The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
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Book Reviews of The Elegance of the Hedgehog
Book Review: A Gem of Brilliance and Wisdom
Summary: 5 Stars
"Literature's mission is to make the fulfillment of our essential duties more bearable", so says Renee Michel, the poor, frumpy concierge of a very expensive apartment building in Paris. Such an observation about the purposes of literature is hardly the norm in our stereotypical view of the role of the concierge, but Renee is anything but ordinary. She hides behind the sterotype, living a circumscribed life on the outside, but inside is a brilliantly observant, self-educated woman, fully conversant with philosophy, music and literature. Juxtaposed against Renee is Paloma Josse, also a resident of the deluxe apartment building, the 12 year old daughter of a father who is a French governmental minister and a mother with a Phd in literature. Paloma also hides behind the mask of the stereotypical taciturn pre-teen. But Paloma is wiser than her years. In alternating short chapters we have Renee's observations about the goings on of her tenants, and the meaning of life, and Paloma's diary pondering similiar thoughts. When a Japanese gentleman of great wealth moves into the building he begins to reach behind the facades of the older lady and the young lady. He sets a series of events into motion that will lead Renee to be reborn (the meaning of her name) and Paloma to begin to understand the meaning of life in a way that is beyond her years and beyond most peoples' comprehension.
This is one of the finest novels I have ever read. It is wise and captivating, charming and extraordinary. As I read the ending tears rolled down my cheeks, something that rarely happens when I read.
Ignore those here who have given this poor reviews. The reviews are a reflection of the laziness of the reader. Yes, this novel requires thinking and on occasion a dictionary. This is not just fanciful entertainment. It requires some work on the readers' part, but that is what great literature is about. In the end the rewards are well worth it.
Book Review: read the book before oprah picks it!
Summary: 5 Stars
It is January 1, 2009, and I just finished my first book of the year. Does it count if I started the book last year? I think so.
My binary classification of things divides all things into one of two camps: love or hate (so basic). But I loved this book. The title is what I noticed first: The Elegance of the Hedgehog. What does that mean? Have you ever seen a hedgehog? My friend Loni had one. It was the cutest thing. They would take it on walks in the sand. It died. So what I knew of hedgehogs was and that they are cute, small, and prickly. They have a lot going for them but can be hard to handle.
The main protagonist of the book can be readily recognized as the hedgehog of the book. The 54-year-old concierge is a super genius, who left school at age 12. She has worked in her Parisian eight unit apartment building for twenty years, hiding all along her intelligence. The other story told in the book is about a 12-year-old little girl who is also a super genius. She is trying to find her way in the world.
Both character's keen observations about life, class, and grammar are delightful to read and enjoyable to contemplate afterwards. Can you change your class? What does class mean? How annoying is the improper use of a comma? Aren't we all just the same, seeking to be noticed by our fellow man?
This is one of those books that you don't want to end. As I kept reading I kept wondering how on earth the author was going to finish the book in the few pages left.
Without giving the story away, let me say that the book inspired a spirited emotional response from me at the end.
The book does slow a bit during the in-depth meditations on philosophy, but don't let that keep you from getting the book. Get ahead of the curve: read the Oprah book before it is an Oprah book.
Book Review: elegantly entertaining
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is my favorite novel I've read in the past 20 years. Our library book group of individuals of various ages and nationalities read it after I suggested it and the book was universally loved. Comments like "so delicious" "one of the best books I've ever read" "feel like I lost a good friend when I finished it" were rampant. The book store owner where I bought it in Connecticut said she had difficulty getting into it and that puzzled me. However, my group (and I believe in the "wisdom of crowds") said the first 50 pages or so were challenging, some thought of putting it down, but then were glad when they persevered. I think the book becomes alive for readers when the Japanese tenant arrives at the building and there's the classic Mr. Darcy/Elizabeth Bennett central conflict that is universal,personal,specific and concrete as my writing professor would say that a book needs to have to be a page turner whether it be a love story or murder mystery. The plot of two outwardly mismatched souls who must overcome obstacles to experience genuine love and kinship is compelling. A mature love affair as this book includes is a refreshing read. The book is so much more than a love story, but that love story helps to drive the plot. All of the characters are either lovable or humorous or both. The book was written from the heart, I believe, which is why it reaches the hearts of most readers. I hope the author writes many more books with innovative, quirky plots with compelling central conflicts and charming characters. Oh--one of our book group members is Japanese and she said that the Japanese character who had a very luxurious bathroom is typically Japanese in that taste--she said many Japanese are obsessed with the latest innovations in bathroom technology and decor.Book Review: lovely middle-aged Cinderella story
Summary: 5 Stars
Renee is the frumpy 54-year-old concierge in a posh Paris residential high-rise. Paloma is an ultra-precocious 12-year-old who resides in the building with her wealthy, educated, superficial family. These two narrators ultimately find themselves kindred spirits, joined by new resident Monsieur Ozu, a Japanese gentleman who has aroused the curiosity of everyone else in the building. Both Renee and Paloma are leading a clandestine life, but Monsieur Ozu recognizes almost immediately that Renee, despite her impoverished upbringing, is a closet intellectual with a finely-honed appreciation for the arts. She quotes Proust and Kant, recognizes Mozart's Reqiuem when it is blasted from Ozu's bathroom, and prefers Dutch painters over French. Paloma's chapters are journal entries of "Profound Thoughts." She is the top student in her school but keeps her smarts in check so as not to draw too much attention to herself. She is also matter-of-factly planning suicide, unless something to live for appears in the meantime. At times, both Renee and Paloma wax philosophical, making the book a bit of a snoozer in the beginning. However, after the three main characters discover each other, I became hooked. Will Renee overcome her reticence and break out of the shackles of her class and position? Will her new friendships give Paloma the raison d'etre that she's seeking? Renee is the Cinderella character that we're hoping has found her prince, and Paloma provides her own brand of cynical humor. Her mother immediately carts her off to the family psychiatrist when Paloma tells the family that she hears voices, just to get them off her case. The scene where she cuts a deal with the shrink is priceless.Book Review: Beauty is truth
Summary: 5 Stars
You are smart, but unschooled, a daughter of the poorest illiterate peasantry. Over the decades you have read your Marx and Kant, appreciated Mozart, immersed yourself in 17th century Dutch painting. You smuggle literature home in your shopping bag along with the turnips and cat food. You are Renee Michel and a concierge in a Left Bank apartment block serving the rich. You are an invisible drab, and no-one must ever suspect.
You are precociously intelligent but only twelve and a half. Your sister, studying for her Masters degree at the Sorbonne, is a `beautiful person' of barren soulless talent. Your mother is a vacuous socialist snob while your father is a senior Government official hiding behind his role. You know from Dawkins and all the rest that life is just a pointless primate struggle to reproduce your genes. Surrounded by so much empty posturing and mediocrity, what is the point? You are Paloma Josse and you are determined to commit suicide on your 13th birthday.
A particularly loathsome apartment owner dies and someone new moves in. Wealthy, cultured and thoroughly civilised, perhaps Renee and Paloma, in their daily deceptions, have finally encountered someone they can't hoodwink. Primary certainties are reworked as the story moves to its shocking conclusion.
This is a beautiful piece of work: erudite, laugh-out-loud humorous and tragic by turns. It can't have been easy for Alison Anderson to capture in English the sophistication of Muriel Barbery's writing, but she's made a fine job of it. Recommended.