The Elegance of the Hedgehog

By: Muriel Barbery

Narrated by: Barbara Rosenblat, Cassandra Morris

Length: 9 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

An enchanting New York Times and international best seller and award-winner about life, art, literature, philosophy, culture, class, privilege, and power, seen through the eyes of a 54-year-old French concierge and a precocious but troubled 12-year-old girl.

Renee Michel is the 54-year-old concierge of a luxury Paris apartment building. Her exterior (short, ugly,and plump) and demeanor (poor, discreet, and insignificant) belie her keen, questing mind and profound erudition. Paloma Josse is a 12-year-old genius who behaves as everyone expects her to behave: a mediocre pre-teen high on adolescent subculture, a good but not outstanding student, an obedient if obstinate daughter. She plans to kill herself on the 16th of June, her 13th birthday.

Both Renee and Paloma hide their true talents and finest qualities from the bourgeois families around them, until a wealthy Japanese gentleman named Ozu moves into building. Only he sees through them, perceiving the secret that haunts Renee, winning Paloma's trust, and helping the two discover their kindred souls. Moving, funny, tender, and triumphant, Barbery's novel exalts the quiet victories of the inconspicuous among us.

©2006 Editions Gallimard, Paris (P)2009 Highbridge Company

Critic reviews

"Gently satirical, exceptionally winning and inevitably bittersweet." ( The Washington Post )
"An exquisite book in the form of a philosophical fable that has enchanted hundreds of thousands of readers." (Italian Elle)
"Kinetic minds and engaging voices." ( New York Times Book Review)
"By turns very funny and heartbreaking". ( Publishers Weekly)
"Life-affirming." ( Time)

Not Easy, But So Worth It

This is one of the loveliest books I've ever read. It is beautiful, compassionate, and full of surprises. I not only was sad when the book was over, but I missed the voices of the narrators. This is a philosophical book, and you often have to think and listen closely, but you won't be disappointed.

Very French

Would you try another book from Muriel Barbery and/or Barbara Rosenblat and Cassandra Morris ?

Maybe.

Would you be willing to try another book from Muriel Barbery? Why or why not?

Unlikely. This was not really the light reading I'm looking for to enliven my commute.

Have you listened to any of Barbara Rosenblat and Cassandra Morris ’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not listened to the others. It's hard to separate the actors from the characters. The characters were not particularly likable. I do think the actors did a good job with the material.

Did Elegance of the Hedgehog inspire you to do anything?

No. Reread Husserl, someday, maybe.

Any additional comments?

I cannot imagine this book being of wide appeal in the US. I suspect the references to European philosophy will not be appreciated by most readers here. The plot moves slowly. I'd say that despite the main character's protests about phenomenology, the book is a phenomenological study--very much interior to the characters' experiences.

Pleasantly Surprised

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

If you can endure the mild gross humor and Paloma's pompous attitude for the first hour in, you'll get something out of the experience, if a coward like me can enjoy it, it just may touch you in ways you can't imagine possible at the outset.

Which scene was your favorite?

With Paloma, the stuff about food and how her issues with her elder sister can hilarious as they are painful reminders of how my mother drives me nuts, but that's all I'll say on that.

Any additional comments?

As long as you're ready to cringe, debate amongst yourself, and cry, you'll find something interesting in this offbeat tale.

Simply great

Would you listen to Elegance of the Hedgehog again? Why?

Because I could not put it down when I first read it

What other book might you compare Elegance of the Hedgehog to and why?

I have not read anything quite like it.

What does Barbara Rosenblat and Cassandra Morris bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The emotions

If you could take any character from Elegance of the Hedgehog out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Both ladies. They are simply brilliant

Any additional comments?

I had to stop listening in the street because I crying in public.

Thoughtful and lovely

Very well written book and a worthy reader. I highly recommend! Makes one contemplate our views on others as well as ourselves

In a book in which nothing seems to happen...

...whole worlds live in and die within the words of two beautifully tragic narrators--one who wishes to die and one who is just now learning to live. I like this book mostly because, within its pages, we learn the beauty of living even when that living comes with unbearable pain. It reminds me of my favorite quote from Agatha Christie, "I like living. I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow, but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing."

And, just to be alive is grand and powerful and wonderful full of tears, and doubts and triumphs. As Paloma, the 12 year girl in this novel shares with us, yes, never is the darkest word, but the always within it leaves a bright promise, like the sun, like good food, good music and the love of a good friend.

Loved this thought provoking tale

I started this book a year ago, but it didn't capture me for whatever reason. My life, my mind was in a different place I suppose. Afyer hearing so many friends describe how they loved it, I decided to give it another try. I'm so glad I did. I was instantly hooked to the extent that I just listened to it for the second time.

I’m starting it again immediately

Rarely am I affected by a book so quickly and deeply as I was with The Elegance of the Hedgehog. I could weep but then I might miss one of the beautiful words and have to listen to it over again... it is lovely and profound.

A rare gem

A sophisticated elegance of life as seen by astute characters wrapped in a story so real, that the reader becomes an invisible intruder. The characters don't need long introductions. Within a couple of minutes, we feel that we know them well. The language is precise and colorful in the Chekovian way. What a treat!

Beautiful book, beautifully read

I loved this book. The two narrators, the woman and the young girl, are fascinating characters - totally believable, funny, thought-provoking and deeply touching. I really, really cared about them, and I won't forget them. And two readers are two of the best I've heard on audiobooks. At times the story's arc is as eccentric as the characters but stick with it, especially if you have any interest in philosophy, language, Japanese film, commas, the perspective of outsiders, or the meaning of life.