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The Elegance of the Hedgehog

by Muriel Barbery, Alison Anderson (Translator)

3.67 of 5 stars 3.67 · rating details · 60,793 ratings · 10,271 reviews

Renée is the concierge of a grand Parisian apartment building, home to members of the great and the good. Over the years she has maintained her carefully constructed persona as someone reliable but totally uncultivated, in keeping, she feels, with society's expectations of what a concierge should be. But beneath this facade lies the real Renée passionate about culture and...more

Second English Edition, 320 pages

Published June 2009 by Gallic Books (first published 2006)

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Aug 05, 2008 Donato rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

[Italian translation of course!]
I give this one 3 1/2 stars. I thoroughly enjoyed the book -- the philosophical observations, the interweaving of the thoughts of the concierge with those of the precocious young Paloma, the idea that Art is important -- but, but... in the end, it just felt too, I don't know, constructed, thought out. Like I can see the author taking all the things she does in her own life ( drinking tea, watching Ozu, getting all spiritual and zen over art) and transferring it to...more

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Jun 11, 2011 David rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2008, unexpectedly-terrific

Initial review: 12/11/2008 -

I may revisit the 5-star rating in a week or two, but after reading this book through all last night in a single sitting, it seems ungenerous to give it anything less.

Muriel Barbery walks the high-wire throughout - there were any number of places where things could have degenerated into mere sentimentality. Not to mention the assorted philosophical digressions. But the alternating narrators - Renee the dumpy concierge and Paloma the precocious 12-year old - are so ch...more Initial review: 12/11/2008 -

I may revisit the 5-star rating in a week or two, but after reading this book through all last night in a single sitting, it seems ungenerous to give it anything less.

Muriel Barbery walks the high-wire throughout - there were any number of places where things could have degenerated into mere sentimentality. Not to mention the assorted philosophical digressions. But the alternating narrators - Renee the dumpy concierge and Paloma the precocious 12-year old - are so charming that I just went with the flow. I granted Mme Barbery my willing suspension of disbelief, trusting that I was in good hands.

And Muriel, God bless her, delivered the goods. An enormously satisfying ending to a highly unusual book.

Now that the book has been translated into English, it seems highly likely that Oprah will pick it. It would be a shame to hold that against it.

Update 12/12/2008:

Well, the five stars didn't even last 24 hours. Although I was swept up enough by the book to read it in one sitting - which should be acknowledged as a major point in the book's favor, by the way - some of its weaknesses become evident upon reflection. Unlike some of the other reviewers, the fairly hefty dollop of implausibility attached to the two protagonists didn't bother me all that much - the author is constructing a kind of fable, after all. But it has to be said that the way Barbery plonks in whole pages of ponderous ruminations on art, philosophy, Japan-worship, just like that is (a) a completely intrusive artifice and (b) a huge structural weakness. Aren't authors suppose to show and not tell?

Then, too, my inner cynic has to cavil just a little bit at the unlikely perfection of the emotional harmonic convergence towards the book's ending. Mr Ozu seems more than a little too good to be true. And, for that matter, once you get away from the hypnotically, charmingly persuasive voices of the two narrators, the thought might cross your mind that maybe the other residents of the building aren't quite the shallow monsters they are made out to be throughout the book. Maybe the much maligned older sister, Colombe, deserves a break as well.

The moral of this story is that I should impose a 24-hour waiting period before assigning ratings. I still give "hedgehog" a strong recommendation, though.(less)

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Mar 23, 2008 Isabelle rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: french

This is another moment when I wonder what is wrong with me... Everyone in France recommends this book! The premise is original enough that I was hoping the book would be a real find: within the same super high end Parisian apartment building live 2 misfits: the 54 year old concierge who reads Kant and Tolstoi in secret and a 12 year old girl with abnormally high IQ and suicidal tendencies. The first half of the book is an excuse for the author's long academic digressions on Kant, phenomenology,...more

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May 08, 2010 Elizabeth (Alaska) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 5-star-reads, 1001-books

I must admit this wasn't a 5-star read until the last 50 pages, which may actually make this a 6-star read. This book is beautiful for its underlying truth: we are all worthy of love, love that will surely be given, if we will but believe we are worthy.

