This book is novel number two for the author. I assumed it was Barbery’s second novel, but a helpful correction in comments from Claire set me right: second translated into English, but first in the writing. Actually, with Muriel Barbery it started out as an inadvertent detour - I picked up Gourmet Rhapsody ( reviewed here) a few months ago since its premise (the death of a miserable food critic) interested me. Those kind of novels are not my normal fare, but I do venture into the territory occasionally (and not just in prize competitions). I’m willing to bet that a lot of book clubs are reading The Elegance of the Hedgehog this year - and part of me can understand why. A check at today shows it at #111 overall and #22 in literary fiction, impressive numbers for a book that has been out for more than 18 months. The Elegance of the Hedgehog is one of those intriguing publishing success stories that come along every year or two, riding a wave of word-of-mouth support onto bestseller lists. Purchased at Chapters.ca Translated from the French by Alison Anderson
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