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pakramsnukas's review against another edition
informative
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
thejadedhippy's review against another edition
4.0
This book started slow for me, but by the middle I was engrossed and the end was sad but beautiful.
janada59's review against another edition
2.0
I had to force myself to finish it. I just couldn't find the interest to care, and felt like the author spent the first hundred pages talking philosophy with no actual connection to the rest of the story.
renwandt's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
ovidinpajamas's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Suicidal thoughts
trin's review against another edition
1.0
Painfully pretentious French novel that for some reason is selling like hotcakes at my store. The narrative is shared between two characters: a poor but brilliant concierge who feels she must play dumb lest the people who live in her building learn her TERRIBLE SECRET—that she, like, likes [b:Anna Karenina|331453|Penguin Readers Level 6 Anna Karenina Book and Audio Cassette (Penguin Readers)|Leo Tolstoy|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg|2507928] and stuff (OH NOES?)—and an also-brilliant but disaffected 12-year-old girl who lives in the same building and plans to kill herself and burn down her parents’ apartment when she turns 13 because life is just NOT WORTH LIVING when people are just so shallow, you know?
No, I don’t know. I don’t know why Renée considers her genius to be such a horrible secret that she must desperately hide, or why we’re expected to feel sympathy for Paloma when she’s such a snobby, selfish brat. For a book that seems to be trying to argue that one should not dismiss people such as concierges or 12-year-old girls because they might be thinking deep thoughts and feeling deep things from their deep, precious souls, The Elegance of the Hedgehog is nevertheless incredibly elitist, looking down on and judging everyone who does not belong to Reneé and Paloma’s special little amateur philosophy club. At my worst, I know I can be a bit of a snob—turning up my nose at people buying [a:Nicholas Sparks|2345|Nicholas Sparks|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1204497914p2/2345.jpg] books and whatnot—but I still spent much of this novel wanting to punch those two. Especially Paloma: dude, you’re twelve, you’re smart, you’ve never had to want for anything, and I’m sorry your family’s obnoxious, but man up. Okay, part of the story does deal with you realizing that you’re being a little ridiculous, but first we have to wade through 300 pages of your faux-intellectual LIFE SO HARD rants? Shut up.
The plot also doesn’t really get going until about 150 pages in, and I found the ending—which I’m sure was supposed to be deeply moving—eyeroll-inducing. Yet the rich Brentwood ladies keep buying this book. Fine, whatever. I’m gonna go read something with spaceships or explosions with the rest of the plebes.
No, I don’t know. I don’t know why Renée considers her genius to be such a horrible secret that she must desperately hide, or why we’re expected to feel sympathy for Paloma when she’s such a snobby, selfish brat. For a book that seems to be trying to argue that one should not dismiss people such as concierges or 12-year-old girls because they might be thinking deep thoughts and feeling deep things from their deep, precious souls, The Elegance of the Hedgehog is nevertheless incredibly elitist, looking down on and judging everyone who does not belong to Reneé and Paloma’s special little amateur philosophy club. At my worst, I know I can be a bit of a snob—turning up my nose at people buying [a:Nicholas Sparks|2345|Nicholas Sparks|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1204497914p2/2345.jpg] books and whatnot—but I still spent much of this novel wanting to punch those two. Especially Paloma: dude, you’re twelve, you’re smart, you’ve never had to want for anything, and I’m sorry your family’s obnoxious, but man up. Okay, part of the story does deal with you realizing that you’re being a little ridiculous, but first we have to wade through 300 pages of your faux-intellectual LIFE SO HARD rants? Shut up.
The plot also doesn’t really get going until about 150 pages in, and I found the ending—which I’m sure was supposed to be deeply moving—eyeroll-inducing. Yet the rich Brentwood ladies keep buying this book. Fine, whatever. I’m gonna go read something with spaceships or explosions with the rest of the plebes.
vickyberry's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
me tomó nueve meses terminar este libro pero siempre quería volver a el pq quería a los personajes. terminé llorando como una boba. q tristeza siento pero q bonito al mismo tiempo
skbrooke's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
brisingr's review against another edition
4.0
4.5??? we'll do this bullet points style because i got lazy:
- the romanian cover is misleading, with a cute drawing of a girl holding a hedgehog. basically: no, this is not a children's book.
- on the back of the book, it is said: the psychologists in france are recommending this book to their patients. i can probably see why, there are a lot of ways in which the world works, and it's impossible not to find yourself in at least one of them.
- this book doesn't open your eyes towards something new. rather, it makes you see daily aspects of your life with other eyes
- you're going to end up doing whatever this book wants to make out of you. you will cry and laugh and find yourself immensely sad or empty inside. all because, even if you're not a fan of the story or the characters, you'll still want to continue this book for that sentence that makes you go "evrika!", that makes it seem like the stars aligned for you to read that one sentence that might as well change your life a little bit
- the mundane, daily truths and events are what this book is made-up of and i had no idea it could twist a stomach in such ways
- i am still in awe and i need time to properly digest what happened here
- the romanian cover is misleading, with a cute drawing of a girl holding a hedgehog. basically: no, this is not a children's book.
- on the back of the book, it is said: the psychologists in france are recommending this book to their patients. i can probably see why, there are a lot of ways in which the world works, and it's impossible not to find yourself in at least one of them.
- this book doesn't open your eyes towards something new. rather, it makes you see daily aspects of your life with other eyes
- you're going to end up doing whatever this book wants to make out of you. you will cry and laugh and find yourself immensely sad or empty inside. all because, even if you're not a fan of the story or the characters, you'll still want to continue this book for that sentence that makes you go "evrika!", that makes it seem like the stars aligned for you to read that one sentence that might as well change your life a little bit
- the mundane, daily truths and events are what this book is made-up of and i had no idea it could twist a stomach in such ways
- i am still in awe and i need time to properly digest what happened here
nealagrace's review against another edition
4.0
at times this was too pretentious and just a vehicle for the author to air out her various opinions about certain philosophers and lowk fetishize Japanese culture BUT nonetheless… I still enjoyed it immensely and it did make me cry and it was very beautiful and I think it will remain with me for a long time. some wonderful and poignant writing about grief, life and death.