My friend Rose, repeated the quote that referenced Renee Michel as being prickly like a hedgehog, but so elegant on the inside. For me, the section that spoke volumes was the Profound Thought by Paloma in defense of grammar:

Personally I think that...more

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Aug 23, 2010 trivialchemy rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I recently had a brief relationship with a young lady who had studied philosophy at a university in southern California. The relationship was destined to be a brief one, as she left for the Philippines to join the Peace Corps just a week or so ago. On one of our last evenings together, she thanked me for something that I found curious.

She said, "Isaiah, have you ever met someone at a party or something who finds out you studied philosophy -- and then they just try to talk to you the whole rest...more

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Jan 17, 2010 Eva rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: NO ONE!

That so many people love this book makes me fear for the future of literature. It is one of the most pretentious, banal "novels" I've ever read. In fact, "novel" is too good a word for its bloggishly self-indulgent, smugly insipid meanderings. Actually most blogs are much more interesting than this book. The two main characters (the concierge Renee and the young girl, Paloma) are hypocritical snobs who accuse others of snobbery. This intolerance is forgiveable in a child perhaps, but not in a 53...more That so many people love this book makes me fear for the future of literature. It is one of the most pretentious, banal "novels" I've ever read. In fact, "novel" is too good a word for its bloggishly self-indulgent, smugly insipid meanderings. Actually most blogs are much more interesting than this book. The two main characters (the concierge Renee and the young girl, Paloma) are hypocritical snobs who accuse others of snobbery. This intolerance is forgiveable in a child perhaps, but not in a 53 year old concierge. Renee whines about her lot constantly (and not in an amusing way -- she's incredibly tendentious and judgemental). She vaunts her superior intelligence, is very self-involved, and yet fancies herself compassionate.

The world view of the book is conservative. Renee worships the accepted canons of Western art, music, and thinking. She herself epitomizes the upper-middle class women she regards with such scorn. She is one of the most obnoxious characters I've come across in a book. The author expects the reader to sympathize with Renee, but she is boring and self-pitying, among other faults.

Both Renee and Paloma (the girl) think themselves unconventional, yet they are extremely ordinary in their views. They are humorless (this is NOT a funny book) and mean; they mock everyone they know and regard themselves as superior beings. All of their thinking is cliched, and their stale opinions are expressed with narcissistic melodrama and hyperbole, in elevated tones and stilted diction. Actually, the concierge and the 12 year old girl sound pretty much alike. The characterization is that thin. The book is full of stereotypes. Asia and Asians are characterized as "mysterious" and "inscrutable!" It makes France (or French culture) look bad .

The book has no tension but it does have some contrived action as well as a ludicrous red herring. The prose is riddled with sentimentality and cuteness, and the awkward "plot" serves as a skeleton for a host of trite, sophomoric ideas. A few basic philosophical problems are rehashed in reductive ways, and the narrators imagine that they invented these ancient conundrums.

Oh, and the writing is terrible: affected and clumsy. Forget le mot juste! Words are misused throughout. In the last twenty pages, the concierge weeps quite often and I guess the reader is supposed to sob along, but it's bathetic, anything but moving. The only emotions I felt were disgust and anger.

With so many wonderful books to read, why are so many people reading (and liking) this drivel? (less)

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Sep 28, 2010 Katya rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

after giving this book a chance, i have decided that the only chance it deserves is to be methodically shredded page by page and subsequently dissolved, in its entirety, in a pool of ammonia.

the rampant fetishism of japanese culture aside (which is seriously so disturbing and surprising to come across in a bestseller that was written within the past 5 years), the plot is entirely centered on the interior monologues of two characters, two characters who are so unctuously trite and platitudinizing...more

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Mar 27, 2009 Chrissie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: france, kirkus, fiction, humorous, philo-psychol, favorites

AFTER READING THE BOOK:
I just finished the book and I suppose it is better to let it sink in before I do a review, but since I do not think the following statements will be altered by further thought, I will state them now. First of all I rhink many who read this book will say OMG, it's a fairy tale! That couldn't happen. Well I don't agree. I am not going to give anything away, so don't worry. What happens, could happen, although I agree perhaps not that often. One has to believe and one has to...more AFTER READING THE BOOK:
I just finished the book and I suppose it is better to let it sink in before I do a review, but since I do not think the following statements will be altered by further thought, I will state them now. First of all I rhink many who read this book will say OMG, it's a fairy tale! That couldn't happen. Well I don't agree. I am not going to give anything away, so don't worry. What happens, could happen, although I agree perhaps not that often. One has to believe and one has to have a few camelias. I found the book, ie its principal characters, very annoying at first, then they soften and the book gets funnier and funnier and then it gets serious. You need humor in life and you need it in books too. Real humor that sprinkles in between the shit that life throws at you, me and everyone. This book confronts the reader with important philosophical ideas. This book is about art. It is about beauty, and more specifically, what is the point of beauty? Why do we need beauty? Why do we need the beauty that art, music, litterature and nature offer us? This book is about our pets, about our daily routines. This book eggs us on to consider many, many philosophical ideas. Why do people give up? Why do we think life is absurd? Why do people play social games with each other? Why do we hide from each other? And do any of us clearly see what is happening around us?

