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My basic problem with this books is that I just don't understand why anyone would ever want to portray themselves as less intelligent than they are. Why not surprise people and spend your energy elsewhere? But that is the motivation of the two main characters in this book - a 54 year old concierge in Paris, who doesn't want the people living in the apartments to think she has "airs," and a 12 year old who dumbs herself down in intentional ways but criticizes her sister for doing the same.
I hate ...more
I hate ...more
It took me awhile to get into this and, in the beginning, I thought it was ponderous and pretentious but then it began to click as I understood the characters better and I was utterly swept away.
The two primary characters, Renee and Paloma, live in an exclusive Paris apartment building. The kind of place that new tenants never come to because the only way to get an apartment is to inherit it. Renee is the 50-something concierge, a plain, poor, unattractive woman with a brilliant mind. She hides ...more
The two primary characters, Renee and Paloma, live in an exclusive Paris apartment building. The kind of place that new tenants never come to because the only way to get an apartment is to inherit it. Renee is the 50-something concierge, a plain, poor, unattractive woman with a brilliant mind. She hides ...more
I was not sure if I liked the book or not when I started reading because it is so philosophical at first. So it took awhile for it to grow on me, but once I got into it I couldn't put it down.
We follow the life of Renee, a 54 year old concierge of an upscale Parisian apartment building. She hides who she really is behind a little sloppy facade. She philosophises about life and know a lot about art and literature. The other main character is 12 year-old Paloma. She is brilliant and has suicidal ...more
We follow the life of Renee, a 54 year old concierge of an upscale Parisian apartment building. She hides who she really is behind a little sloppy facade. She philosophises about life and know a lot about art and literature. The other main character is 12 year-old Paloma. She is brilliant and has suicidal ...more
So, I really enjoyed parts of this book, but in the end, it just didn't really come together in a way that made a distinct impression on me. It's a very cerebral book with some interesting vignettes on culture, literature, philosophy, etc. The characters (a concierge, an intelligent but disillusioned young girl, a Portuguese housekeeper, a mysterious Japanese gentleman, and a host of snobby French socialites) are colorful and have depth. But I think the pacing and flow of the story didn't quite
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Surprising that France is still such a socially stratified country. The story hinges on this fact: at first glance two people of different classes and ages have nothing in common but become friends. Both defy and grow beyond their circumstances. Definitely thought provoking but the story was a little pat and the deck was a little stacked. Lots of good pithy philosophy - a Cliffs Notes of major thinkers.
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Tedious
"I started "Elegance..." but thought it was too contrived and the characters weren't believable. I really dislike mediocre books. Bad or brilliant but nothing else."--what Victoria said...
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Mar 25, 2009
Ching-In
marked it as to-read
Apr 24, 2009
Ghadah K
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Oct 15, 2009
Linda
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Nov 30, 2009
Irene
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Jun 02, 2010
Kimberly
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Apr 30, 2011
Mounir
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review of another edition
Shelves:
literature-francais,
arabic-translation
Nov 19, 2015
Neila
marked it as to-read
Dec 29, 2015
NAY
marked it as to-read
Jan 23, 2016
Samantha
marked it as to-read
