The Illuminated Life of Maud Lewis

Lance Woolaver. The Illuminated Life of Maud Lewis. Nova Scotia : Nimbus 1994. Print.

First Sentences:

Nova Scotia is a rural province, as far removed from the great cities as any back-to-the-lander might wish. Yet when a Nova Scotian wants to call up the name of a faraway place, he is likely to turn towards Yarmouth, a county of fishing and farming communities, home to such names as Hebron, Hectanooga, Chegoggin and the birthplace of Maud Lewis.

Description:

For those of you who enjoyed the 2016 film, Maudie, starring Sally Hawkins and Ethan Hawke about the crippled folk painter, Maud Lewis, you will love The Illuminated Life of Maud Lewis by Lance Woolaver. For those of you unfamiliar with this remarkable woman and her simple life in a remote region of Nova Scotia, well, all I can say is look into this short biography and gaze on her beautiful paintings and the note cards she sold for a few dollars from in front of her house on an isolated road. 

 

 

 

Whether familiar with Maud Lewis or not, Maud Lewis is a treasure of clear writing, researched details, photographs, and, of course, colorful paintings. Maud was born with severe birth defects around the turn of the century, afflictions that rounded her back and caused her constant pain through arthritis, especially in her hands. She endured constant teasing from schoolmates and only achieved a fourth-grade education due to constant absences for health reasons.

 

Trying to achieve an independent life after the death of her parents, she answered a scrap want ad posted by Everett Lewis on the local general store bulletin board asking for a live-in housekeeper and cook. Lewis was currently living a simple life by selling fish, firewood, and handyman work at the poor house/orphanage that adjoined his one-room house, the same poor house where he was raised. A notable miser, he hoarded his money and refused to get electricity, gas, or running water in his house until his death.

 

He hired Maud as housekeeper, but soon they both realized that, due to her physical limitations, she could not handle cooking, cleaning, and other chores. So Maud began to paint, a skill she had dabbled with her entire life. She covered every surface of their tiny house with tiny birds, flowers, and butterflies, from cupboards to windows, from their salvaged stove to tables, walls, and doors. What was once a ramshackle shed soon became a charming, colorful home. 

 

 

 

Everett scrounged for Maud brushes and leftover paint abandoned in trash piles and empty homes. Besides her house, Maud's painting surfaces were cardboard boxes and slats of wood, wall paper, particle board, and Masonite panels. Whatever paint cans he found were the colors Maud used in her paintings. 

 

When a few passersby on the road noticed her decorated house, Everett (Maud was too shy) showed them her other paintings and sold them for small amounts of money. She painted and then posted a sign outside their front door and began a roadside business. Everett did the selling and took all the earnings, putting it in jars and then burying them in their yard. He even took over the household chores of cooking, cleaning, and washing to free Maud to paint more. Maud enjoyed her new life with freedom to paint, a roof over her head, basic food to eat, and "a much-needed sense of worth."

 

 

 

And the paintings? Since she rarely left her chair by the window, they were created from her memories and imagination. Farm scenes, town buildings, cats, butterflies, birds, and cows were her favorite subjects. There were few people portrayed, but those men pictured driving a cart or hauling lumber were always wearing a red cap and checked shirt just like Everett. 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I loved reading about her quiet life where she accepted bitter winters, poverty, a miserly husband, and a few scavenged art materials. She constantly demonstrated that she was a survivor who pursued her art with whatever was at hand, depicting the scenes she remembered from childhood or could envision in her imagination.

 

This is a book full of charm, beauty, and Maud's perseverance over major obstacles. Author Woolaver and photographer Bob Brooks combined thorough research along with historic photographs of Maud, Everett, their family, and the world they lived in to produce this colorful, revealing book. Highly recommended for art lovers and anyone just interested in the life of a woman who pursued the drive of her desires: to paint for its own beauty.

 

[If this book interests you, be sure to check out:]

 Kane, William and Gabrielle, Anna. Every Picture Hides a Story.

