The Elegance of the Hedgehog - Muriel Barbery

I have to say that I am loving Europa Edition books. Besides their cool covers, I've found some great little gems. I LOVED Margherita Dolce Vita, and enjoyed The Girl on the Via Flaminia. So a while back I went to the library and checked out Muriel Barbery's The Elegance of the Hedgehog. It is originally written in French and has been translated into English.

I liked it.

The story revolves around the lives of a few people in an affluent apartment building in France. It flip flops narration between an insanely smart but suicidal young girl, Paloma, and Renée, the intelligent but frumpy concierge lady.

Both are very smart but hide what they are from the wealthy people around them. That all changes when a handsome and intelligent Japanese man moves in and helps them open up.

I really enjoyed both Paloma and Renée. Their transformations were what made the book. Sometimes overly smart kids can be a bit annoying in books and movies, but Paloma surprised me. Although she is contemplating suicide, it's not really because she's sad or depressed, but more about her own logical reasoning. But Renée was what made me like the book. Watching her open up and blossom was my favorite part.

It wasn't amazing but I liked it.

**Have you read any Europa Editions? If so, what did you think?

Also Reviewed by:
She is Too Fond of Books
Five Borough Book Review
Caribou's Mom
Books I Done Read
Books, the Universe, and Everything
A Bookish Way of Life
The Boston Bibliophile

Cool Covers

If you've been reading some of my book reviews then you'll notice that I am a sucker for a great book cover. I get annoyed when covers are misleading. For instance, a book with a girl by a pool when a pool is never mentioned in the story. Alternatively, I love when a book cover is given greater meaning after reading the story. That and just the color, the texture....I just love a good book cover.

So while Rachel and I were at the book expo we found a publisher whose covers I LOVE.

Europa Editions

Check out some of my favorites:

Ok. How cool are these? And I really like their titles. I haven't read any of them but I really want to. Have you read any Europa Editions books?

The Girl on the Via Flaminia - Alfred Hayes

I am in a bit of a Europa Editions kick. Along with Margherita Dolce Vita, I checked out The Girl on the Via Flaminia by Alfred Hayes from the public library. It's a reprint of the novel which was originally published in 1949. I have to say I am really liking these books.

I didn't know anything about Alfred Hayes when I checked it out. Apparently he was a British writer, poet, and screenwriter. He even won an Academy Award in 1951. Wow. And apparently he adapted The Girl on the Via Flaminia into a play and then a film staring Kirk Douglas called Un Acte D'amour.

A little bit about the story:

It's set in Rome, Italy during World War II. Robert is an American stationed in Rome during the period following the liberation of Italy from the Germans. Italy was very grateful to the Allies...at first...but now they just want them gone. They want their country back.

Robert has made a deal with a local Italian girl, Lisa. She rents a room in a house, they pretend they are married. She gets some food, gifts, etc....he gets company at night. But in war, nothing is that simple.

This was a fairly short novel but very powerful. The book jacket sort of gave me the impression that this was a love story. But I wouldn't call it that. It really portrayed a segment of society that may get overlooked in other war stories. What happens to people when their country is occupied whether it be by friends or foe? What happens to the women? How do they survive?

I found it fascinating that Robert is an American while Alfred Hayes was a British writer. It really didn't portray Americans in a positive light...not negatively but definitely not positive either. Maybe spoiled and naive. And the title of the book, I think, references the type of girls who walk the streets who get picked up for money. And of course the ending was perfect for this type of novel. It really leaves you hanging...which is the point.

I found a great cover of an older edition of this novel:

Margherita Dolce Vita - Stefano Benni

While at the Book Expo this year in the City, I came across a display for Europa Editions and just loved their titles and covers. I even did a post on how much I loved their covers. The cover for Stefano Benni's Margherita Dolce Vita especially caught my eye. I just love it. So, without reading what it was about, I reserved it at the library.

You know how sometimes when you want to love a book so much and you just don't? Well I definitely didn't have a problem like that with this book. I LOVED it!

Here's the summary:

Margherita (dubbed Margherita Dolce Vita by her grandpa, is a 14-year-old girl living with her family in Italy.

Her father Fausto is "tall and skinny, and he is meteoropathic, meaning his moods change with the weather".

Her mother is Emma, looks "like a used teabag" and "is good as gold, but she has an addiction" which is watching soap operas while smoking imaginary cigarettes.

Her eldest brother, Giacinto, is "like a really stupid version of me (Margherita)" and a soccer hooligan.

Her younger brother Erminio or Heraclitus "is a ball-busting likable little terrorist genius" who also can converse with their grandfather via ESP...or so they both say.

Grandfather's name is Socrates has "done it all" and thinks there are so many toxins in the world that to counteract this, he slowly poisons himself throughout the day...example being eating out of date yogurts and water with bleach.

And Sleepy, their lovable dog with hysterical narcolepsy.

All is well until the day the Cube is built next to their house. The Cube is a modern mansion and the wealthy neighbors start to integrate themselves into this little family's life. Emma stops cooking and starts doing botox treatments and new hairstyles. Fausto tries implants to hide his balding spot and starts working with the neighbor in their mysterious import/export business. Giacinto falls in love with the spoiled daughter and even converts to another soccer team (the horrors!) because of her. And Erminio is drugged complacent by gifts of video games.

Only Margherita finds it all to be strange and starts to investigate because the happy family she loves is slowly deteriorating. And what type of business are the neighbors really into and why isn't she allowed into her father's shed anymore? Oh, and she develops a crush on their odd son who is a type of rebel and crazy institutionalized person all rolled up into one.

----

I have to say the writing is hilarious, poignant, rich, and beautiful. Even though it's narrated by a 14-year-old, I wouldn't call this a young adult novel. And the ENDING!!! Someone please read this so you can tell me what you think. Ok.

Oh! And totally forgot to mention. This is deeply satirical about consumerism and what it's doing to people. I loved that part but it might not be for everyone but I absolutely loved Margherita.