French border guard Romain Puertolas's debut novel, about a con artist whose adventures kick into high gear when he inadvertently locks himself in an Ikea wardrobe, topped France's bestseller lists when it was published in 2014. This picaresque caper, which delights in puns while satirizing consumerism and the capriciousness of the immigration system, will also win over American readers.
Ajatashatru Oghash Rathod, from a remote Indian village, is on a long-dreamt-of trip to Ikea in Paris to purchase a Hertsyörbåk bed (read that name out loud) and a free stay in one of its irresistible micro-apartments. Here he meets and falls in love with the beautiful Marie and later accidentally locks himself into a wardrobe bound for England. Once in London, he is caught by immigration officials and sent to Barcelona. He escapes and, by way of a circuitous route through Vienna, Tripoli and other cities, eventually returns to Paris and (he hopes) Marie, ready for an honest life.
The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir Who Got Trapped in an Ikea Wardrobe is a manic fairy tale peppered with wry observations and social criticism from a faux-naïve protagonist whose outsider eyes focus on the absurdities of consumer culture and regressive immigration policies. Puertolas's targets tend toward the obvious and his humor is usually slapstick, which could appeal to some older teen readers. Driven largely by a series of absurd situations that lead to an inevitable end, it charms with its exuberance and satirical sensibility. --Jeanette Zwart, freelance writer and reviewer