Book Review
Jan. 14th, 2012 11:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kenjariThe Elegance of the Hedgehog
by Muriel Barbery
This thoughtful and often philosophical novel concerns (and is narrated alternately by) Renee Michel, the frumpy middle-aged concierge of a posh Paris apartment building, and Paloma, the precocious 12 year old daughter of one of the bourgeois families living there. They are both more than they appear, clandestine fish out of water. Renee, despite her poverty-steeped peasant origins, is extremely well-read and self-educated to a high degree. Paloma is not only highly intelligent, but also has a razor-sharp perception that allows her to see through the pretensions and banalities of her family's upper-class life. The arrival of a new resident, Mr. Ozu, a wealthy retired Japanese businessman, causes both Renee and Paloma to come out of their self-imposed shells and to rethink their approaches to life.
This book really grew on me. I found it hard at first to like either of the main characters. I could not sympathize with Renee's desire to completely conceal her intelligence and knowledge behind the facade of a stereotypically dull and dumpy concierge. And Paloma was initially kind of irritating in her angsty distaste for the lifestyle she'd been born into (although this wasn't too frustrating, since I figure that any realistic middle-school aged character has got to be somewhat annoying). Sometimes I thought that Paloma would have an easier time of it and be a little less irritating if she were old enough to have learned true rebelliousness.
However, as the book went on, and Barbery brought the reader deeper into Renee and Paloma's inner lives, things got much better. Both characters had very interesting thoughts, and Renee was especially poetic and profound. The philosophical digressions were not only very interesting, but also beautifully written. And the way Mr. Ozu leads both Paloma and Renee to open out their lives and really blossom was charming and moving.
Unfortunately, I was rather disappointed in the ending. Renee dies as a result of a car accident, rather suddenly. Her death comes at just the point where she is overcoming her own inhibitions and where her relationships with Mr. Ozu and Paloma are starting to become deeper. I don;t at all object to character death or even tragedy in novels, but this one seemed to really foul things up. The book seemed to have been exploring themes of transcending class, how true friendship is built on spiritual and intellectual connections rather than superficial similarities of status and wealth, and exploring the question of hiding versus showing one's true self. And having Renee die when she did undermined quite a lot of that, and, especially where the themes of class are concerned, possibly hint at punishing Renee for stepping over a boundary. I think an ending that left the main characters alive and in place but was ambiguous and/or open-ended about where they and their relationships were headed would have worked much better.
by Muriel Barbery
This thoughtful and often philosophical novel concerns (and is narrated alternately by) Renee Michel, the frumpy middle-aged concierge of a posh Paris apartment building, and Paloma, the precocious 12 year old daughter of one of the bourgeois families living there. They are both more than they appear, clandestine fish out of water. Renee, despite her poverty-steeped peasant origins, is extremely well-read and self-educated to a high degree. Paloma is not only highly intelligent, but also has a razor-sharp perception that allows her to see through the pretensions and banalities of her family's upper-class life. The arrival of a new resident, Mr. Ozu, a wealthy retired Japanese businessman, causes both Renee and Paloma to come out of their self-imposed shells and to rethink their approaches to life.
This book really grew on me. I found it hard at first to like either of the main characters. I could not sympathize with Renee's desire to completely conceal her intelligence and knowledge behind the facade of a stereotypically dull and dumpy concierge. And Paloma was initially kind of irritating in her angsty distaste for the lifestyle she'd been born into (although this wasn't too frustrating, since I figure that any realistic middle-school aged character has got to be somewhat annoying). Sometimes I thought that Paloma would have an easier time of it and be a little less irritating if she were old enough to have learned true rebelliousness.
However, as the book went on, and Barbery brought the reader deeper into Renee and Paloma's inner lives, things got much better. Both characters had very interesting thoughts, and Renee was especially poetic and profound. The philosophical digressions were not only very interesting, but also beautifully written. And the way Mr. Ozu leads both Paloma and Renee to open out their lives and really blossom was charming and moving.
Unfortunately, I was rather disappointed in the ending. Renee dies as a result of a car accident, rather suddenly. Her death comes at just the point where she is overcoming her own inhibitions and where her relationships with Mr. Ozu and Paloma are starting to become deeper. I don;t at all object to character death or even tragedy in novels, but this one seemed to really foul things up. The book seemed to have been exploring themes of transcending class, how true friendship is built on spiritual and intellectual connections rather than superficial similarities of status and wealth, and exploring the question of hiding versus showing one's true self. And having Renee die when she did undermined quite a lot of that, and, especially where the themes of class are concerned, possibly hint at punishing Renee for stepping over a boundary. I think an ending that left the main characters alive and in place but was ambiguous and/or open-ended about where they and their relationships were headed would have worked much better.
