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What Members Thought
This is a stunning philosophic novel which combines the story of a lowly Parisian concierge, the arrogance and political hubris of the French upper middle class which she serves, and the lonely young daughter of one of the tenants who marches to a different drummer.
The concierge, nearly invisible as a human being to the occupants of the apartment complex and this young girl form a friendship when the girl notices the concierge is much smarter than she lets on.
Written with the keen detail of an ...more
The concierge, nearly invisible as a human being to the occupants of the apartment complex and this young girl form a friendship when the girl notices the concierge is much smarter than she lets on.
Written with the keen detail of an ...more
I loved this book. I really loved this book, even when I briefly really hated it.
I could have done without the first half of this book, as I found it to be a bit rambling. The book was essentially the musings of the two main characters who both discussed why they kept their distance from everyone around them. Though the last quarter of the book had some high points in drawing people together, I'm not sure it was worth all the ramblings to get there.
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I really liked this book. The story centers around everyone living in the same building - with every other chapter told from either the landlady's or a little girl's from one of the apartments perspective. Both come to find they have a lot in common and their characters develop very sweetly through the story.
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It took me a while to get into this book, but once I did, I liked it. Very philosophical, and it had some navel-gazing in it, but overall it was a good book. Not horrible, but not fantastic. Just plain good.
Update: Eleven years after I first read this, I listened to it to refresh my memory for book club and got so much more out of it. The sarcasm, philosophy, and the strong opinions of the characters are so recognizable. Adding another star to my review.
Update: Eleven years after I first read this, I listened to it to refresh my memory for book club and got so much more out of it. The sarcasm, philosophy, and the strong opinions of the characters are so recognizable. Adding another star to my review.
This wasn't a bad book, but just not my cup of tea. It took me forever to read, I read most books in a day or two. I just didn't like the characters.
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Apr 28, 2009
eve
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
private-collection,
2012
This will be in my library forever. Amazing read.
Oh my! What a wonderful book! Recommended. Bring tissues.
