Frugal Chariots

Liking The Elegance of the Hedgehog is bound to get me into trouble. I found it touching and warm. In theory I can understand the accusations regarding pretentious language and vapid characters, but honestly don’t agree. I felt that the story successfully created a small bridge between some vaulted ideas and musings of great philosophers and the corporeal, humorous, often inconvenient and sometimes tragic world.

When I finished it I reread the beginning bits of Phaedo – remembering the college discussions about Socrates rubbing his sore leg as he discussed the unimportance of the material mortal world. This book brought back those college contrasts, both within philosophy texts and without – students discussing virtue and truth and forms while behaving (appropriately) like self-indulgent young adults. Those feelings of struggling to reconcile personal reality and identity with Big Ideas all came back to me reading this book. I identified – not so much with any particular character but with the mood and style of the thing.  I completely loved Paloma and Renee both from their first pages. (Although I did have a moment of worry that this might be another Virgin Suicides… it’s not.)

While I can see how there could be a point of view not charmed by the philosophical elements and odd-ball plot, the story struck me as sincere. I did not feel like I was reading a tedious attempt to impress the world with big words and references to Proust.  Whatever it says about me – I liked this book very much indeed.