Here’s an example of a passage that, depending on the reader, will induce either delighted chuckles or serious eye-rolling:Įlsewhere the world may be blustering or sleeping, wars are fought, people live and die, some nations disintegrate, while others are born, soon to be swallowed up in turn––and in all this sound and fury, amidst eruptions and undertows, while the world goes its merry way, bursts into flames, tears itself apart and is reborn: human life continues to throb. Certain readers will find this premise delightful, while for others it will prove insufferable (a lukewarm reaction is least likely). Despite their superficial differences, both protagonists are obsessed with philosophy and art, and experience intense alienation from a world they feel will never accept them.īarbery provides first-person narration for both characters, and we quickly learn that these women are existential worry-warts who’d rather muse about death and insoluble philosophical problems than leave the house and do something useful. The story follows two women living in close proximity: Renée, the middle-aged concierge of a French apartment building, and Paloma, the precocious and suicidal daughter of two well-off tenants. I truly enjoyed Muriel Barbery’s The Elegance of the Hedgehog, but wouldn’t recommend it to just anyone. Very few philosophical novels hold universal appeal, and this one doesn’t break the mold.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |