Madhouse Book Club - March 7, 2014 at 703 Bestgate, Annapolis, MD

The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery

A furious start: Jim commented on the two-tiered French culture; Ray found it interesting that it took an Asian (i.e., Mr. Ozu) to see beyond cultural stereotypes to the authentic person; Rachel did not like the whining, spoiled Paloma; Doug found beauty in the idea of moving without movement; Sue found elegance in the hedgehog: prickly on the outside, solitary and elegant on the inside; Robyn was drawn into Renee’s view of dying: the “always within never”; and Melissa dog-eared the entire book.<span>&nbsp; </span>For starters see pages 252; 37; 24; 149; 272; 277; 143; and so on.&nbsp; Some music mentioned: Mozart"s Requiem, Dido and Aeneas, and Erik Satie.  And most listened to Barbery's book narrated by Barbara Rosenblat (elegant Renee and others) and Cassandra Morris (snotty and smart Paloma).

Many things got mentioned, and in no particular order or attempt to be thorough: “wabi” – simple, understated gifts; beauty is consonance; some people are incapable of perceiving the very object of their contemplation;  Renee radiates intelligence but tries to hide it and does so from all except Mr. Ozu and Paloma; chess (destructive) versus GO (constructive); Western architecture: big doors; symmetry versus Eastern architecture: ambiguous; unbalanced; sparse; sliding doors.  Rose petal falling as the essence of beauty; occupational Karoshi;  Ozu’s power in his directness and candor; intellectual versus emotional honesty.  Dogs walking the people; what is the purpose of intelligence?; discussion of cultural differences at the macro, and micro levels. Sue notes this quote: "....if life is absurd, being a brilliant success has no greater value than being a failure.  It's just more comfortable, and then, I think lucidity gives your success a bitter taste."

Stay centered without losing your shorts.

Thanks to Ray and Rachel for Brazin wine and munchies; Robyn for the wine and French pizza; Doug for the beer; Melissa for the zero calorie water; Jim and Sue for hosting and the chocolates that folks brazenly stuffed into their pockets on the way out.