The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
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Book Reviews of The Elegance of the Hedgehog
Book Review: Loved this book...
Summary: 5 Stars
This was one of the very few books where not much happened in the way of plot, but I loved it anyway. The story revolves around the concierge at a swanky Paris apartment building and a little girl who lives there, both of which are hiding their true intelligence from the world. The little girl, Paloma, has decided to commit suicide on her 13th birthday because of her belief that the world is "absurd" and not worth living in. Sounds like a very depressing, morbid story, but in fact it is very light, humorous, and engaging. Despite the fact that nothing really happens until the last 1/4 of the book, I found myself thoroughly intrigued by Renee and Paloma. I especially loved Paloma's "profound thoughts" and how she wrote about her unique perspective of her world.
Overall, I loved Barbery's writing style and the characters were very interesting and often times very funny. The book may not be for everyone, though. Those who rely on a strong and fast-paced plot to keep them interested might be bored by this one. I found the characters interesting enough to keep reading, and the bittersweet ending made it even more worth it.
Book Review: Don't Let the Vocabulary Scare You Off -- It's Part of this Book's Charm
Summary: 5 Stars
A wonderful dual-story of two very different, strong female characters with much in common when the surface is scratched. Although the BIG WORDS are initially intimating, they are part and parcel of the development of the main characters. The book builds its portrayal of characters both as individuals (one is revealed in a more linear manner and one more through flashbacks and rememberances) and through their eventual interactions (when they reveal themselves to each other in a way they have never really done before). It is wonderful in its surprises and its predictability. It has laugh-out-loud scenes and those that bring tears. Although I know a lot of people who said they gave it 50 pages and could not get into this book, I'd continue to say (a) don't be put off by the apparent intellectual snobbery, as you will grow with it, (b) don't feel compelled to read the book accompanied by a dictionary, because the meaning of many of the unknown words is less important than the context in which they are used, and in the molding of the characters, and (c) keep on reading this rewarding book!Book Review: Persist in reading this and then get ready to read again!
Summary: 5 Stars
Well I am not going to summarize the book or be especially literary in my review. Honestly I resisted reading this book, it was lent to me by my sister-in-law. It did not seem especially interesting and I am a voracious reader who loves to read most everything. But I forced myself to read it...at first. It started quite slowly for me, the book does have quite the minimialist plot. But the writing was very good and I persisted. As I read it, I became more and more captivated by it. Then when I finished it, I wanted to open up to the first page and read it again. I think seeing the whole book in context made me want to go back and read it again so I could better appreciate the whole book. and I am one of those people who NEVER read books twice - my feeling is there are far too many books to read in this world to read books more than once (I know many people who have to read their "favorites" over again every few years, I am not one of those!). So from me, this is incredible praise! And I WILL read it again - I suggested it for my book group and we will read it spring 2010....Book Review: Difficult fiction, elegantly rendered.
Summary: 5 Stars
For complicated reasons, it's terribly difficult to depict morally and intellectually engaging people who are poor. It's one of the reasons Rosanne was such a TV hit during the 80s and early 90s. They weren't stupid; they were just poor. It's one of the reasons the characters in Iris Murdoch's books or David Lodge's books are independently wealthy. The deep undercurrent remains that if you are poor and intellectually engaging, you must be defective: an alcoholic, abuse victim, or crazed, or drug dependent.
Barbery succeeds where a great many others fail. She convincingly imbues intellectual dignity into a poor woman. Barbery receives four stars just for that. Alison Anderson earns the fifth star for offering an outstanding translation that preserves the earnest plot and poetry of the story. Now, Amazon is killing independent bookstores across this wide land, so buy this book, but take the time to buy it in your neighborhood bookstore.
The book should be on the reading list of anyone who is thinking about attending graduate school in the humanities.
Book Review: Fun and intelligent
Summary: 5 Stars
Barbery asks the right sort of questions and is both intelligent and ironic. I find most people who oppose The Elegance of the Hedgehog have either too serious or too superficial a view of life. Reading Barbery is like opening a window--refreshing. I didn't always agree with her conclusions, but she addresses the right ideas. I don't understand why people accuse Barbery of pretentiousness. Clearly she is intelligent (she need not try and be), but she is writing Renee's and Paloma's memoirs, not her own. The novel is one about two persons who are trying to fathom beauty but cannot; yet owing to the fact that they try, they prove to themselves (and their readers) that they appreciate art and beauty in a way many do not. Like so many who revere what they consider the sacred, both characters fall victim to the conviction that they have some special insight into it. This is a story about two such individuals who learn really how small they are in comparison to what is beautiful. In every way they are eclipsed by it, and are never more real to the reader than when this happens.