The Reading Room: The Elegance of the Hedgehog

I have an unquenchable thirst for reading.  Books of all sorts intrigue me; fiction, non-fiction, biography. The more obscure the author, title or subject matter, the more likely I am to pick it up and for a few days become a voyeur, having a world previously unknown to me, revealed. So many books that I gravitate to are explorations into all things French–tour guides, history, translations of French best sellers.  With so many titles both in my personal collection and in my memory,  I thought I should share the best with readers so you too can learn more about Paris, wine, food, culture….all the things near and dear to the hearts of those of us in love with all things French.  

My first selection is an odd one but because it captures a certain segment of the Parisian population, I feel it’s not only a fun read (fiction) it is also a telescopic look into what makes the 7th arrondissement tick.  The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery is a series of simultaneous journal entries by a twelve year girl living in a posh Paris apartment on rue de Grenelle and a fifty-four year old woman who is the building’s concierge.  While no dialog takes place between them for at least three quarters of the book, they reveal individually the expectations of their place in current Paris society and the ensuing difficulties one encounters as being “pegged” as this or that.  Had I not lived in a building very similar to the one described in the book (actually I lived not far at all from where this fictitious apartment was located) I might not put this forth as something for you to read. But it so clearly rang true to all that I witnessed as someone looking in to both the rarified life of the apartment residents and the daily struggles for the woman maintaining the building.  I really feel you will walk away with a better understanding of current cultural differences that Parisians struggle with today.  Both characters take a heady philosophical approach to what makes them tick so be prepared to think.   My daughters who both studied in France for a year and one subsequently upon graduation taught English to high schoolers there would tell you that the character’s thought processes were typically French.  Philosophy for them is like standardized tests for us Americans.  Debate and discourse flows through their veins.  

I hope some of you pick this up.  As soon as I finished it I wanted to start it all over again.  My daughter liked it so much, she went and bought two copies; one for her own library and one for a friend.  If it isn’t quite your cup of tea, not to worry.  The Reading Room will be a regular Wednesday feature so hopefully along the way I hit on something that peaks your interest. 

Photo credit:  wikipedia, amazon.com