L'Elegance du herisson (French Edition) Paperback – April 18, 2017

I’m a high intermediate French learner trying to improve my reading ability. I’m finding it difficult especially the parts by the “concierge”. May be best for truly advanced learners. Touching story. Interestingly enough I’m also reading “Crime et châtiment” (Dostoevsky) in French and I’m finding THAT easier!

This must be one of the best novels I ever read, alongside "Anna Karenina" and "Belle du Seigneur". L'elegance du Herriossn is elegant, passionate and compassionate. It is wise and heartwrenching, it makes you laugh out loud and then cry, even if books do not make you cry. The downside is that you don't get to read many such books in a lifetime, even if you are a voracious reader. Read it in French, if you can, but if not order at once "The Elegance of a Hedgehog", you will thank the amazing writer: Muriel Barbery.

This is an English review of a book in French. (There is an English translation (The Elegance of the Hedgehog). (Also a movie in Netflix)Written by a Philo Prof. In France they don't separate philosophy and literature. They are one, whereas as we make philosophy a technical discipline like math. So this interesting blend of philosophy and human characters is very interesting. The French are good at literature we must say.The two intertwining characters are a young upper class girl and the janitor of the upscale building she lives in. The little girl is super smart and quickly sees through the superficialities of her mother and father and discovers the autodidact old lady janitor who is intelligent and perceptive.The girl had planned to kill herself as life was so meaningless. But through her interaction with the janitor she discovers reasons to live. "Si la vie vaut la peine d'être vécu." Is life worth living? The book explores this primal philosophic question not in a cold philosophic way as the English would have it but in a humanized philosophy.

J'avais déjà lu le livre en anglais mais en le lisant en français j'ai découvert toutes les nuances du texte que j'avais manquées avec l'édition anglophone. Même s'il est vrai que le vocabulaire est un peu inhabituel et même ceux d'origine francophone pourront avoir besoin de leur Larousse de temps en temps, ça vaut vraiment le coup. Bref, j'ai adoré ce livre!

Exceptional book. It took me a little while to get into the rhythmof it but then it soared. Not in any flashy way but went deep right into my heart. The concierge-first I had trouble to accept the fact that she is so refined and well read being what she did for a living.. One can say it was my prejudice. Paloma of course for all her intelligence is a typical teenager to start with but soon after we see that her awful and affluent family really has nothing to offer for her spiritual nourishment what she really craves.I could not decide first whether it was a polemic against the shallow rich and the "noble" poor but I think this is beside the point. These people are individuals in all their complexity.The end is both tragic and uplifting. This book made me think realhard about true values. All the other criticism I read (repetitive, Renee is perfect etc) for me is unimportant.One of the finest books I've read lately. It will stay with me for a long time.Eva Foreman

I bought this to read in parallel with the English version, but the novel turned out to be more "philosophical" and conceptual than I'd expected, so I didn't attempt the original French. For native readers in either language, I'd recommend it as a whimsical and thoughtful book -- not much action but some interesting ideas and two characters that really stick with you.

I enjoyed this book greatly despite my rusty French. It is a funny thought-provoking character study of two women. An elderly intellectual concierge and a highly intelligent young girl reside downstairs and upstairs in the same building but in separate chapters of the book. They both struggle with the stereotypes that govern their lives and their own expectations of the lots life gave them. They caused me to giggle, shake my head and snort but also made me ponder the twists and turns in people's reactions to life. A friend says the English translation is also excellent.

I loved the philosophy as well as the similar social critique. Barbary's language, even translated into English, is a joy in itself!

I just had to read the French version after I read the English one. It’s such a quirky French book that took me back to France, a country I really love - but whose people are not that easy to understand at times ;) I felt just like that about the characters in the book - they were a bit annoying at times but also generous, honest and interesting. At two points in the book I was moved to tears but there were funny parts, too. Not that much happens in the book but I like the focus on people and their inner thoughts, feelings, development of relationships and their mundane everyday life. Really good read, enjoy!

I bought this book as we are working through it in an adult eductation French class. Our standard is about AS level, but this book is too advanced for most of us. The vocabulary is very flowery and full of words you would never ordinarily use. I had to buy the English translation in order to understand the French text, but it's still a chore. A good story, but unless your French is fluent, I would give it a miss - or buy the English translation and/or watch the film in French with English subtitles.

This is really well written. It was recommended to me as intermediate level for a French learner, however I found it quite challenging - the first chapter in particular was a bit daunting!

After reading the translation, I decided that I would prefer to read the original version. Prefer the original version to the translation

An interesting idea but not altogether well carried out. Alot of the incidents described by the two narrators don't really add anything to the storyline. And much the same could be said of the narrators' philosophising. Also the death of one of the narrators while still narrating stretches the suspension of disbelief a bit too far.