Romain Puértolas was born in Montpellier and has lived in France, Spain, and the U.K., where he has been a DJ, singer-songwriter, language teacher, translator-interpreter, and steward. He most recently worked as a police inspector with the French border service, specializing in document fraud. The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir Who Got Trapped in an Ikea Wardrobe was a number-one best seller in France and has been published in thirty-five countries.