Very readable and informative background stories and explanations of the most famous works by artists including Michaelango, Da Vinci, Ver Meer, Degas, Manet, and many more. (Previously reviewed here.)

 Happy reading.

Fred

[P.S. Click here to browse over 500 more book recommendations by subject or title and read the introduction to The First Sentence Reader.]

 

Special Post - "Reading Trends in America"

Montgomery, David.  "Most Americans Didn't Read Many Books in 2025." YouGov/USA (https://tinyurl.com/34vcp8tw). December 31, 2025. Online.

First Sentences:

Six in 10 Americans (59%) say they read at least one book in 2025, a new YouGov survey finds. That's in line with similar YouGov surveys in 2024 and 2023. Most Americans who did read books only finished a handful of books, while a minority of Americans were plowing through the pages.

 

Description:

Just a short post to bring to your attention the recent annual survey conducted by YouGov regarding the reading habits of Americans in 2025. I found some of this data encouraging, while other items worrisome:

• Besides the 40% of Americans who didn't read any books in 2025, another 27% read one to four books. And 13% read five to nine books. That leaves 19% of Americans who read 10 or more books, including 9% who read 10 to 19 books, 6% who read 20 to 49 books, and 4% who say they read 50 or more books; 

• Americans 65 and older read significantly more books (12.1) than those 45 to 64 (6.4), 30 to 44 (8.2), and 18 to 29 (5.8);

• 46% of Americans read at least one physical book, 24% read at least one digital book, and 23% listened to at least one audio book;

• The most popular genre of books that Americans read in 2025 was mystery and crime: 35% of Americans who read at least one book read a mystery or crime novel. Other top genres are history (30%), biography and memoir (27%), thrillers (23%), fantasy (23%), and romance (23%);

• Half of Americans don't have library cards. Many of those who do rarely or never use library services;

• One in five Americans (20%) say they own between one and 10 physical books, while 14% own between 11 and 25 books, and 13% between 26 and 50. Overall, counting the 9% who say they own no physical books, at least 69% of Americans own no more than 100 books.

There is plenty of additional interesting data in this study, including how many books different demographic groups (age, sex, education, income, etc.) own, how they sort them, and what subjects each group reads. The YouGov data collection method is carefully explained and there are color charts and graphs to further clarify their findings.

 

Its a fascinating data collection about how our country reads, so please click here to learn more. You might be surprised at what you find.

 

U.S. Reading Survey article - https://tinyurl.com/34vcp8tw

Complete U.S. Reading Survey data document - https://tinyurl.com/4e9fws6d

About YouGov - https://yougov.com/en-us

[from their website]

YouGov is an international online research data and analytics technology group. Our mission is to offer unparalleled insight into what the world thinks. Our purpose is to give our global community a voice by collecting, measuring and analyzing their opinions and behaviors and reporting the findings accurately and free from bias.

 

[If this book interests you, be sure to check out:]

 Dirda, Michael. Browsings: A Year of Reading, Collecting, and Living with Books.

History of one of the greatest libraries of the current age, The United State Library of Congress. (Previously reviewed here.)

 Happy reading.

Fred

[P.S. Click here to browse over 500 more book recommendations by subject or title and read the introduction to The First Sentence Reader.]

 

Chasing the Moon

Stone, Robert and Andres, Alan. Chasing the Moon: The People, the Politics, and the Promise That Launched America into the Space Age. New York : Ballantine 2019. Print.

First Sentences:

The sun began rising over the northeast coast of Florida on what would be a humid subtropical mid-July morning....Nearly a million people were gathering under the harsh Florida sun to witness the departure of the first humans to attempt a landing on another world, the Earth;'s moon, 239,000 miles away. Should it be successful, the piloted lunar landing would culminate a decade of mounting anticipation.

Description:

I've had a long-time interest in the space program and have read many books about it. But my favorite for all-inclusiveness has always been The New Ocean (see below) by William E. Burrows. The only problem with it is it's huge (750 small print pages), very detailed with inclusions of reports, meeting notes, newspapers articles, interviews, etc. that, while fascinating to fans like me, might appear too daunting to the casual moonshot reader.

 

Enter my new favorite space age book: Robert Stone and Alan Andres' Chasing the Moon: The People, the Politics, and the Promise That Launched America into the Space Age. This is the companion book to the excellent six-part PBS television series of the same name. Here is a much more focused (350 pages) account of humans and space flight, from 1903 to the last man to walk on the moon, especially focusing on the United States' program to land a man on the moon and bring him home safely. 

 

Chasing the Moon introduces and provides information on:

• Wernher von Braun, who at age 18 started experimenting with rocket launching, free to do so since the WW I Treaty of Versailles did not specify rocketry in its military rearmament restrictions for Germany. After WW II, von Braun became one of the leaders of the US space program, rescued by the US government special program along with 100 other German rocket scientists and brought to the US. This action was made to close the rocket gap with Germany and Russia despite these scientists history of working during the War with POWs and slaves to build German V-2 rocket-launched weapons;

• Arthur C. Clarke, British science fiction writer and member of the British Interplanetary Society, whose articles and stories about the future of space and the current US program rockets, inspired the world's interest in the US program and thus its Congressional financing;

• The US Army, Air Force, and Navy originally developed separate rocket programs and competed with the other branches to win space contracts with the US government. After the Russian Sputnik launch President Eisenhower combined these separate programs into one new civilian department, the National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA);

• John F. Kennedy, reeling from the poor publicity from the Bay of Pigs fiasco and the successful flight by Russia of first man in space Yuri Gagarin only one week apart, desperately seized on the US space program as a means to "dramatically alter the narrative about America's future and its standing in the international arena." Although Kennedy had shown little interest in outer space and knew virtually nothing about the US program, he learned that communication satellites beaming to television sets would be a way to regain superiority in space, something the Russians had not begun to explore;

• At Attorney General Robert Kennedy demanded, NASA would only accept the land donated by nearby Rice University for NASA headquarters on the condition that Rice changed its discrimination policy and admit Black Students, which they did;

• The ongoing controversy over NASA not selecting a Black candidate for training in the astronaut program after many years, despite the stellar experience from some of these men;

• While there was much speculation between astronauts, media, and the public on who would be the first man to walk on the moon, the placement of the lander hatch door which, when opened, blocked the right side seat and astronaut from exiting before the left side seat was vacated. Therefore, only the man sitting in the left chair, (Armstrong) was physically able to exit the landing pod first. Decision settled;

• William Safire, Nixon's speechwriter, wrote the president two separate speeches for the public: one after a successful moon mission and one should the astronauts be forced to remain on the moon or died due to some failure;

• Writer Arthur C. Clarke had a beloved dog named Sputnik which was the son of Laika, the first animal launched into space.

I had so many more items marked I found interesting through my reading Chasing the Moon, but want to keep this review at a readable length. I figured by now either you are fascinated enough to read more of this book on your own or you have decided it simply isn't for you. So you are now on your own.

 

But there are many, many more people, incidents, successes, failures, and dreams clearly presented by authors Stone and Anders. You would be missing the beautiful B & W and color photographs, the in-depth interviews, the newspaper clippings, and the words of astronauts during training, flight, and moon landings. It's all here.  

 

I hope you will pick up this fine, important history and learn more about one of humankind's greatest achievement: putting humans on the moon and returning them safely. Highly recommended.

 

[If this book interests you, be sure to check out:]

Burrows, William E. The New Ocean: The Story of the First Space Age.

Simply the best, most readable yet most detailed account of the United State space program. Includes documentation from newly-released Russian files, meeting notes, documents, government involvement, astronauts, behind0the-scenes personnel ... in short, everything possible about the movement of humans into space. Tremendous. Highest recommendation. (Previously reviewed here.)

 Happy reading.

Fred

[P.S. Click here to browse over 500 more book recommendations by subject or title and read the introduction to The First Sentence Reader.]

