Book #1: The Elegance of the Hedgehog
Tuesday, January 13th, 2009
Last night, while Dan was watching a movie that I couldn’t stomach, I finally finished THE ELEGANCE OF THE HEDGEHOG, by Muriel Burbery.
I wanted to love this book more than any book in the entire world. But unfortunately, I was fairly unimpressed. The story revolves around a small Paris apartment building and its tenants. Specifically, the concierge, who is more than meets the eye, and a 12-year-old who wants to commit suicide for fear of turning into an adult.
There is actually very little plot - it’s mostly a series of reflections on life and art, social graces, grammar and pretentiousness. I think had I read this in college, I may have loved it. But today I just need fast-paced, plot-driven books with a bit of depth to them. Not too much depth, though, because I’m kind of mentally exhausted.