The Elegance of the Hedgehog

by: Muriel Barbery

Published by: Europa Editions

Reviewed by Julie Failla Earhart

At long last Muriel Barbery’s second novel, The Elegance of the Hedgehog, has been published in English. Her first novel took France by storm. English-speaking audiences have been dazzled by Barbery and have made it a New York Times bestseller.

There are two main protagonists. The first is a fifty-four-year-old woman, Renee. As concierge to a posh Paris apartment building, the widow spends her days hungering for knowledge and trying to hide her extraordinary intellect from the tenants. The second is twelve-year-old Paloma who intends to commit suicide and burn down her parents’ apartment on her thirteenth birthday. She too is extraordinarily intelligent–way beyond her years–and tries to keep it under wraps.

Through ninety percent of the novel, the two characters never meet. In fact, I thought there was no real discernible plot to the story. It is comprised of small chapters based on both Renee and Paloma’s point of view. Renee’s chapters mostly deal with philosophical ideas. If you are not up on your philosophers, you may be lost at times. I know I was. But on the other hand, Barbery explains enough to give the reader a reference and make the chapters accessible.

Paloma has two goals: to have as many “profound thoughts” as possible before her birthday and make a record of them and, second, to keep a “Journal of the Movement of the World.” Renee’s story is much more linear than Paloma’s, but if the reader keeps at it, the plot line becomes clear near the story’s end.

Thankfully, the short chapters of The Elegance of the Hedgehog enabled me to keep reading. If not for that structure, I’m sure I would have given it up by page fifty. Because of its denseness, it took me about three weeks to read three hundred plus pages, interspersing it with novels that are more plot driven.

All in all, the book was okay, but I won’t be rushing out to buy Barbery’s first novel, which has recently been published in the English-speaking world.

Armchair Interviews says: Heed this reviewer’s comments.

Author’s Web site (in French): http://www.Muriel.Barbery.net