The Greatest Sentence Ever

Isaacson, Walter. The Greatest Sentence Ever Written. New York : Simon & Schuster 2025. Print.

First Sentences:

"We hold these truths to be sacred ..."

Sacred? No. That doesn't sound right.

But that's how Thomas Jefferson wrote it in his first draft. 

Description:

Now who can resist looking into a book with this title? Certainly not I. 

 

Here's a short, but important and captivating book for lovers (like me) of history, documents, and human rights: The Greatest Sentence Ever Written by Walter Isaacson. This title refers to the second sentence of the United States' Declaration of Independence. I'll refresh your memory here of its glorious second sentence:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.

Powerful words to frame the concepts behind the creation of a new country. Simple words, easily understood and eventually, sometimes grudgingly, agreed upon by its writers: Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston of the Declaration Drafting Committee, as well as the 60 other colony representatives assembled in 1776. After agreement, the representatives then had to sell it to their own people and the other thirteen colonies for their accpetance before it could be sent on to England and the King.

Author Isaacson, inspired by the upcoming 250th anniversary of the Declaration signing, created this 67-page book to analyze the wording, concepts, and behind-the scenes-battles surrounding this sentence. 

In brief two- to four-page chapters, he examines key words and concepts. The word "We, the People" gets its own three pages:

That phrase, We, the People, is as profound as it is simple. Our governance is based not on the divine right of kings or the power imposed by emperors and conquerors. It is based on a compact, a social contract, that we the people have entered into.

The Declaration writers employed this Social Contract idea from the writings of Thomas Hobbes, David, Hume, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, political and social philosophers popular with Jefferson, Franklin, and the other Declaration creators. 

Of course, "All men are created equal" was a problematic issue. Almost all the signers of the Declaration (41 out of 56) owned slaves, including Jefferson who had enslaved "more than 600 men, women and children." While John Adams was against slavery, he did write "The subject is too dangerous to be touched in public." His wife, Abigail, had a stronger opinion:

How can those who advocate the right of man hold their fellow creatures in chains? It is a contradiction that much wound the conscience of every honest man. 

But to secure the signatures of the Southern colonies' representatives, the issue of slavery was glossed over, hopefully to be addressed by calmer people at a more rational time after the Union had been formed and settled.

Besides Isaacson's commentary, the book also contains appendices with the entire Declaration of Independence, Jefferson's original Declaration draft, Virginia's Declaration of Rights of 1776, Rousseau's Social Contract of 1762, and even John Locke's Second Treatise of Government from 1690, all used as the source of political and social ideas. 

He also provides his thoughts on the Declaration power and its affect today, and how we as a individuals and country can move forward based on these fundamental principles. The key is finding the "Common Ground" to contentious issues that divide us, to work together to understand and develop systems and institutions that provide for the greater good for the greatest number of people.

It's a short, but inspiring analysis of an important sentence, one that defines the foundation of our nation. It is well worth an hour or two of your time to pursue its clear, concise history and interpretation of these powerful words from our own Declaration of Independence. 

[Franklin and Jefferson]'s goal on contentious issues was not to triumph but to find the right balance, an art that has been lost today. Compromisers may not make great heroes, Franklin liked to say, but they do make great democracies. 

[If this book interests you, be sure to check out:]

 Conaway, Janes. America's Library.

History and important documents contained in of one of the greatest libraries of the current age, The United State Library of Congress. (Previously reviewed here.)

 Happy reading.

Fred

[P.S. Click here to browse over 500 more book recommendations by subject or title and read the introduction to The First Sentence Reader.]

Shark Heart

Habeck, Emily. Shark Heart: A Love Story. New York : MarySue Rucci  2023. Print.

First Sentences:

Lewis: In the early days after I left New York, I would ruminate, doubt all my choices. But when I met you, I began to thank my failure. Maybe failing was a kind of miracle. Maybe everything happened just right. 

