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lorilanefox's review against another edition
1.0
I tried listening to the audiobook and absolutely couldn’t stand it. It was pretentious, boring, overly cerebral, and annoyingly borderline philosophical. Perhaps it was partly due to the readers, but honestly, by about a 1/3 of the way through it, I really didn’t care about any of the characters. The book takes too long to say too little, and I kept asking myself, “What’s the point of this?” Not to mention, the over abundance of French words and names added an extra layer of annoyance. I really don’t understand how this book became a New York Times best seller. I found it to be nonsense.
caterinasforza's review against another edition
4.0
Nasıl oldu da okumaya karar verdim bilmiyorum ama bu senenin ikinci iyi ki dedirten kitabı Kirpinin Zarafeti oldu.
Palloma Josse ve oturduğu apartmanin kapıcısı Renée Michel sayesinde hayata bakış açım değişti. Ve o final ahh o final. Öyle şaşırttı ki...
Içeriğinde edebiyattan sinemaya, felsefeden, resme kadar pekçok kültürel öğeyi barındırması bu alanlara ilgisi olmayanları zorlayabilir. (Okurken epey not aldım) fakat verdiği mesaj itibarıyla nefis bir kurgu!
Buradan sonrası altını çizdiğim yerlerden tadımlıklar.
* İştah nedir bilmeyen biri için açlığın ilk ısırığı, hem bir ıstırap hem de aydınlanmadır.
* Yapmayı bilmeyenler yapıyorlar, yapmayı bilmeyenler öğretiyorlar, ögretmeyi bilmeyenler öğretmenlere öğretiyorlar ve öğretmenlere ögretmeyi bilmeyenler politika yapıyor
* Asıl yenilik samana rağmen yaşlanmayandır.
* Bayan Michel'de kirpinin zarafeti var: Dışarıdan dikenlerle zırhlı, tam bir kale, ama bence içinde kirpiler kadar doğrudan bir rafinelik var. Onlar haksız yere duyarsız, uyuşuk görülen, şiddetle yalnız ve korkunç bir şekilde zarif hayvanlar.
* Eğer kendimizi fark edersek, başkasında yalnız kendimize baktığımızın, çölde tek başına olduğumuzun bilincine varırsak deliririz.
* İyileştiremediğim insanları cezalandırarak kendimi tedavi edemem.
Palloma Josse ve oturduğu apartmanin kapıcısı Renée Michel sayesinde hayata bakış açım değişti. Ve o final ahh o final. Öyle şaşırttı ki...
Içeriğinde edebiyattan sinemaya, felsefeden, resme kadar pekçok kültürel öğeyi barındırması bu alanlara ilgisi olmayanları zorlayabilir. (Okurken epey not aldım) fakat verdiği mesaj itibarıyla nefis bir kurgu!
Buradan sonrası altını çizdiğim yerlerden tadımlıklar.
* İştah nedir bilmeyen biri için açlığın ilk ısırığı, hem bir ıstırap hem de aydınlanmadır.
* Yapmayı bilmeyenler yapıyorlar, yapmayı bilmeyenler öğretiyorlar, ögretmeyi bilmeyenler öğretmenlere öğretiyorlar ve öğretmenlere ögretmeyi bilmeyenler politika yapıyor
* Asıl yenilik samana rağmen yaşlanmayandır.
* Bayan Michel'de kirpinin zarafeti var: Dışarıdan dikenlerle zırhlı, tam bir kale, ama bence içinde kirpiler kadar doğrudan bir rafinelik var. Onlar haksız yere duyarsız, uyuşuk görülen, şiddetle yalnız ve korkunç bir şekilde zarif hayvanlar.
* Eğer kendimizi fark edersek, başkasında yalnız kendimize baktığımızın, çölde tek başına olduğumuzun bilincine varırsak deliririz.
* İyileştiremediğim insanları cezalandırarak kendimi tedavi edemem.
oliviabirdy's review against another edition
1.0
This book is full of sentences like “The enigma is constantly renewed: great works are the visual forms which attain in us the certainty of timeless consonance.”
These sentences are curtesy of our delightful (kinda irritatingly self-righteous) protagonist, Renée. In order to describe Renée to someone who hasn’t read this book, I’d probably say something along these lines:
*clears throat*
Renée is a concierge with the crippling burden of having to hide her true identity from the wealthy environment she works in, because if these diplomats discovered their concierge has read Tolstoy, they would promptly drive her out of France with flaming pitchforks, screaming at the tops of their lungs. Renée is truly an underestimated (*speaks in alluring voice*) intellectual. This can be proved by facts like how she greatly enjoys reading the leaflets that come with medication, because of “the respite provided by the precision of each technical term, which convey the illusion of meticulousness and a frisson of simplicity, and elicit a spatiotemporal dimension free of any striving for beauty, creative angst or the never-ending and hopeless aspiration to attain the sublime.”
The illusion of meticulousness?? A frisson of simplicity?? A spatio-temporal dimension free of any striving for beauty, creative angst or the never-ending and hopeless aspiration to attain the sublime???????