Now, if you consider the above questions philosphical garbage, well then skip the book. Although you will in so doing loose an opportunity to laugh at ourselves and our world. Don't forget, the book is funny. Some may say I am way too naive. That's fine. Say that, but I will stand for my views.

Concerning the questions I had before I read the book - I don't think the disparate views on this book have anything to do with the translation or cultural differences. I think it is simply that people are different. We value different things. We are interested in different issues. It's that simple.

BEFORE READING THE BOOK:
I really am curious about this book. The reviews are so different, thumbs up and thumbs down. Is it that there is a cultural difference between Europe and the States, or is it the translation? Who knows! The English translation is entitled The Elegance of the Hedgehog. Kirkus has already reviewed it, and they liked it. I will be reading it in French because no book is as good in translation as in its original. I am SO happy I have found a book here on GoodReads in French, maybe now I will get in contact with more French readers and current French litterature. Oh, and I really was surprised about some comment that this book was no "Amelie Poulain"! Who would ever think that one country will only produce one type of book.......... I have to remember to add to my list some books by Eric-Emanuel Schmitt, a French/Belgian author.(less)

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Mar 21, 2009 Khaya rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: snobs

Shelves: maybe-it-s-me

My name is Renee, and I’m the first protagonist of this book – the hedgehog, as it were. I’m a 54-year-old concierge who works in a building populated by rich and powerful people who barely notice my existence. I’m also a closet intellectual and I frequently try to prove that to you by digressing into asides about philosophy, culture, and other topics. I alternate between sniping at the apartment owners for their snobbish indifference to my lowly concierge self (an image I strive to maintain at...more My name is Renee, and I’m the first protagonist of this book – the hedgehog, as it were. I’m a 54-year-old concierge who works in a building populated by rich and powerful people who barely notice my existence. I’m also a closet intellectual and I frequently try to prove that to you by digressing into asides about philosophy, culture, and other topics. I alternate between sniping at the apartment owners for their snobbish indifference to my lowly concierge self (an image I strive to maintain at every opportunity while blaming the rich apartment owners for buying into it), and terror that they may find out that I read loftier books than they do (I’m as much of a snob as they are, if not worse, but I guess we won’t go there – let’s keep things simple, even though this book is ostensibly higher literature). Given the owners’ apathy toward me, it’s not clear what I fear might actually happen if they learned that I was an intellectual. Probably nothing. But hey, this conflict keeps the book going and maybe makes some kind of a statement about French class differences. I guess you’d have to be French to understand. But you don’t have to be French to feel smug and superior about reading this pretentious novel. In fact, it probably helps if you’re not French because then you’re reading something foreign.

My name is Paloma, and I’m the other protagonist of this book. I’m a brilliant, precocious, underestimated and misunderstood 12-year-old who plans to burn down my apartment and commit suicide on my 13th birthday. I’m not sure exactly why I’m so unhappy. I mean, I can make all kinds of bitter and cynical observations about my parents and sister, but really, I’m not lacking for anything. I can tell you in lofty language about how life truly has no meaning, but for someone so bright, my thinking tends to be pretty two-dimensional as does my personality and my life in general. Although disliking your family is pretty normal in adolescence, it’s not clear why, in all 12 years of existence, I’ve never discovered a friend, teacher, neighbor, or relative who might complicate my unilaterally dark feelings about humanity by actually having some positive qualities. But maybe this is part of what helps me sound like a 50-year-old philosopher even though I’m supposed to be a 12-year-old girl, so I guess that’s something. In fact, I spend so much time sounding intellectual that, except for my melodramatic suicidality, there’s little hint of the fact that, emotionally, I’m really just an early adolescent. A bit more attention to my emotional side might have made my character more interesting, but c’est la vie. I get a little more three-dimensional at the end, but you have to hang in there and I'm not sure it's worth it.

