from the manager to me, but I have no one to call but you, and until this moment you didn't have any way to answer.'

Julius thanked him for his kindness. And chose not to point out that Allan still couldn't call him, but for the opposite reason.

'Just don't lose it,' Allan said. 'It looks expensive. It was better before, when phones were stuck to the wall with a cord so you knew what they were up to.'