Elegance Of The Hedgehog [Paperback]

"The Elegance of the Hedgehog" transcends excellence. 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 in France recently and why it became such a literary success. It fully deserves it.

Just a brief summary, as described by both main characters -Renée and Paloma - introducing themselves in the beginning of the book, which is written in a diary form by each.
Paris, present day. Renée is the widowed concierge of an elegant building in an exclusive area. Its inhabitants all belong to the upper class. She is, by her own admission, dowdy, unattractive, often grumpy and wants everybody to believe that she is the stereotype of all concierges, blending into the background, almost featureless. But Renée has a well-kept secret: she is an extremely cultured autodidact. She loves art, philosophy, literature, music. Aestheticism and beauty in all of its forms fascinate her. Renée keeps concealing this aspect of her life to the outside world, hiding behind the concierge's screen -literal and metaphorical-.
Paloma is a twelve-year-old who lives in the building with her rich family. She is distractedly well-loved by her parents and does not get along with her older sister. Paloma is an extremely bright, clear-headed, lucid child. She is so lucid it is uncomfortable -yet to the reader she also conveys tenderness, and her wittiness is remarkable- . She pretends to be the average adolescent, yet despises what she considers the subculture of her peers and does not see any sense in continuing living. Her view of life is very disillusioned, disenchanted, sardonic. She decides to commit suicide on her 13th birthday.

Renée and Paloma could not be more different, yet their way of looking at life is often very similar. Their paths never cross, if not by sight, until the day a new tenant moves into the building and...
I cannot add anything else, the tale would definitely be spoiled.

In my opinion, this book is not your typical beach-read, it deserves to be savoured slowly and quietly if possible. Yet it is a page-turner and I myself have devoured it. Often heartbreaking, yet unbelievably funny in parts. Real humour pops up unexpectedly, which renders the reading even more pleasant and lightens some heart-knotting situations. The narrative flows beautifully and is linguistically refined.

Ladies and Gentlemen, get your tissues ready if you must, but do read this book. It shall touch you profoundly yet you will not regret having read it.

Every once in a while a novel comes along that propriety tells me to just let alone, recommend with a suitable rating, then leave to the reader to accept and explore for themselves. The sublime qualities of Ms Barbery's book make me reluctant to make any effort to contextualize it, or somehow do justice to what's presented by way of a review.

So I'm going to limit myself to these two paragraphs and say that I was enchanted, I was challenged, I was made to feel included, I was made to laugh, to cry...to take a fresh look at humanity, at walking through this world with grace...at the sometime-need to 'reboot' and live Life from an entirely renewed perspective. I offer my thanks to the author for this opportunity.

Personal rating: 9/10

I picked this book up in the Eurostar station in London. I didn't expect much, although the store owner advised that it was quite a brilliant read. I loved it. The author can elicit emotion and covers some thought-provoking subject matter. Definitely worth the read and a great book club selection. I am buying 3 more copies to send my girlfriends around the world, with whom I have an emotional connection.