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|  | Author: Muriel Barbery
Creator: Alison Anderson
Publisher: Europa Editions
List Price: $15.00
Buy Used: $6.98
as of 3/17/2010 21:36 CDT details
You Save: $8.02 (53%)
New (93) Used (57) from $6.98
Seller: Gulfstream Goodwill
Rating:  287 reviews
Sales Rank: 106
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Pages: 336
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.2 x 1.1
ISBN: 1933372605
Dewey Decimal Number: 843.92
EAN: 9781933372600
ASIN: 1933372605
Publication Date: September 2, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Your purchase supports people with disabilities. Thank you.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 26-30 of 287
An unexpected treasure January 30, 2010
Beth A. Van Gelder (Bethesda, MD)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I read this book after I recieved recommendation from a friend at my yoga studio. At first, I was a bit confused by the story telling format as the story is told from the perspective of two very different characters, a wealthy young girl, Paloma, and the concierge in Paloma's building, Renee Michel. In the beginning I wasn't sure I was liking the book, but once I got a few chapters in, I was hooked. My interest was held in the book because Ms. Barbery's rich character development. It was such a great story that I didn't want it to end. I can't wait to read more from Ms. Barbery.
 French Intellectual Nonsense January 30, 2010
Veronica L. Ciregna
6 out of 8 found this review helpful
I began reading the novel with great expectations. The format is interesting as are the characters and the author acurately describes the upper class in France. However, I soon found the novel pretentious and full of typical French intellectual blah blah.
Unfortunately, the first novel portends the nonsense of the author's second novel. Full of long words and emptiness.
Spoiled Brat January 27, 2010
J. Maughan (Idaho)
8 out of 13 found this review helpful
A very slow read about a spoiled brat. I have no sympathy for a rich 12-year-old with self-inflicted ennui.
Philosophical asides are profound January 25, 2010
Sarah E. Sleight (Chicago)
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
It was funny that my book club mostly disliked this book, and I not only liked it, I liked it a lot. They saw the philosophical asides as being boring diversions. I had studied philosophy in college, and I thought those diversions were mostly profound and beautiful. I also loved the French setting.
I do think it's odd that this has become such a popular book, given how much my book club colleagues disliked it, but I think it's worth a try. In fact, I plan to read it again! If you want your stories to be very straightforward, maybe this isn't the book for you. If you can appreciate some flights of fancy, you might enjoy it. I did.
 Help me Funk and Wagnell! January 25, 2010
emma (East Coast)
4 out of 7 found this review helpful
I've always thought I had a better-than-average vocabulary but after the 3rd page I literally sat with a dictionary in my lap. And it wasn't just for the French words. A typical sentence in this book contained 30 - 40, sometimes even 50, words. I sometimes had to go back to the beginning of the sentence to remember the point. A book just full of pretension beyond tolerance.
What I didn't really understand was why the concierge pretended to be the stereotype she assumed the upper class residents thought her to be. It never made sense why she would go out of her way to make herself look lowly both physically and mentally. I am a jeans and T-shirt girl, I always have been, and from outer appearances, people sometimes assume I am "lesser" than them. I have, in fact, a degree in computer science and worked for IBM. When I'm around doctors, lawyers, teachers, etc. I make a point of being my professional self to dispel any lower opinions they may have of me. I can't imagine WANTING other professionals to believe I was "lower". The concierge's behavior was actually reverse snobbery. But why? Maybe I missed one of those big fancy words.
Showing reviews 26-30 of 287
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