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A review by mlautchi
The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
5.0
“We laugh and converse for a while longer about one thing or another, in the calm space of an old friendship.” (33)
“You look at it with a mixture of anxiety and hope, you know how fragile life can be, you worry about accidents but, at the same time, you are satisfied with the knowledge that you’ve done what you were supposed to do, you’ve played your nurturing role: you feel reassured and, for a time, things feel safe.” (79)
“It would be so much better if we could share our insecurity, if we could all venture inside ourseles and realize that green beans and vitamic C, however much they nurture us, cannot save lives, nor sustain our souls.” (79)
“Moments like this act as magical interludes, placing our hearts at the edge of our souls: fleetingly, yet intensely, a fragment of eternity has come to enrich time.” (91)
“The tea ritual: such precise repetition of the same gestures and the same tastes; accession to simple, authentic and refined sensations, a license given to all, at little cost, to become aristocrats of taste, because tea is the beverage of the wealthy and the poor; the tea ritual, therefore, has the extraordinary virtue of introducing into the absurdity of our lives an aperture of serene harmony. Yes, the world may aspire to vacuousness, lost souls mourn beauty, insignificance surrounds us. Let us then drink a cup of tea.” (91)
“Silence descends, one hears the wind outside, autumn leave rustle and take flight, the cat sleeps in a warm pool of light. And, with each swallow [of tea], time is sublimed.” (91)
“In our world, that’s the way you build your grown up life: you must constantly rebuild your identity as an adult, the way it’s been put together is wobbly, ephemeral and fragile, it cloaks your despair and, when you’re alone in front of the mirror, it tells you the lies you need to believe.” (92)
“The contemplation of eternity within the very movement of life.” (101)
“Language is a bountiful gift and its usage, an elaboration of community and society, is a sacred work. Language and usage evolve over time: elements change, are forgotten or reborn, and whole there are instances where transgressions can become the source of an even greater wealth, this does not alter the fact that to be entitled to the liberties of playfulness or enlightened misusage when using language, one must first and foremost have sworn one’s total allegiance.” (110)
“We live each day as if it were merely a rehearsal for the next.” (119)
“Because art is life, playing to other rhythms.” (154)
“But when you apply the rules of grammar skilfully, you ascend to another layer of the beauty of language. When you use grammar you peel back the layers to see how it is all put together, see it quite naked, in a way.” (158)
“On the way home I though: pity the poor in spirit who know neither enchantment nor the beauty of language.” (160)
“Birch trees / Teach me that I am nothing / And that I am deserving of life.” (166)
“I get the same feeling when anyone talks about trees, any trees: the linden tree in the farmyard, the oak behind the old barn, the stately elms that have all disappeared now, the pine trees along windswept coasts etc. There’s so much humanity in a love of trees, so much nostalgia for our first sense of wonder, so much power in feeling our own insignificance when we are surrounded by nature… yes, that’s it: just thinking about trees and their indifferent majesty and our love for them teaches us how ridiculous we are and at the same time how deserving of life we can be, when we can honour this beauty that owes us nothing.” (169)
“Every time, it’s a miracle. Here are all these people, full of heartache or hatred or desire, and we all have our troubles and the school year is filled with triviality and vulgarity and consequence, and there are all these teachers and kids of every size and shape, and there’s this life we’re struggling through full of shouting and tears and laughter and fights and breakups and dashed hopes and unexpected luck - it all disappears, just like that, when the choir begins to sing.” (186)
“But if, in our world, there is any chance of becoming the person you haven’t yet become… will I know how to seize that change, turn my life into a garden that will be completely different from my forebears?” (195)
“Can you have a negative heart, a hollow soul?” (218)
This pause in time, within time… when did I first experience the exquisite sense of surrender that is possible only with another person THe peace of mind one experiences on one’s own, one’s certainty of self in the serenity of solitude, are nothing in comparison to the release and openness and fluency one shares with another, in close companionship…” (277)
“Poverty is a reaper: it harvests everything inside us that might have made us capable of social intercourse with others, and leaves us empty, purged of feeling, so that we may endure all the darkness of the present day.” (288)
I understand that I have grudge against them because I’m incapable of being useful to them, because there’s nothing I can do for them… I can see their symptoms but I’m not skilled to treat them and so as a result that makes me as sick as they are, only I don’t see it.” (291)
“To those who have not understood that the enchantment of languages comes from such nuances, I shall address the following prayer: beware of commas.”
