Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB of Books and a Beat If you want to join in grab your current read, flick to a random page, select two sentences (without spoilers) and share them in a blog post or in the comments of Books and a Beat.
This week my teaser comes from The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery. This is my current real life book club read and I have to admit I’m finding it a bit of a struggle. There’s a lot of philosophy, something I know very little about, so I’m not sure I will actually manage to finish it. As book club is tomorrow lunchtime, and I’m currently on page 65, I’m definitely up against it.
My Teaser
Thus the concierge couple, as served by the metaphor of their totemic poodle, seems to be utterly devoid of such passions as love and desire and, like their totem, destined to remain ugly, stupid, submissive and boastful. If, in certain novels, princes fall in love with working-class lasses, and princesses with galley slaves, between two concierges, even of the opposite sex, there is never any romance of the type that others experience and that might someday make a worthy story.
~ page 42, The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
Blurb
Renée is the concierge of a grand Parisian apartment building, home to members of the great and the good. Over the years she has maintained her carefully constructed persona as someone reliable but totally uncultivated, in keeping, she feels, with society’s expectations of what a concierge should be. But beneath this facade lies the real Renée passionate about culture and the arts, and more knowledgeable in many ways than her employers with their outwardly successful but emotionally void lives.
Down in her lodge, apart from weekly visits by her one friend Manuela, Renée lives resigned to her lonely lot with only her cat for company. Meanwhile, several floors up, twelve-year-old Paloma Josse is determined to avoid the pampered and vacuous future laid out for her, and decides to end her life on her thirteenth birthday. But unknown to them both, the sudden death of one of their privileged neighbours will dramatically alter their lives forever.
Happy reading everyone.
A Bookish Life 
I hope the book gets better as you make progress. All the best.Happy reading.
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Thanks. So do I. At the moment it’s hard going and I only have just over 24 hours to finish it 🙂
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I’m not great with philosophy either so I sympathise- hope you get far enough through to wing it at the book club 😏
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That’s the plan, or at least that and reading other people’s reviews 🙂
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oh, the title looks great – just this makes me willing to have a read. Here’s mine:
http://earthianhivemind.net/2016/11/08/teaser-tuesday-november-8/
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I’m not sure it’s my type of story but it is getting better. Little bit too much philosophy and not enough story.
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Wonderful premise, but as the extract reveals, it’s horribly over-wordy and rather pretentious. I think you’re a gold-plated saint to have struggled as far as you have. This one would have gone flying across the room on page 2 had I been reading it. I’m having far more fun with all the mischief and mayhem of Jen Williams – https://sjhigbee.wordpress.com/2016/11/08/teaser-tuesday-8th-november-2016/
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To be honest if it hadn’t been the book club book I would have given up at page 1 🙂 Think I understand about half of it as I’ve taking to skimming the long wordy sections which is pretty much all of it. It seems compulsory however that these are the type of books you have to read in a book club.
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And THAT’S why I’ve never kept up with a Book Club…
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Haha. The discussion today was actually quite interesting but we’re doing Jo Nesbo next 😦 I really want some fantasy or sci fi
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Book Clubs generally steer clear of spec fic, sadly…
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Sorry to hear it’s a struggle so far. I hope it improves as you continue!
Happy Reading 🙂
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Thanks. I’ve now finished and while it does pick up towards the end I’m still not sure it was worth it.
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Good luck on finishing.
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Thank you.
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I hope it will get better for you! Good luck finishing it before tomorrow. 🙂
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Thanks. After a very late night, sitting forcing myself to finish (and not play candy crush on my phone instead) it’s done.
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That was tough. I read it twice and then I got it. I can see where this is a slow read. Curious about it though.
My TT from The Scorpio Races
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Sometimes those book club picks can be hard to read! I am not sure that this would be one that would be enjoyable for me, either. I hope that you enjoy your next read! 🙂
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Thanks. I’m definitely planning something a lot lighter.
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