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Reviews
The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir Who Got Trapped in an IKEA Wardrobe by Romain Puértolas
bookishbetsie's review against another edition
5.0
I chose this book because of the peculiar title and despite some bad reviews. I'm very glad I did. I needed a light, fun book after reading a very dark one recently and this certainly did the trick. But it also made me think quite a bit about subjects that I usually dismiss because they are uncomfortable. This book deals head on with illegal immigration, refugees and human trafficking and does so in a sneaky way. You're going along reading a funny book and chuckling about the "hertsyorbak" bed of nails from Ikea when all the sudden you're faced with Sudanese refugees telling their story of escape and their hopes for a better life for their families. You're confronted with a character who has always gone out of his way to think only of himself and then he finds himself forced to think about how his actions can and do affect other people. After a lifetime of duplicity, he find himself with an honest paycheck and it freaks him out. And what he does next is the icing on the cake. Above all else, this book made me think about all those people you hear about on the news trying to get to the "good countries" They want a better life and it is within our ability to help them achieve that. This books will hold a place in my head and heart for quite awhile.
PSC2015 Funny
PSC2015 Funny
chutten's review
4.0
A short novel with a serious case of the "quirks", I enjoyed as one might a decent cartoon. It had an arc, colourful characters and locations, a sense of humour, and one or two morals.
readingthething's review
2.0
This review first appeared on Reading the Thing
I’d love this book for it’s story. The man who finds himself in a strange country, finding love, himself, and some perspective on the world on his trip to get what he came for, which might not be what he set out to get. There are societal observations here: how are we dealing with immigrants, with people who are just trying to find a better life in Europe? How are countries doing after the Arab Spring?
But the book is also attempting to be humerous, and completely failing in this, in my opinion. It might be a cultural thing (I’m Dutch, the author is French), but I do not happen to find endless variations of the same joke on the Indian name of the protagonist and his Indian family members very funny. Or the fact he is written as an ignorant backwards person. Or the negative stereotype painted of the Roma taxi-driver and his family. Or the trans-joke somehwere in the beginning. This, together with a writing style that was just slightly inconsistent, bugged me, and made me not enjoy the story as much as I could.
I’d love this book for it’s story. The man who finds himself in a strange country, finding love, himself, and some perspective on the world on his trip to get what he came for, which might not be what he set out to get. There are societal observations here: how are we dealing with immigrants, with people who are just trying to find a better life in Europe? How are countries doing after the Arab Spring?
But the book is also attempting to be humerous, and completely failing in this, in my opinion. It might be a cultural thing (I’m Dutch, the author is French), but I do not happen to find endless variations of the same joke on the Indian name of the protagonist and his Indian family members very funny. Or the fact he is written as an ignorant backwards person. Or the negative stereotype painted of the Roma taxi-driver and his family. Or the trans-joke somehwere in the beginning. This, together with a writing style that was just slightly inconsistent, bugged me, and made me not enjoy the story as much as I could.
alicelhonda's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.75
juniperusxx's review against another edition
2.0
Tämä huumori ei osunut ihan yksiin oman huumorintajuni kanssa. Alun jälkeen suorastaan pitkästyin ja loppuosaa lähinnä selailin. Pettymys.
ahmoda's review against another edition
3.0
رغم أن أسلوب الكتابة غريباً نوعاً ما بالنسبة لي، لكنني سرعان ما اندمجت مع القصة الخفيفة الجميلة. القصة ليست مُضحكة حد الهزلية الشديدة ولا تعتمد في ذلك بكلمات أو نكات، بل على هزلية المواقف.
استمتعت حقاً بالرحلة الغريبة، رحلة سافرت معها بين "المدن الجميلة" حسب تعبير الكاتب، و شعرت بأحاسيس مُختلفة ما بين حزن وفرح وابتسام وألم. رحلة تدعو إلى التأمل والبحث عن مكامن الحب والسعادة في الأشياء البسيطة التي نعيشها والتي نتجاهلها في خضم حياتنا. فهل يتوجّب علينا أن نتفهّم الآخرين عندما نشعر بمعاناتهم؟ هناك لحظات فارقة قد تقابل كل منا، ويبقى الخيار ما بين أن نتغيّر أو نظل كما نحن على جهلنا إلى يوم وداعنا لهذه الدنيا.
أعجبتني الرواية التي كتبها آجا، وإن كنت لم أفهم غاية كتابتها.
الرواية خفيفة، مُمتعة، مُسليّة ساخرة، أنصح بقراءتها للترويح عن النفس.
تقييمي 3 من 5
استمتعت حقاً بالرحلة الغريبة، رحلة سافرت معها بين "المدن الجميلة" حسب تعبير الكاتب، و شعرت بأحاسيس مُختلفة ما بين حزن وفرح وابتسام وألم. رحلة تدعو إلى التأمل والبحث عن مكامن الحب والسعادة في الأشياء البسيطة التي نعيشها والتي نتجاهلها في خضم حياتنا. فهل يتوجّب علينا أن نتفهّم الآخرين عندما نشعر بمعاناتهم؟ هناك لحظات فارقة قد تقابل كل منا، ويبقى الخيار ما بين أن نتغيّر أو نظل كما نحن على جهلنا إلى يوم وداعنا لهذه الدنيا.
أعجبتني الرواية التي كتبها آجا، وإن كنت لم أفهم غاية كتابتها.
الرواية خفيفة، مُمتعة، مُسليّة ساخرة، أنصح بقراءتها للترويح عن النفس.
تقييمي 3 من 5
sacha_'s review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.5