“You look at it with a mixture of anxiety and hope, you know how fragile life can be, you worry about accidents but, at the same time, you are satisfied with the knowledge that you’ve done what you were supposed to do, you’ve played your nurturing role: you feel reassured and, for a time, things feel safe.” (79)
“It would be so much better if we could share our insecurity, if we could all venture inside ourseles and realize that green beans and vitamic C, however much they nurture us, cannot save lives, nor sustain our souls.” (79)
“Moments like this act as magical interludes, placing our hearts at the edge of our souls: fleetingly, yet intensely, a fragment of eternity has come to enrich time.” (91)
“The tea ritual: such precise repetition of the same gestures and the same tastes; accession to simple, authentic and refined sensations, a license given to all, at little cost, to become aristocrats of taste, because tea is the beverage of the wealthy and the poor; the tea ritual, therefore, has the extraordinary virtue of introducing into the absurdity of our lives an aperture of serene harmony. Yes, the world may aspire to vacuousness, lost souls mourn beauty, insignificance surrounds us. Let us then drink a cup of tea.” (91)
“Silence descends, one hears the wind outside, autumn leave rustle and take flight, the cat sleeps in a warm pool of light. And, with each swallow [of tea], time is sublimed.” (91)
“In our world, that’s the way you build your grown up life: you must constantly rebuild your identity as an adult, the way it’s been put together is wobbly, ephemeral and fragile, it cloaks your despair and, when you’re alone in front of the mirror, it tells you the lies you need to believe.” (92)
“The contemplation of eternity within the very movement of life.” (101)
“Language is a bountiful gift and its usage, an elaboration of community and society, is a sacred work. Language and usage evolve over time: elements change, are forgotten or reborn, and whole there are instances where transgressions can become the source of an even greater wealth, this does not alter the fact that to be entitled to the liberties of playfulness or enlightened misusage when using language, one must first and foremost have sworn one’s total allegiance.” (110)
“We live each day as if it were merely a rehearsal for the next.” (119)
“Because art is life, playing to other rhythms.” (154)
“But when you apply the rules of grammar skilfully, you ascend to another layer of the beauty of language. When you use grammar you peel back the layers to see how it is all put together, see it quite naked, in a way.” (158)
“On the way home I though: pity the poor in spirit who know neither enchantment nor the beauty of language.” (160)
“Birch trees / Teach me that I am nothing / And that I am deserving of life.” (166)
“I get the same feeling when anyone talks about trees, any trees: the linden tree in the farmyard, the oak behind the old barn, the stately elms that have all disappeared now, the pine trees along windswept coasts etc. There’s so much humanity in a love of trees, so much nostalgia for our first sense of wonder, so much power in feeling our own insignificance when we are surrounded by nature… yes, that’s it: just thinking about trees and their indifferent majesty and our love for them teaches us how ridiculous we are and at the same time how deserving of life we can be, when we can honour this beauty that owes us nothing.” (169)
“Every time, it’s a miracle. Here are all these people, full of heartache or hatred or desire, and we all have our troubles and the school year is filled with triviality and vulgarity and consequence, and there are all these teachers and kids of every size and shape, and there’s this life we’re struggling through full of shouting and tears and laughter and fights and breakups and dashed hopes and unexpected luck - it all disappears, just like that, when the choir begins to sing.” (186)
“But if, in our world, there is any chance of becoming the person you haven’t yet become… will I know how to seize that change, turn my life into a garden that will be completely different from my forebears?” (195)
“Can you have a negative heart, a hollow soul?” (218)
This pause in time, within time… when did I first experience the exquisite sense of surrender that is possible only with another person THe peace of mind one experiences on one’s own, one’s certainty of self in the serenity of solitude, are nothing in comparison to the release and openness and fluency one shares with another, in close companionship…” (277)
“Poverty is a reaper: it harvests everything inside us that might have made us capable of social intercourse with others, and leaves us empty, purged of feeling, so that we may endure all the darkness of the present day.” (288)
I understand that I have grudge against them because I’m incapable of being useful to them, because there’s nothing I can do for them… I can see their symptoms but I’m not skilled to treat them and so as a result that makes me as sick as they are, only I don’t see it.” (291)
“To those who have not understood that the enchantment of languages comes from such nuances, I shall address the following prayer: beware of commas.”