My name is ___, and I’m a reviewer for a snooty periodical. I just finished Muriel Barbery’s The Elegance of the Hedgehog, and my editor is expecting a review from me this week. To be honest, all the pedantic asides left me cold. They took me out of the story and weren’t all that interesting. I kind of skimmed over them, but that’s not something I could ever reveal to my readers. I have to act like I read them, understood them, and appreciated them as only a brilliant reader could. I have to act like they enhanced the novel, rather than detracting from it. Similarly, if I poke holes in the characterization or plot, it might sound as if I didn’t understand or failed to appreciate the depth of this book. When a book comes out that tries to sound like it’s above my head, my job is to rave about it. This way, the snooty readers of my snooty periodical can feel even snootier as they read, even as they also feel alienated by this pretentious book.

***
I (Khaya, not one of the characters) wrote the above when I was about halfway through and feeling very negative. Now that I've finished the book, my opinion mostly stands. I will say, though, that the book had some better moments and was quite readable. It's really a 2-going-on-3-star book, as opposed to a solid 2 or a 2-rounded-up-from-1 book. Definitely didn't live up to its hype, though.(less)

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Mar 14, 2010 Tracy rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Itunes had this one on sale, so I'm listening.

Update: I've been listening to it on and off for an hour or so. I think I hate it. Will keep trying...

Update #2: I'm still trying, but so far I loathe this audiobook. I forgot that I hate Barbara Rosenblatt's narration in general, but she is particularly bad here. I think I'll be giving this one up. I hate that I spent money for this though (even though it wasn't much).

Update #3: Got the physical book out of the library. Going to try that.

Update #4:...more

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Dec 24, 2008 Lisa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

if you are an artist, a thinker, someone who longs for more, an aestheticist, a dreamer, a seeker.... then read this book. it made me laugh and cry in a way that only a well crafted, well loved, well written book can.

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Mar 04, 2013 Ginny rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: romanzi, francia

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Questa bella storia, raccontata con finezza e delicata ironia, ha l’unico difetto di ‘decollare’ in ritardo, ovvero dopo circa un centinaio di pagine dall'inizio. Personalmente ho dovuto interrompere più volte la lettura, in quanto non mi coinvolgeva e lo stile mi sembrava inutilmente pretenzioso.
A mio avviso l’autrice, docente di Filosofia, avrebbe dovuto dosare con maggiore sobrietà gli intermezzi più propriamente attinenti alla disciplina che insegna, poiché alcuni passi rischiano di risulta...more

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Feb 17, 2011 Antof9 rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010-read, about-books, bookcrossed-read, made-me-think, france, braniacal

So here's a first: I didn't like the ending but I still liked the book! I don't know that that has ever happened before. Perhaps because it was so abrupt; I'm not sure. I SMSd my sister-in-law after I finished it and said, "shocking ending to Hedgehog Elegance!" Her reply: "Yes, very French." Which -- duh -- explained it all.

This was such an interesting book for me! In the beginning, I really liked it. Then during the middle third, I was sort of "meh" on it. I also realized it's one of those boo...more

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Apr 13, 2012 Maureen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009, novels

a very good friend of mine recommended this book to me over the holidays. she'd read it in french, and was thrilled when she found there was a good translation to english so the rest of us could enjoy it. i was so pleased to write her to say how very much i liked this book.

the characters seem very real to me, and i felt that the more i read, the more i wanted to, as the two narrators renee, the concierge, and paloma the little rich girl that lives in the building renee services spun out a story...more a very good friend of mine recommended this book to me over the holidays. she'd read it in french, and was thrilled when she found there was a good translation to english so the rest of us could enjoy it. i was so pleased to write her to say how very much i liked this book.

the characters seem very real to me, and i felt that the more i read, the more i wanted to, as the two narrators renee, the concierge, and paloma the little rich girl that lives in the building renee services spun out a story that i understood very well.

the life of renee resonated very much with me, somebody whose interests fall outside her socioeconomic means (i loved opera as a child even though my family could not afford such a luxury -- but i wore down the couple of records we had, and somebody took me a college production of la traviata). renee was my favourite character, but i do want to point out the reason that i'm only giving this book four stars is that while i loved and identified with her character, sometimes i felt the philosophical discussions that were part of her narrative to be a little dry, and boring which i'm not sure i can blame on my taste for philosophy, and makes me wonder what it's like to take a philosophy course with barbery.

