The Fakir in Ikea / Romain Puertolas

The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir who got Trapped in an Ikea Wardrobe

by Romain Puertolas

(translated from French by Sam Taylor)

fiction, humour

copyright 2014

read in March 2015

rated 6/10: read to pass the time

Okay, the title of this book is quite funny: "The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir who got Trapped in an Ikea Wardrobe". Or it would be funny, except that the book is, in fact, about an extraordinary journey by a fakir whose journey begins to go extraordinary when he is, briefly, trapped inside a wardrobe in Ikea. For some reason that just makes the humour... less funny.

The book begins with some lightweight social satire. By the end of the book we have been hammered with the message that the world is cruel to illegal immigrants. With a final message, shouted at us, that the world would be a better place if only we were nice to each other.

The messages may be true. Or, at the very least least, worth communicating. The heavy-handed approach spoils much of the potential impact.

The story itself is quite clever, quite enjoyable. Though less clever than I imagined from having read the book's title.

The characters are overdrawn, which is fine. They are generally either likeable or acceptable; none are really nasty. The characters are generally rather foolish... in my opinion. There is no-one who I like enough to want to meet them in another book.

I do like it that this book made me think. It made me think that the author's solutions will make a few individuals happy but that's it. Perhaps it's worth it: be nice to a few people, and it may improve their life. And yours.

Or is that just the warped, wishful thinking of the short-sighted, narrow-minded, incurable optimist...

Read the book, it's easy to read. Then go out and be excellent to each other. It may just save the world.

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William Wordsworth - "To begin, begin."