Always wanted to say Stop the Presses, please forgive my pretension!
I didn’t intend writing a separate review to this novel because it isn’t a new release being published in French in 2006 and in English in 2008. It has since sold over a million copies, some of which may have found their way into your libraries. BUT for those who, like me, somehow missed the memo, I just had to share this beautiful and moving book, which I found profoundly affecting.
To the friends who recommended this book to me huge bouquets, I loved it!
This is a literary work, requiring more attention than many books I read, but I was happy to give it the attention it deserved because of what it gave back to me. Although, as I said, this novel was originally published in French, it has moved beautifully to English. The translator, Alison Anderson, deserves high credit for her work which flows flawlessly without the awkwardness of some translations.
The book has two narrators; Renée Michel, the concierge of 7 Rue de Grenelle and Paloma Josse a precocious twelve year old who lives in unit 5 with her family who she considers snobs. Both Renée and Paloma are highly intelligent, a fact they hide from the world; Renée because a concierge should fit a socially acceptable mould and Paloma because she wants to fit in with her classmates.
The more I read, the more I recognized how well the author differentiated the voices of her narrators; they are quite distinct and speak their stories clearly, making the device of different type fonts for each narrator almost unnecessary.
There are so many quotable quotes in this book; one which particularly resonated with me is Renee’s “The idea of trying something on in front of an anorexic virgin—something which, on me, will look like a sack of potatoes—has always deterred me from going into boutiques.” Another I love is Paloma’s description “Madame Michel has the elegance of the hedgehog: on the outside she is covered in quills, a real fortress, but my gut feeling is that on the inside, she has the same simple refinement as the hedgehog: a deceptively indolent little creature, fiercely solitary–and terribly elegant. ”
Throughout The Elegance of the Hedgehog there are many illusions to paintings, books and movies some, but not all, familiar. Even when I didn’t know the reference, particularly of a work of art, the power of the description drew pictures in my mind. Are these pictures accurate? I didn’t try to answer that question because in my mind they are, as yours will be accurate for you. It’s that kind of book.
There is a great deal of philosophy espoused which is to be expected when you learn the author, Muriel Barbery is a Doctor of Philosophy. Yet there is no element of the author talking down to the reader; her knowledge is shared, not displayed.
My friend Roz loaned me her copy and as she moved to Sydney late last year, I’m tempted not to return it – but that is against the rules for Bookies isn’t it? I know I’ll read this book again, so will add it to my eBook library.
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About the author
Muriel Barbery was born May 28th, 1969 in Casablanca, Morocco.
She was raised in France. She entered the École Normale Supérieure de Fontenay-Saint-Cloud in 1990 and obtained her agrégation in philosophy in 1993. She then taught philosophy at the Université de Bourgogne, in a lycée, and at the Saint-Lô IUFM. She currently lives in Japan with her husband Stéphane.
She has written two books that have been translated into English, Gourmet Rhapsody (original title Une Gourmandise, 2000) and The Elegance of the Hedgehog (original title: L’Élégance du hérisson, 2006).
More information is available at http://murielbarbery.com.
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