The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery

Had no idea what to expect with this book, and being aware that the author was a Philosophy teacher, was a bit uneasy. By the end of chapter two, I was enchanted and could have easily read the book in one day, were it not for work and family.

The novel is set in an upscale Parisian apartment building in the early 2000’s. Alternating perceptions of life at 7 Rue de Grenelle are narrated by Renee, the building’s concierge, and alternately, by Paloma, a 12-year-old tenant who has decided that life is not worth living.

Renee Michel describes herself as a short, ugly and plump 54-year-old working as a concierge for 27 years. She has hidden her intelligence and appreciation of the arts, believing that revealing her true essence would alter the life she has come to endure. Her nature, however, is uncovered by a new tenant and a very insightful young girl.

Paloma Josse also hides her intellect and smarts from all, including her family. She sees adults as absurd and plans to commit suicide on her 13th birthday. After meeting Renee and seeing beyond her facade, and then being treated as an equal by the new tenant, she comes to realize that she is not alone in the world.

The tenant who upends Renee and Paloma, Kakuro Ozu, brings freshness and light to all he encounters. He is very wealthy, but not at all ostentatious, and becomes the catalyst for putting those around him at such ease, that they can reveal their hearts and souls, unapologetically.

Quotes:

I think lucidity gives your success a bitter taste, whereas mediocrity still leaves hope for something.

What is an aristocrat? A woman who is never sullied by vulgarity, although she may be surrounded by it.

Some people are incapable of perceiving in the object of their contemplation the very thing that gives it its intrinsic life and breath, and they spend their entire lives conversing about mankind as if they were robots, and about things as though they have no soul and must be reduced to what can be said about them–all at the whim of their own subjective inspiration.

For where can one find more noble distraction, more entertaining company, more delightful enchantment than in literature?

It would be hard to know where to begin with Ms. Barbery. My French is appalling so I would definitely not start there. Topics would not be difficult to choose; from Marx to Tolstoy, Eminem to Michael Connelly’s Bosch. Love that she is a strict grammarian and would want to discuss her writing processes.

My rating for The Elegance of the Hedgehog is a 9 out of 10.

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Next up , Victor Hugo’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame…