The elegance of the hedgehog
(Book)
The phenomenal New York Times bestseller that “explores the upstairs-downstairs goings-on of a posh Parisian apartment building” (Publishers Weekly).
In an elegant hôtel particulier in Paris, Renée, the concierge, is all but invisible—short, plump, middle-aged, with bunions on her feet and an addiction to television soaps. Her only genuine attachment is to her cat, Leo. In short, she’s everything society expects from a concierge at a bourgeois building in an upscale neighborhood. But Renée has a secret: she furtively, ferociously devours art, philosophy, music, and Japanese culture. With biting humor, she scrutinizes the lives of the tenants—her inferiors in every way except that of material wealth.
Paloma is a twelve-year-old who lives on the fifth floor. Talented and precocious, she’s come to terms with life’s seeming futility and decided to end her own on her thirteenth birthday. Until then, she will continue hiding her extraordinary intelligence behind a mask of mediocrity, acting the part of an average pre-teen high on pop culture, a good but not outstanding student, an obedient if obstinate daughter.
Paloma and Renée hide their true talents and finest qualities from a world they believe cannot or will not appreciate them. But after a wealthy Japanese man named Ozu arrives in the building, they will begin to recognize each other as kindred souls, in a novel that exalts the quiet victories of the inconspicuous among us, and “teaches philosophical lessons by shrewdly exposing rich secret lives hidden beneath conventional exteriors” (Kirkus Reviews).
“The narrators’ kinetic minds and engaging voices (in Alison Anderson’s fluent translation) propel us ahead.”—The New York Times Book Review
“Barbery’s sly wit . . . bestows lightness on the most ponderous cogitations.”—The New Yorker
Level 8.1, 15 Points
Notes
Barbery, M. (2008). The elegance of the hedgehog. New York, New York, Europa Editions.
Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)Barbery, Muriel, 1969-. 2008. The Elegance of the Hedgehog. New York, New York, Europa Editions.
Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)Barbery, Muriel, 1969-, The Elegance of the Hedgehog. New York, New York, Europa Editions, 2008.
MLA Citation (style guide)Barbery, Muriel. The Elegance of the Hedgehog. New York, New York, Europa Editions, 2008.
Record Information
Last Sierra Extract Time | Apr 16, 2024 03:40:46 PM |
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Last File Modification Time | Apr 16, 2024 03:41:59 PM |
Last Grouped Work Modification Time | Apr 25, 2024 04:39:12 AM |
MARC Record
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082 | 0 | 4 | |a 843.92 |
082 | 1 | 4 | |a FIC|b Barbery |
100 | 1 | |a Barbery, Muriel,|d 1969- | |
245 | 1 | 4 | |a The elegance of the hedgehog /|c Muriel Barbery ; translated from the French by Alison Anderson. |
264 | 1 | |a New York, New York :|b Europa Editions,|c 2008. | |
300 | |a 325 pages ;|c 21 cm | ||
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500 | |a "2007 French booksellers prize"--Page [4] of cover. | ||
520 | 0 | |a We are in the center of Paris, in an elegant apartment building inhabited by bourgeois families. Renée, the concierge, is witness to the lavish but vacuous lives of her numerous employers. Outwardly she conforms to every stereotype of the concierge: fat, cantankerous, addicted to television. Yet, unbeknownst to her employers, Renée is a cultured autodidact who adores art, philosophy, music, and Japanese culture. With humor and intelligence she scrutinizes the lives of the building's tenants, who for their part are barely aware of her existence. Then there's Paloma, a twelve-year-old genius. She is the daughter of a tedious parliamentarian, a talented and startlingly lucid child who has decided to end her life on the sixteenth of June, her thirteenth birthday. Until then she will continue behaving as everyone expects her to behave: a mediocre pre-teen high on adolescent subculture, a good but not an outstanding student, an obedient if obstinate daughter. Paloma and Renée hide both their true talents and their finest qualities from a world they suspect cannot or will not appreciate them. They discover their kindred souls when a wealthy Japanese man named Ozu arrives in the building. Only he is able to gain Paloma's trust and to see through Renée's timeworn disguise to the secret that haunts her. This is a moving, funny, triumphant novel that exalts the quiet victories of the inconspicuous among us. | |
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