Description:

Please stick with me to read this review after I tell you the plot. It sounds wacky with a capital "W" I know, but I assure you that if you at least read this recommendation and then hopefully give this compelling novel a try, it will be very much worth your time and enjoyment.

 

Shark Heart by Emily Haback, is a love story between two young people, just as the book's subtitle announces. Wren ("like the bird") is a successful accountant satisfied with her "medium-sized life" of safe, ordinary choices. Lewis is an aspiring actor currently teaching junior high drama and directing his school's plays. They meet, court awkwardly, and eventually marry.

On one of her solo excursions, Wren met a man in a yellow shirt who made her feel that the world was a good place, and the world was a good place because she was someone living in it. 

So far, so good, right?

 

But then Lewis begins to notice small changes in his body: a flattening of his nose, patches of scaly skin on his back, slight protuberances on his sides, and "colors losing their vibrancy." The doctor calmly gives him the diagnosis. Lewis has the carcharodon carcharias mutation.

 

He is turning into a great white shark. There is no cure. 

 

But odd as this premise sounds, the book triumphs in so many ways. The characters Wren and Lewis continue with their lives, adapting to the gradual changes due to his condition. Their relationship is strong, loving, and deep, which comes through on every page with their conversations, actions, and time spent with each other. 

They are wonderful characters with no quit in them, people whom author Habeck paints with an honest, sincere brush without being sappy or succumbing to a farcical approach to this situation. 

Wren became soft and young when she was learning [with Lewis about plays, books, etc.]. and in these moments, Lewis pretended they'd gone back in time together. On this imagined plane, Lewis and Wren were sixteen years old, discovering new music and spiraling into the sort of cloudless love that fears no consequences.  

The second half of the book details the life of Wren's mother, Angela, pregnant with Wren at 15, and then leading a difficult life raising a child on her own while dealing with her own medical problems. But there is always a deep affection between mother and child that glows throughout this narrative which brings new clarity to the figure of Wren and her life before Lewis:

Angela and Wren interpreted the night sky in their own way, drawing and naming constellations. It was their secret language, an orbiting, silent elegy. For example, the Big and Little Dippers were two kites flying next to each other. Angela and Wren pretended they held the kite strings, keeping the taut universe floating.

I cannot give away any more. But please trust me that this is a book worth reading, an unusual plot that somehow makes sense, and love stories between multiple characters that are satisfying and admirable. The impression readers are left with is one of hope, love, adaptability, and perseverance. 

Give it a try and I don't think you will be disappointed.

[If this book interests you, be sure to check out:]

Kafka, Franz. The Metamorphosis.

One day a man, Gregor Samson, awakes to find himself turned into a giant insect. A classic tale of horror, questions, and adaptations.

 Happy reading.

Fred

[P.S. Click here to browse over 490 more book recommendations by subject or title and read the introduction to The First Sentence Reader.]

Wild Dark Shore - New First Sentence Reader recommendation

McConaghy, Charlotte. Wild Dark Shore. New York : Flatiron 2025. Print.

 

First Sentences:

I have hated my mother for most of my life but it is her face I see as I drown.

Description:

The setting of Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy is an isolated island near Antarctica, 1500 miles from the nearest landmass. It is the home of an international seed preservation vault along with an non-functioning lighthouse. A family of four lives on this bitterly cold island, hired to oversee the seed vault ("built to withstand anything the world could throw at it; it was meant to outlast humanity"). They regularly check the temperature, any water leakage, and make any repairs to the equipment needed to maintain the vault and its contents. 

They are joined occasionally on this island by scientists studying the environment, animals, weather, and of course, the seed vault. Then, too, there are thousands of seals, penguins, walruses, albatrosses, whales, and other marine animals who, due to their isolated separation from humans, have no fear of the other inhabitants of this lonely site. The family members can freely intermingle among this wildlife.

This is a strong family, with deep ties to each other and acceptance of their roles on their close-knit team to complete the daily tasks set by their stern father to keep the vault and their own lives thriving.

 

You are not meant to have favorites, but my youngest is that...Not because we are least alike; That is my daughter and me. Maybe it is because he is curious and kind and so smart it can make your eyes water. Maybe it's because he whispers to the wind and hears its voice in return. Most likely I don't know why. But it may also be because, for one brief moment long ago. I wished him dead. 

Into this world during a tremendous storm, they discover woman's body floating offshore amongst the rocks. When the body is retrieved, the family is astonished to find woman is somehow alive. What she is doing in this part of the ocean is a mystery she keeps to herself as she slowly recovers and eventually joins the family in maintaining their work and lifestyles.

 

But she is not the only one hiding secrets. Each of the family members is carefully guarding their own individual secrets as well as possibly a bigger family secret. And the scientists? They've all recently left the island rather suddenly. They have noticed the sea water rising on the island due to global warming, signaling the end of their living quarters, experiments, and even the seed vault itself. But they have mysteriously decided to leave before the precious seeds were prepared to be moved to a safer location via the next supply ship...which is not scheduled to come for eight weeks. 

 

Worst of all, the family has only recently found that the entire communication system for the island was intentionally destroyed beyond repair. Coupled with the fact that all the electricity was knocked out by the storm that brought the woman into their lives, they realize that they have to rely on batteries, chargers, and their wits to move prepare the seeds until the supply ship comes. And also survive.

 

And that is how this engrossing book starts. Each brief chapter focuses on one of the characters, delving into each mind to reveal their thoughts, musings over decisions, rationalizations for their actions, and how they envision their own and their family's future. We slowly learn their secrets, get insight into their personalities, and understand the histories that affect their individual decisions.

 

This is a story of the power of love, of family, of duty, and of survival. All characters face the challenges of isolation, weather, tragedy, and family members every day as they fight to preserve the historic seeds and address relationships with those on the island and from their past. 

 

I loved this book and give it my highest recommendation. It is absorbing, tautly challenging, and completely unpredictable right up to its very edge-of-your-seat ending. Un-put-down-able.

[If this book interests you, be sure to check out these two:]

 Stedman, M.L. The Light Between Oceans.

A young couple, caretakers for a working lighthouse, find washed ashore on their remote island a small boat containing a baby. Should they try to find its parents or remain quiet and keep the child as their own? (Previously reviewed here.)

Stonex, Emma. The Lamplighters.

A historic novel based on the sudden disappearance of all three lighthouse keepers from their isolated station. When searched, the lighthouse was found to be in immaculate condition. But the men left no trace of their fate and they were never found. (Previously reviewed here.)

 Happy reading.

Fred

[P.S. Click here to browse over 490 more book recommendations by subject or title and read the introduction to The First Sentence Reader.]

 

Columbus Noir

 Welsh-Huggins, Andrew (ed). Columbus Noir. Brooklyn : Akashic 2020. Print.

First Sentences:

You can kill a lot more than time in Columbus these days. Gang slayings, fetanyl poisoning, murder-suicide: we have it all, soup to nuts. Yet it's not like the older, supposedly kinder and gentler Columbus had completely disappeared. 


Description:

I thought I had found a rare and unique gem in Columbus Noir (edited by Andrew Welsh-Huggins). What a great idea it presented: crime writings by authors from Columbus, Ohio, using their city as the backdrop for every one of their short stories. I revealed great writing from local authors of renown who allowed me to recognize landmark sites in Columbus along with familiar restaurants and neighborhoods on every page. 

 

Little did I know that Akashic Press, publishers of Columbus Noir, had created similar dark crime books from local authors for 123 different cities. So, while Colmbus Noir is not a unique concept, nonetheless it is well worth the time of any reader interested in this seedy mystery/detective/crime fiction, especially if you want to read offerings from authors you may not be familiar with which focus on Columbus.

 

Like all great noir fiction, this collection is full of tales of hardened men, gorgeous women, nefarious baddies, dark streets, and twisty plots. Always, one can never be certain which character is telling the truth, who is plotting a double cross, and who will come through (or run away) when the going gets tough, as it always does. 