paloma, the other protagonist, irked me a little at first but eventually i couldn't resist her, since i have been her, as she is at this age, in this novel, before. and of course, i can't forget manuela, the portuguese cleaning lady -- i suspect parts of my personality reside with her too. (just not the cleaning parts) :) it seems that this is a book that either one loves or one hates, and i am one of the lovers. reading over negative reviews, it seems a lot of people who didn't like the book had the same kind of trouble with the philosophy i had, but moreover, didn't find these characters realistic at all, and that just sort of underscores for me the fact that each of us brings our own experience to the books we read, and it has a strong affect on their resonance with us, and it is sometimes hard within our own shells to imagine that there are other people who are like the people in a novel we don't recognize. The world and people in the works of jonathan franzen for example, are not for me, and i upset someone very much once because i was so vehement about it, when in their case, they and their whole family had really identified with the corrections.

anyway, there are lots of overt intertextualities here, which might make the book a bit of a challenge for people unfamiliar with japanese culture, tolstoy, and french culture feel a little out of their element but i think the author does a good enough job to provide with enough context to get through.

one of many passages i liked:

"Kakuro was talking about the Russian campaign, and all the swaying, rustling birch trees, and I felt so light, so light...

After I'd had a chance to think about it for a while I began to understand why I felt this sudden joy when Kakuro was talking about the birch trees. I get the same feeling when anyone talks about trees, any trees: the linden tree in the farmyard, the oak tree behind the old bar, the stately elms that have all disappeared now, the pine trees along wind-swept coasts, etc. There's so much humanity in a love of trees, so much nostalgia for our first sense of wonder, so much power in just feeling our own insignificance when we are surrounded by nature... yes that's it: just thinking about trees and their indifferent majesty and our love for them teaches us how ridiculous we are-- vile parasites squirming on the surface of the earth-- and at the same time how deserving of life we can be, when we can honour this beauty that owes us nothing."(less)

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Dec 26, 2009 oriana rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2009

The Elegance of the Hedgehog is an absolutely breathtaking book. Just stunning. Light and airy, yet penetrating, with bits of soft brilliance on every page. My goodness, what an astonishing book.

There are two narrators. The first is Renée Michel, a middle-aged concierge at an extremely opulent luxury apartment building in Paris. She has spent her twenty-five years there cultivating a careful persona of low-class idiocy – leaving the TV on at all times, maintaining an unkempt appearance, speaking...more

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Apr 18, 2010 K.D. Oliveros rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to K.D. by: 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die (2010 edition)

Shelves: 1001-non-core

Paris, France at present time. Three main characters: Renee Michel, a 54-year old concierge at number 7, rue de Grenelle, a luxury apartment for rich people; Paloma Josse, a 12-year old super smart girl who is smart enough that, because she does not want to join the rat race when she grows up, she will commit suicide on her 13th birthday right after burning their apartment; and Ozu Kakuro a rich Japanese widower who the two met later in the story. He changed their lives that led to Paloma droppi...more

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Jul 12, 2009 Jennifer (aka EM) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: lonely-hearts-club, for-the-desert-island

"this is the fear, this is the dread
these are the contents of my head..."

I've always loved that line from Annie Lennox's Why. This book is about the contents of two characters' heads: Paloma, the 12-yr old suicidal prodigy, and Renée, the 50-something cat-lady concierge. Be careful with these characters, and by that I mean: take care of them, for they are fragile, sad souls in need of understanding and in need, moreover, of someone--anyone--to see through their facades and see them for who they...more

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Oct 22, 2008 Amy rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Even if I were to overlook the self-obsessed, banal philosophical discourses that dominate this novel, I would still hate 'Elegance of the Hedgehog,' mainly because its characters are contrived and unbelievable. The main character, a concierge for a luxurious Parisian apartment complex, is a self-taught expert in philosophy, art, and film, yet she pretends to be stupid. Her behavior is apparently explained by her conviction that people from different social classes should not interact or become...more

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Nov 26, 2008 Molly rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Molly by: Book club

This is a wonderful book. It took awhile for it to grow on me but once I got into it I couldn't put it down. It's a book about questioning the stereotypes we assign to others and about questioning the roles we put ourselves in. I would highly recommend this book.

