Success as a fakir

WHEN it was published in France, his home country, last year, this debut novel from Romain Puertolas became a bestseller. He wrote it on his mobile phone while working as a border guard. It tells the story of Ajatashatru, a fakir (a magical man), who lives in a remote village in India and needs a new bed of nails. He persuades his friends and followers to pay for a flight to his nearest Ikea, in Paris, to buy one. After falling for a beautiful woman called Marie, he spends the night living it up in the store and hides from the night guards in a wardrobe, which is then loaded onto a lorry and shipped to England.

He ends up travelling around Europe and North Africa by plane, ship, trunk and hot-air balloon, making friends – and enemies – along the way. On one level, this is a standard picaresque tale of a con man living by his wits, but beneath the humour and farce is a more profound examination of poverty and immigration, of traffickers and the lengths desperate people will go to for a better life. Moved by the characters he meets, Ajatashatru vows to change his ways and make amends, but will he?

What Milo Saw by Virginia MacGregor is published in hardback by Sphere, priced £14.99 (ebook £7.49) 3/5 stars 

BILLED as a book for fans of The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time, Virginia MacGregor’s debut novel is a carefully constructed comment on how appearances can be deceiving. It’s told, in turns, from the perspective of nine-yearold Milo, who has retinitis pigmentosa – he’s going blind and can only see through a pinhole – his 92-yearold beloved but mute gran Lou, and Tripi, a Syrian refugee.

Milo may not be able to see much of the world, but he seems to pick up on things which others miss, including the mistreatment of the elderly folk in his gran’s new nursing home. While Tripi may live rough, he has a heart of gold and will do anything to help Milo and his single mother Sandy.

And then there’s biker Al, who moves into Milo’s home so Sandy can pay the bills and whose tough exterior is a cover for his real purpose in life. Milo ropes in Tripi and Al to help him save Lou and expose the wrongdoing at Forget Me Not nursing home.

It’s sometimes predictable and a little cliched in its presentation of Tripi, the token illegal immigrant, and the multiple perspectives can slow the pace. It was a tall order to live up to the Mark Haddon book it seeks to ape, but What Milo Saw is still a heart-warming read showing children sometimes know better than grown-ups.

What Would Mary Berry Do? by Claire Sandy (Pan £7.99, ebook £4.74) 3/5 stars 

WHAT Would Mary Berry Do? is Claire Sandy’s first foray into the world of the novelist. In a world where you are judged at the school gates on your prowess in the kitchen, dentist Marie begins to buckle under her own desire to be a domestic goddess. Neighbour Lucy is a veritable cookery cheerleader, who induces in Marie pangs of jealousy for her perfect foe.

But Marie has had enough, and has set herself a year to conquer her kitchen demons. Business looks shaky for Marie too when a rival dental practice sets up in the town, and then her twin daughters decide that they want to match-make their brother Angus with Lucy’s step-daughter. Thin cracks begin to appear in Lucy’s picture-perfect life, is everything as it seems? And will Marie crack a show-stopper in time for the school fete? This offering is similar to many baking-themed novels on the shelves, just not as pacey. There’s no real hook or drive to get you to turn the page – not bad, just average.