Cherrydale Book Discussion

When: Monday, February 13, 7:30pm – 8:30pm
Where: Cherrydale Branch library (map)

The group will read The Elegance of the Hedgehog, by Muriel Barbery, first published in France in 2006. . "An acclaimed literary work, The Elegance of the Hedgehog has been considered by critics and press alike as a publishing phenomenon. [The novel] has earned Barbery the 2007 French Booksellers Prize, the 2007 Brive-la-Gaillarde Reader's Prize, and the Prix du Rotary International in France. The Elegance of the Hedgehog has been adapted into the film Le hérisson (2009)." --Wikipedia.
"Clever, informative and moving. . . .[T]his is an admirable novel which deserves as wide a readership here as it had in France." --The Observer (London) "Renée Michel is the dumpy, nondescript, 54-year-old concierge of a small and exclusive Paris apartment building. Its handful of tenants include a celebrated restaurant critic, high government officials and members of the old nobility. Every day these residents pass by the loge of Madame Michel and, unless they want something from her, scarcely notice that she is alive. As it happens, Renée Michel prefers it that way. There is far more to her than meets the eye. "Paloma Josse also lives in the building. Acutely intelligent, introspective and philosophical, this 12-year-old views the world as absurd and records her observations about it in her journal. She despises her coddled existence, her older sister Colombe (who is studying at the École normale supérieure), and her well-to-do parents, especially her plant-obsessed mother. After careful consideration of what life is like, Paloma has secretly decided to kill herself on her 13th birthday. "These two characters provide the double narrative of The Elegance of the Hedgehog, and you will -- this is going to sound corny -- fall in love with both. . . .[T]his is a very French novel: tender and satirical in its overall tone, yet most absorbing because of its reflections on the nature of beauty and art, the meaning of life and death."-- Washington Post Book World
For more information contact Suzanne Embree at suza1@comcast.net *******************************************