 

The characters are clearly drawn, but full of complexities that are only revealed later. The plots are wildly compelling, offering no easy courses of action which will release the characters from threatening situations without engaging in some sort of evil or violent solutions. 

 

Here's a sampling of the crime stories you will find here:

• A college graduate assistant teacher who falls for a beautiful student, but soon needs to end the relationship without incriminating himself;

• A gossipy woman overhears the plans of a young woman and her fiance to marry without her parents' approval, then works behind the scenes to disrupt their future;

• A cop who has been stealing drugs from the police evidence storage is discovered by a ruthless criminal who threatens him with exposure;

• A beautiful real estate agent begins an affair with her ordinary-looking next door neighbor to start a house-flipping partnership;

• A young girl, seeking drugs for her abusive boyfriend, hides out in a cemetery where she meets an old man offering her shelter, wisdom, and maybe more. 

Needless to say, I devoured these tales quickly. Each story was gripping, full of questionable characters that I thought I knew and could predict their intentions and actions ... right up to the very end when everything always got turned on its head. A great read to curl up with and experience a darker side of Columbus and its inhabitants.

[If this book interests you, be sure to check out:]

Welsh-Huggins. The Mailman.

The editor of Columbus Noir has written this wonderfully gripping, unpredictable thriller that I only recently discovered. One of the best I have ever read, and now highly recommend it. 

 Happy reading.

Fred

[P.S. Click here to browse over 480 more book recommendations by subject or title and read the introduction to The First Sentence Reader.]

The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir Who Got Trapped in an Ikea Wardrobe

Puertolas, Romain. The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir Who Got Trapped in an Ikea Wardrobe. New York : Knopf 2014. Print.

First Sentences:

The first word spoken by the Indian man Ajatashatru Oghast Rathod upon his arrival in France was, oddly enough, a Swedish word. Ikea

Description:

Well, I'm not going to tell you much of anything about this delightful book except the premise and the factors that send the ensuing actions in motion:

• First, Ajatashatru Oghast Rathod ("pronounced a-jar-of-rat-stew-oh-gosh"  or "a-cat-in-a-bat-suit" among other helpful tips from the author), arrives in Paris with one mission in mind: find the nearest IKEA store, buy a bed of nails for sale at this store which he plans to use in his professional life as an Indian street fakir/con-man/magician), and then take the flight home to India with his purchase the following day. Simple, huh?

• But he falls asleep underneath a bed in the IKEA store until after closing and, to avoid detection, hides in a large display cabinet.

• The cabinet is unexpectedly sealed in bubble wrap by these security men and loaded onto a plane for delivery, never noticing its hidden content, and thus sealed him in.

• The cabinet and he are unloaded in another foreign airport where Ajatashatru's adventure begins as he tries to return to IKEA, make his purchase, and return home. 

To add to his problems, he is pursued by the irate taxi driver who first transported him from the Paris airport to IKEA and found his passenger had paid him with a fake 100 Euro bill. He is out for blood and will follow Ajatashatru wherever he must to get his money and revenge.

 

That's all you get from me. This all happens in the first few pages. If you are still with me, you are a great candidate for this book. Quirky, unexpected, delightful, sympathetic, and romantic escapades follow our hero each one of which he narrowly escapes by luck, the kindness of strangers, or his own wits.

 

Give it a shot. It's a very short book, a good afternoon of reading during the inclement December weather while you recover from the stress of the holidays and the world around you. It's a fun romp, complete escapism, and I loved it.

[If this book interests you, be sure to check out:]

 

Jonasson, Jonas. The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared.

Another book with a lengthy title that traces the travels, people, and experiences of a curious man fed up with his life in a retirement home and decides to seek adventure in the outside world, elephants and all. (Previously reviewed here.)

 Happy reading.

Fred

[P.S. Click here to browse over 490 more book recommendations by subject or title and read the introduction to The First Sentence Reader.]