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Jun 18, 2013 Colby rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Elegance of the Hedgehog, very possibly, "has completely changed the way I view the world". I loved it from the very first sentence.

Then, I almost put it down. Barbery's self-indulgence was too much to push through. Pages of phenomenology? Really? Where was the plot? Hiding?

But, comma, I found it. Barbery was using the book itself, in a literary form of onomatopoeia, to construct the plot. After the reader works past the mask of the beginning of the book, and the masks the characters const...more

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Apr 13, 2012 Jimmy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: female, france, novel, year-2000s, and-a-half-stars

A sweet book about clear-seeing, i.e. seeing what is really in front of you whether beautiful or ugly, rather than what you want to see. It's also about a bunch of other things: class relations, art, philosophy, snobbery, meaning vs. meaninglessness, what true intelligence is, (and what is it good for?), and how people sometimes prevent themselves from finding true happiness.

All this sounds like a warm-fuzzy wrapped in a personal affirmation scented with camellias and delivered with sprinkly cup...more A sweet book about clear-seeing, i.e. seeing what is really in front of you whether beautiful or ugly, rather than what you want to see. It's also about a bunch of other things: class relations, art, philosophy, snobbery, meaning vs. meaninglessness, what true intelligence is, (and what is it good for?), and how people sometimes prevent themselves from finding true happiness.

All this sounds like a warm-fuzzy wrapped in a personal affirmation scented with camellias and delivered with sprinkly cupcakes to your frontdoor with a copy of Eat Pray Love, right? But the book cleverly counterbalances this with a healthy dose of skepticism and misanthropy.

The conclusions are still too easy/obvious sometimes, but I would rather a book risk the dangers of sentimentalism than sit comfortably on its sanitized throne of intelligent and secure discourse.

There is very little plot, but instead we get a series of monologues, philosophical asides and observations from two of the main characters. One is an elderly concierge, and the other is a precocious 12 year old girl. Both belong to that class of human beings that most other human beings ignore: they are invisible in the grand scheme of things. Yet under the surface, they live rich and imaginative lives.

I would say that there is a little bit too much black and white in this novel, though. I felt like the characters you were supposed to root for were a little too blameless and noble in their intentions, and the ones who were shallow ignoramuses were just that.

Especially true of this is the character of Kakuro Ozu, who is like some kind of angel of Eastern wisdom and exoticism meets Western intelligence and sophistication, without a blemish in sight. Don't get me wrong, I really liked the guy, but he didn't seem very real to me.

OK, now is the part of the review where I implore you to PLEASE READ THIS BOOK. Except, when I say THIS BOOK, I don't mean The Elegance of the Hedgehog. It was good, but while I was reading it I was thinking: "Anybody who loves this book MUST read The Summer Book by Tove Jansson!"

In fact, any of Tove Jansson's books for adults would equally fit the bill. Jansson's and Barbery's styles are very different, but the idea of these young and old characters who can relate on another common level of intuitive intelligence is common to both. And Jansson leaves much more unsaid, which frankly, is much more affecting and Ozu-like.

And speaking of Ozu, one last recommendation, because I'm feeling extra pushy today: I must agree with Renee Michel (the concierge), that if you haven't already seen all of Yasujiro Ozu's movies, you should run out and see them now. (less)

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Jun 26, 2011 Giovanni Faga rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Successo internazionale e trasposizione cinematografica dovrebbero fare di questo libro un 5 stelle, o almeno 4. Per me, è un buon libro. E i buoni libri vanno ad appiccicarsi intorno alle 3 stelline. L'ho letto con l'ansia di chi stava partecipando a una psicosi collettiva, nell'attesa di una rivelazione autoriale che avrei ricordato per sempre.
Non è accaduto. E' scritto delicatezza e i personaggi sono ben curati, vogliamo subito bene a Paloma e Renée e ci troviamo d'accordo con la loro visione...more

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May 10, 2010 Yuki rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: fans of language & literature, Art, beauty, Nature, Japanese culture, Anna Karenina

Recommended to Yuki by: Keri Russell

Shelves: jipangu, books-about-books, 1001-books-read, literary-fiction, impac-dublin-literary-award-and-nom, at-hunter, philosophy

