The Love Of Language
I finished reading The Elegance Of The Hedgehog last night. This is really cheesy; but it was so beautiful.
The book is translated from french, and takes place in France also. Throw in the fact that this is a philosophy book disguised as a fiction novel and you'd think it would be a very smug-self-congradulatory-cuz-I'm-smarter-than-you-AND-french kind of book. It is not at all. As I said, it is a philosophy book, so it is written in a very highbrow lots of big words kind of style; surpisingly though it is not hard to read. The construction of the sentances is so graceful that you will actually say them out loud, just to see if they sound as lovely spoken as they are written. (they are.)
And well, it does have that wonderful FRENCHNESS about it, but it never slip into patting itself on the back for it, because it routinely takes the piss out of itself in the best ways.
It will make you cry with it's eloquent presentation of Truth.
And it will make your heart soar from the Beauty found in the simple pleasure of language.
I love it so much I could marry it.
The book is translated from french, and takes place in France also. Throw in the fact that this is a philosophy book disguised as a fiction novel and you'd think it would be a very smug-self-congradulatory-cuz-I'm-smarter-than-you-AND-french kind of book. It is not at all. As I said, it is a philosophy book, so it is written in a very highbrow lots of big words kind of style; surpisingly though it is not hard to read. The construction of the sentances is so graceful that you will actually say them out loud, just to see if they sound as lovely spoken as they are written. (they are.)
And well, it does have that wonderful FRENCHNESS about it, but it never slip into patting itself on the back for it, because it routinely takes the piss out of itself in the best ways.
It will make you cry with it's eloquent presentation of Truth.
And it will make your heart soar from the Beauty found in the simple pleasure of language.
I love it so much I could marry it.