The Elegance of the Hedgehog  by Muriel Barbery, translated from the french by Alison Anderson

 

The cover describes this book as “a high-wire performance,”  “gently satirical,” “exquisite,” “funny and heartbreaking,” and “inevitably bittersweet.”  All of these comments are true, but none of them prepare the reader for the experience of plunging into the novel, which is sometimes laugh out loud funny, sometimes heartbreaking and frequently a philosophical discussion of art and beauty (“art is emotion without desire”), the meaning of life, and the discrepancy between appearance and reality (“where the rich are concerned, things are rarely called by their true name”).  The story is set in an elegant apartment building in the center of Paris, and is told from the point of view of two protagonists who are poles apart in circumstances and experience.  Renee is a 54 year-old misanthropic concierge who is not physically attractive and who does her best to be the shuffling,  grudgingly accommodating character that the wealthy tenants of the building expect her to be.  Her only friends seem to be Leo, her cat, named for Tolstoy whom she much admires, and Manuela, a Portuguese immigrant maid of some of the residents.   The other protagonist is a precocious 12 year old resident, Paloma, whose chapters are  “Profound Thought No. 1, etc.” or are musings in her “Journal  of the Movement of the World”.  She, too, is living a lie by pretending to be less intelligent than she is.  

Both of these protagonists make frequent and perceptive comments about the other residents, and, in Paloma’s case, her family.  She muses, in her first “Profound Thought,” that “now and again,  adults . . .contemplate what a disaster their life is.”  She seems to have very little sympathy for her educated mother (PhD in Literature) or her older sister who is studying at the University.   She refuses to accept the futility of such a life as theirs, and says that she will commit suicide on her thirteenth birthday.  Renee, on the other hand, has somewhat more sympathy for her fellow human beings, but she holds herself apart from everyone until a new tenant appears and suspects that neither she nor Paloma are exactly what they seem.   

The plot develops slowly at first, moving effortlessly back and forth between the two protagonists, picking up speed as the characters’ lives become intertwined.  Although the style is polished, some of the sentences are awkward, causing the reader to trip, back up and reread.  It is a translation, after all, which may account for the stylistic hiccups.  Also, the ending is somewhat contrived, but nevertheless, this is a novel well worth reading.   

Samples taken totally out of context:

On intelligence:

“What is the purpose of intelligence if it is not to serve others?”

On teaching narrative principles:

“For anyone who wants to understand the art of storytelling, this film [The Hunt for Red October] should suffice.  Premise, plot, protagonists, adventures, quest, heroes and other stimulants:  all you need is Sean Connery in the uniform of a Russian submarine officer and a few well-placed aircraft carriers.”

On grammar:

“Personally, I think that grammar is a way to attain beauty. ‘. . .  I find there is nothing more beautiful, for example, than the very basic components of language, nouns and verbs.”

On politics:

“’Politics,’ [Manuela] says, ‘a toy for little rich kids that they won’t let anyone else play with.’” 

 

 

 

Comments:

Claudia said...

I have not read a single thing since before Thanksgiving but hope to get back into reading very soon. I started reading THE ELEGANCE OF THE HEDGEHOG in August of 09 while staying with my son who was seriously ill in a Memphis hospital. I got through about 4 chapters; perhaps it was the situation I was in but I could never get "into the book" and put it aside. I picked it back up last summer and completed it. Betty's review was right on target, as far as I am concerned! I also felt that perhaps "something was lost in the translation" and I also felt that it was extremely slow in certain sections. I was very taken by Renee's situation of actually hiding her intellect, her desire to read great books, experience great art, etc., and was reminded of at least one aquaintance who is so pitifully shy with absolutly NO social skills that is so brilliant and well read but who appears to want to hide this from everyone. Being middle aged plus myself, I seemed to be able to relate\sympathize with some of her thoughts, fears, etc. and loved the interplay between Renee and the male tenant in the building. Her friendship with Manuela was well developed in the story, too.