Praise for The Elegance of the Hedgehog
‘Many authors dream of getting their books onto best-seller lists, but few pull it off with the panache of French writer Muriel Barbery.’ Time
‘A profound but accessible book… which elegantly treads the line between literary and commercial fiction… The Elegance of the Hedgehog is, by the end, quite radical in its stand against French classism and hypocrisy… Clever, informative and moving’ Observer
‘Its appeal is obvious… a feel-good book with philosophical aspirations’ The Guardian
‘At once absurd and lyrical, cheery and bleak, contemplative and tender… It is the revelatory joy the characters afford each other – with recognition, with friendship, with love – that quietly rises to the top.’ New Statesman
‘Muriel Barbery… commands the sophistication, polish and mental agility that often distinguish French fiction…Barbery has a warm heart and a heart moreover that knows that great art and the best philosophy may (just possibly) possess redemptive qualities, or at least make life bearable in a materialistic and self-indulgent world.’ Sydney Morning Herald
THE ELEGANCE OF THE HEDGEHOG
MURIEL BARBERY
Translated from the French by Alison Anderson
For Stéphane, with whom I wrote this book
Contents
1 Title Page
2 Dedication
3 MARX
4 1. Whosoever Sows Desire
5 2. The Miracles of Art
6 Profound Thought No. 1
7 CAMELLIAS
8 1. An Aristocrat
9 Journal of the Movement of the World No. 1
10 2. On Wars and Colonies
11 3. The Poodle as Totem
12 Profound Thought No. 2
13 4. Refusing the Fight
14 Profound Thought No. 3
15 5. In a Sorry State
16 6. Homespun Cowls
17 7. In the Confederate South
18 Journal of the Movement of the World No. 2
19 8. Prophet of the Modern Elite
20 9. Red October
21 Profound Thought No. 4
22 10. A Cat Called Roget
23 Profound Thought No. 5
24 11. The Rebellion of the Mongolian Tribes
25 Profound Thought No. 6
26 12. Phantom Comedy
27 13. Eternity
28 Journal of the Movement of the World No. 3
29 14. When of a Sudden, Old Japan
30 15. The Rich Man’s Burden
31 Profound Thought No. 7
32 16. Constitution’s Spleen
33 17. A Partridge’s Arse
34 18. Ryabinin
35 Profound Thought No. 8
36 ON GRAMMAR
37 1. Infinitesimal
38 2. In a Moment of Grace
39 Profound Thought No. 9
40 3. Beneath the Skin
41 4. Break and Continuity
42 Profound Thought No. 10
43 5. A Pleasant Impression
44 6. Wabi
45 Profound Thought No. 11
46 SUMMER RAIN
47 1. Clandestine
48 2. The Great Work of Making Meaning
49 3. Beyond Time
50 4. Spiders’ Webs
51 5. Of Lace and Frills and Flounces
52 Journal of the Movement of the World No. 4
53 6. Just a Trim
54 7. The Vestal Virgin in Her Finery
55 Profound Thought No. 12
56 8. Saints Alive
57 9. Dull Gold
58 10. What Congruence?
59 11. Existence without Duration
60 Journal of the Movement of the World No. 5
61 12. A Wave of Hope
62 13. Tiny Bladder
63 Journal of the Movement of the World No. 6
64 14. How Much for One Roll?
65 15. A Very Civilised Noble Savage
66 16. And Then
67 17. A New Heart
68 18. Gentle Insomnia
69 Profound Thought No. 13
70 PALOMA
71 1. Terribly Sharp
72 2. For All Its Invisibility
73 3. The Just Crusade
74 Profound Thought No. 14
75 4. The First Principle
76 5. The Antipodes
77 6. Baby Porpoise
78 7. Deep Blue
79 Journal of the Movement of the World No. 7
80 8.