Next: Renée receives a note from a woman who lives in the building, asking her to bring up a package. In the note, the woman, whose name was Sabine or something, made a comma splice. I’ll admit the comma splice was quite cringy as comma splices go:
Would you be so kind, as to sign for the packages from the dry cleaner’s?
Yeah, it’s definitely not pretty. However, I don’t think a comma splice is a legitimate reason to (I am not exaggerating) condemn the person who wrote it as deserving of death for failing to “uphold the sacred respect for beauty that it is so rightfully owed.” Seriously, Renée?
For those who have been favored by life’s indulgence, rigorous respect in matters of beauty is a non-negotiable requirement. Language is a bountiful gift and its usage, an elaboration of community and society, is a sacred work .
Um....okay...I’m sorry but what was that? Don’t you think you’re being a tiny bit dramatic, Renée? No? Not even a little?
This was the point in the book where I lost the last of my openmindedness. After this, folks, it only goes downhill. I was so sick of Renee by then, and this happens only a third of the way into the novel, if this book can even rightfully be called a novel.
If this book managed to do anything at all, it planted within me a strong fear of being a pretentious arse who puts down other people in order to make myself feel more...psychologically mature...or something. so i guess there’s that?
These sentences are curtesy of our delightful (kinda irritatingly self-righteous) protagonist, Renée. In order to describe Renée to someone who hasn’t read this book, I’d probably say something along these lines:
*clears throat*
Renée is a concierge with the crippling burden of having to hide her true identity from the wealthy environment she works in, because if these diplomats discovered their concierge has read Tolstoy, they would promptly drive her out of France with flaming pitchforks, screaming at the tops of their lungs. Renée is truly an underestimated (*speaks in alluring voice*) intellectual. This can be proved by facts like how she greatly enjoys reading the leaflets that come with medication, because of “the respite provided by the precision of each technical term, which convey the illusion of meticulousness and a frisson of simplicity, and elicit a spatiotemporal dimension free of any striving for beauty, creative angst or the never-ending and hopeless aspiration to attain the sublime.”
The illusion of meticulousness?? A frisson of simplicity?? A spatio-temporal dimension free of any striving for beauty, creative angst or the never-ending and hopeless aspiration to attain the sublime???????
Next: Renée receives a note from a woman who lives in the building, asking her to bring up a package. In the note, the woman, whose name was Sabine or something, made a comma splice. I’ll admit the comma splice was quite cringy as comma splices go:
Would you be so kind, as to sign for the packages from the dry cleaner’s?
Yeah, it’s definitely not pretty. However, I don’t think a comma splice is a legitimate reason to (I am not exaggerating) condemn the person who wrote it as deserving of death for failing to “uphold the sacred respect for beauty that it is so rightfully owed.” Seriously, Renée?
For those who have been favored by life’s indulgence, rigorous respect in matters of beauty is a non-negotiable requirement. Language is a bountiful gift and its usage, an elaboration of community and society, is a sacred work .
Um....okay...I’m sorry but what was that? Don’t you think you’re being a tiny bit dramatic, Renée? No? Not even a little?
This was the point in the book where I lost the last of my openmindedness. After this, folks, it only goes downhill. I was so sick of Renee by then, and this happens only a third of the way into the novel, if this book can even rightfully be called a novel.
If this book managed to do anything at all, it planted within me a strong fear of being a pretentious arse who puts down other people in order to make myself feel more...psychologically mature...or something. so i guess there’s that?
charstory's review against another edition
4.0
This book was recommended by a friend so I picked it up. I'm so glad I did! As many have said, a slower start, but I am so in love with the syntax, the vocabulary used (I had to look some up and I feel that's a good sign), I enjoyed the slower build. I listened and the best place for me is the car so I'm not distracted otherwise. Luckily a trip to Austin solved it. The narrators were excellent and gave so much shape to their characters. Yes, the characters seem snobbish in their own right (as they judge others as snobbish or fools or worse) but as the story unfolds, I learned this is their armor against a world in which they are reluctant--or are too frightened--to engage. Let me encourage word and phrase lovers to hang in there. When Mr. Ozu arrives, the plot quickly begins to turn. Lots of music, movies, and art to unpack here as well. I'll be buying a hard copy so I can go back and savor those turns of phrase, "a prophet of the contemporary elite," and "lexical misdeeds," just to name two.
eliettedotcom's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
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
5.0
slasselle's review against another edition
4.0
I read this book in French as an intermediate French learner. I found the main characters and their reflections to be touching and, at times humorous. I also found the worldviews of each character to be believable. The fact that there are some incongruities in their thinking, I found that to make them more human. The book is definitely worth reading. I think it's worth the hype.
misslorieo's review against another edition
4.0
I loved this book. I really loved this book, even when I briefly really hated it.
robin_huff's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-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
5.0
jonfaith's review against another edition
5.0
I did find this brilliant. A slight breeze of inspiration, peppered with insights and regrets. It was certainly configured for a popular recpetion, but the images remained transportive. I was affected.
sarahintheyo's review against another edition
5.0
Had a bit of a slow start, but was a very charming and heartfelt story.