It's rare that as soon as I finish a book, I want to flip right back to the beginning. I recommend reading the first 140 pages in a quiet space. Like our two protagonists 53 y/o Renee and 12 y/o Paloma -- they may be something of an "acquired taste." It's slow-going at first because that's exactly how it is getting to know someone who is rough around the edges, hiding their true nature, and you hang in there because you get a glimpse of something beautiful. I read this book with a highlighter so...more

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Jan 25, 2010 Erik rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: bepretentious, absolutely-terrible, has-good-review

This is a New York Times best-seller? Granted, you can go down an entire shelf of the fiction books at Barnes n Nobles and have every single one be a New York Times best-seller. Just looking at the best-seller list now, we have Hardcover Fiction, Hardcover Non-fiction, Paperback Trade Fiction, Paperback Mass-market Fiction, Paperback Nonfiction, Hardcover Advice, etc., etc. and this list is updated weekly as far as I know.

Still, I have rather digressed, not to mention that NY Times Best-seller p...more

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Mar 19, 2009 Ryan Mishap rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorite-novels

I haven't read such a wonderful novel since The History of Love a few years ago. This novel is stellar in nearly every way.

Renee Michel is the fifty four year old concierge of an upscale hotel. An autodidact, extremely intelligent, she has lived her life conforming, outwardly, to the stereotype of her profession and station. In her disdain for the rich and privileged, she is trapped by her fear of being noticed as someone other than she appears to be.

In Madame Michel's hotel, there lives a fi...more I haven't read such a wonderful novel since The History of Love a few years ago. This novel is stellar in nearly every way.

Renee Michel is the fifty four year old concierge of an upscale hotel. An autodidact, extremely intelligent, she has lived her life conforming, outwardly, to the stereotype of her profession and station. In her disdain for the rich and privileged, she is trapped by her fear of being noticed as someone other than she appears to be.

In Madame Michel's hotel, there lives a fiercly intelligent girl of twelve, Paloma. Having surveyed the world and the people in it, she has decided to end her life on her thirteenth birthday because there is nothing worth living for. She will burn down the hotel before she commits suicide. As she waits for her birthday she keeps two seperate journals: one for Prfound Thoughts and the other for the appreciation of movement.

We know these two will converge, but not how, and their alternating narration is beautiful, funny, sad, tragic, and much, much more. Really, just read this novel.

Some quotes:

Renee Michel: To be poor, ugly and, moreover, intelligent, condemns one, in our society, to a dark and disillusioned life, a condition one ought to accept at an early age. To beauty, all is forgiven, even vulgarity. Intelligence no longer seems an adeguate compensation for things--some sort of balancing scales offered by nature to those less favored among her children--no, it is a superfluous plaything that exists only to enhance the value of the jewel. As for ugliness, it is guilty from the start....

Paloma: Because truly nasty people hate everyone, to be sure, but most of all themselves. Can't you tell when a p[erson hates himself? He becomes a living cadaver, it numbs all his negative emotions but also all the good ones so that he won't feel nauseated by who he is.

Paloma, on a neighbor: ...he's so conservative that he won't say hello to divorced people.

Renee: Poverty is a reaper: it harvests everythinginside us that mighthave made us capable of social intercourse with others, and leaves us empty, purged of feeling, so that we may endure the darkness of the present day.(less)

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Jan 02, 2009 Hannah Messler rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

(Je suis plein de la merde--aucune manière je parle français ! Mais there' ; s aucune image pour la version anglaise ainsi que j'ai pensé à me hé, diable.)

(The above, thanks to Babel Fish, says something like: I can't speak French! But there is no image for the English edition of this book.) (But now there IS an image for the English edition, but anyway whatever, JEEZ.)

O my my my! What a gratifying little book! The author's giant brilliant French philosophy professor brain is splattered beautifu...more

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Mar 19, 2009 Lisa Vegan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: those who enjoy getting to know interesting fictional characters

Shelves: fiction, reviewed

Some asides before the review: Ugh. One of my pet peeves is when books don’t start on page 1 and I think that this book starts farther ahead of page 1 than any book I’ve ever read. Enough said about that. Also, in this edition there are some mistakes: fourth and sixth floor residents get mixed up two times, the age difference/direction of the sisters was given incorrectly in one instance, I think. I tried, mostly successfully, not to be too OCD like Colombe, Paloma’s sister, as I am normally bot...more Some asides before the review: Ugh. One of my pet peeves is when books don’t start on page 1 and I think that this book starts farther ahead of page 1 than any book I’ve ever read. Enough said about that. Also, in this edition there are some mistakes: fourth and sixth floor residents get mixed up two times, the age difference/direction of the sisters was given incorrectly in one instance, I think. I tried, mostly successfully, not to be too OCD like Colombe, Paloma’s sister, as I am normally bothered by these kinds of errors, but it was so easy to immerse myself in the lives of the characters in this case.

