The Elegance of the Hedgehog

by Jesse Russell

High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Elegance of the Hedgehog (French: L' l gance du h risson) is a novel by the French novelist and professor of philosophy Muriel Barbery. The book follows events in the life of a concierge, Ren e Michel, whose deliberately concealed intelligence is uncovered by an unstable but intellectually precocious girl named Paloma Josse. Paloma is the daughter of an upper-class family living in the upscale Parisian apartment building where Ren e works.

Genres: Book Club, Fiction

98 pages, Paperback

First published March 22, 2012

About the author

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Reviews

[Joy Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Instead of stars, I would give this book five bouquets of camellias!!! I adored it and don't know why I put off reading it for so long. I fell in love with the characters and will now pay the price of missing them, always the sign of a great book for me. Written with a rare and compassionate insight for all the "hedgehogs" of the world, which may just be all of us, this book truly becomes a bouquet of camellias.

[Karen Trenorden · Rating 4 out of 5]

I must confess that when I first started this book I was not enthralled. I found it wordy and up to about a fifth of the way through I was ready to put it aside (thus it took me a month to finish it!!).
However I persevered and I am so glad I did. By the end I was completely invested. I couldn’t put it down. I laughed and I cried. It is very clever!

[Natasha Riveron · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a delicate read. It felt like I was unfurling a flower of a story instead of devouring it like I would an adventure novel. There are some amazing one liners in here. A very thoughtful book.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a FANTASTIC book! I was prepared to dislike this novel--the reviews and summary made it sound quite pompous and self-righteous. After a few pages I was completely caught up in the gorgeous language and the wonderful characters.

The person who translated this book must have an incredible grasp of English and French, including colloquialisms and references to pop culture.

I really enjoyed Paloma's take on grammar and her confrontation with her French teacher. I wonder what the original text was like--Paloma refers to a split infinitive, but you can't split an infinitive in French. I'd love to talk to someone who read it in French.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

An amazing book. The sort of book I could read several times. The language is beautiful especially since it is a translation which you would expect to make the words stilted.

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a refreshingly different story! I loved the premise of hidden selves and the challenge of complex thoughts and vocabulary. This book provides much food for thought. The two main characters worked hard to hide their intelligence, discovered each others' secrets, and formed an unlikely friendship that made all the difference. Here's an example of a twelve-year-old's deep thought: "We never look beyond our assumptions and, what's worse, we have given up trying to meet others; we just meet ourselves. We don't recognize each other because other people have become our permanent mirrors."

[Karen Cunningham · Rating 5 out of 5]

An odd book, an odd main character, but that’s what made it interesting.

[Ginger Snaps · Rating 1 out of 5]

Could be get into it. DNF

[Rosemary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just lovely, a much talked about book in our Bookclub

[Chele · Rating 2 out of 5]

Prolonged discourse on philosophy makes my teeth hurt. The author lost me at phenomenology.

[Heather · Rating 1 out of 5]

I could not get into the storyline, found it boring. Maybe the last few chapters are better, I'll never know as I have given up and moved on to something new.

[Meredith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was long-winded and at points rather boring, though the premise was certainly interesting.

[Ted O. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick and quirky read.