Produktdetaljer
Biographical note
Muriel Barbery is the author of four previous novels, including the IMPAC-shortlisted multimillion-copy bestseller The Elegance of the Hedgehog. She has lived in Kyoto, Amsterdam and Paris and now lives in the French countryside.Witty and touching, this novel features two of my favorite female characters
- Gillian Anderson,
Resistance is futile . . . you might as well buy it before someone recommends it for your book group. Its charm will make you say yes
Guardian
Clever, informative and moving . . . an admirable novel which deserves as wide a readership here as it had in France
Observer
Wins over its fans with a life-affirming message, a generous portion of heart and Barbery's frequently wicked sense of humor
Time Magazine
A book of great charm and grace
Metro
Breathtakingly singular novel . . . totally French yet completely universal
Good Housekeeping
The book's attractive, Amélie-esque Parisian setting and cast of eccentrics will appeal to many
Sunday Telegraph
Gently satirical, exceptionally winning and inevitably bittersweet
Washington Post
Enthusiastically recommended for anyone who loves books that grow quietly and then blossom suddenly
Marie Claire
Reveals itself as a version of the Cinderella fairytale
Financial Times
Barbery's sly wit . . . bestows lightness on the most ponderous cogitations
New Yorker
The narrators' kinetic minds and engaging voices (in Alison Anderson's fluent translation) propel us ahead
New York Times Book Review
An elegant, light-spirited and very European adult fable
Kirkus Reviews
Nobody ever imagined that this tender, funny book with a philosophical vein would have enjoyed such incredible success. For some, it is part Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder, part Monsieur Malaussene by Daniel Pennac. While for others it resembles a written version of the film Amélie. Either way, readers are responding in vast numbers
Le Monde
The reader will be amused, surprised and moved by this philosophical tale: a user's guide to life which is a delight on every level
Elle
At once absurd and lyrical, cheery and bleak, contemplative and tender . . . It is the revelatory joy the characters afford each other - with recognition, with friendship, with love - that quietly rises to the top
New Statesman
A beautiful story with a large cast of fascinating, complicated characters whose behavior is delightfully unpredictable
Wall Street Journal
Commands the sophistication, polish and mental agility that often distinguish French fiction . . . Barbery has a warm heart and a heart moreover that knows that great art and the best philosophy may (just possibly) possess redemptive qualities, or at least make life bearable in a materialistic and self-indulgent world Sydney Morning Herald
Sydney Morning Herald