This book has very short chapters that make it easy to read just one more, then just one more, and yet one more, and so on. I wish I’d had the time to read the whole thing without putting the book down.

I thought it was pretentious, self-conscious, too smarty pants clever and possibly somewhat contrived. I felt blindsided at one important juncture. Some things occasionally rang slightly false. Maybe the whole story wrapped up too neatly. I loved it. I loved it. I loved it anyway, but I can’t give it 5 stars for the reasons just stated.

This is a book about our ability or inability to change. It’s also about being different. It’s also about the unexpected. It’s also about intimacy and connection with others vs. hiding one’s true self from others. It’s fascinating to read, and often amusing, sometimes sad. I think there are some flashes of brilliance.

This book really reminded me of the joy of reading, the simple pleasure of getting to know fictional characters. I loved these characters and enjoyed spending time with them. Paloma (I’ve always enjoyed twelve year old girl characters in literature, ever since I was younger than 12 and was introduced to Madeleine L’Engle’s characters Meg and Vicki!) and Renée are so perspicacious and Paloma is so funny, one of the most amusing suicidal characters I’ve had the pleasure to read about, even though I questioned the authenticity of her plans, at least throughout much of the book. They are two highly intelligent misfits who are so much more appealing than most of those conventional people surrounding them. Kakuro Ozu is such a wonderful character as well; he was so easy to fall in love with and appreciate. Manuela, the other various building residents, and some other characters are of some interest as well. It took a while to really understand why Renée and Paloma have chosen to present facades. The reader gets to see more of their real selves throughout the book and they’re delightful.

Paloma and Renée are each interested in different facets of Japanese culture and that culture, and also philosophy, Russian literature, fine art, and music all play parts in this book, as do class and caste and French sensibilities, and human nature. I loved so many parts, and particularly loved the scene with Paloma and her mother’s therapist, and I found most of Paloma’s and Renée’s musings were wondrous and often hilarious.

I think whether readers like this book or not will have to do with how much tolerance they have for philosophizing (I have a lot) and how much they like/identify with the two narrating characters, the 12 year old wealthy girl considering suicide: Paloma, and the 54 year old residential building concierge: Renée. (I enjoyed their voices.)

P.S. Edits:

I am really wanting sliding doors, tea & pastries with friends.

One of the review blurbs in the front of the book says a Parisian psychotherapist is prescribing this book for her patients. Hmm. I think it would depend on the person whether this book is experienced as life affirming or devastating or something else; I wouldn't prescribe it to everyone. I don't recommend it for everyone, but I'd recommend that readers who find it intriguing definitely read it.(less)

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Feb 07, 2009 Del rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

What a wonderful book. While reading, when I wasn't bobbing my head in agreement with the philosophical insights, I found myself consulting a dictionary to learn a new word or idea, or pausing to absorb and consider what I'd just read. I'll go through it again soon because I'm sure there's so much I've missed. The pages I'd like to reconsider are already marked and my next reading will probably be carried out with a highlighter. This is on my list of "best books read". Thought-provoking is an un...more

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Apr 14, 2011 Bruce rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: no one

Shelves: fiction

I was very disappointed, to say the least, in this well-reviewed and very popular novel from France. Yes, it's about Beauty, and Art, and the Meaning of Life (all worthy subjects, certainly: the best sort) but I can do without the upper case, in-your-face insistence on these "big" topics. I prefer stories with more subtlety and less self-consciousness. The details of the every day lives of the concierge and her rich employers are mildly amusing, but mostly I found the book boring, which is the w...more

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Jul 02, 2012 Katsumi rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: philosophy

It is one of those rare books with a special inner quality that makes you ponder over life in a way only very few others can. After turning the last page, I was left staring into space, feeling bereft. I wished there was more to read, yet its ending befitted the whole tale. I now understand why it received so many wonderful reviews and why it became such a literary success. It fully deserves it.

Renée and Paloma could not be more different, yet their way of looking at life is often very similar....more

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About Muriel Barbery

Muriel Barbery is a French novelist and professor of philosophy. Barbery 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.
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