The Elegance of the Hedgehog. By Muriel Barbery (Gallic)

I came across this book one day whilst browsing Waterstones and picked it up on a whim. Despite it apparently selling over 2.5 million copies worldwide and being serialised on BBC Radio 4 I had never heard of it, but I felt instantly attached to it once I had picked it up and read the blurb; I truly felt like I couldn't leave the shop without it, and when that happens I go with my instinct.

I was not disappointed. This little novel I found tucked away in the far corner of the bookshop is filled to the brim with charm, grace, beauty and inspiration.

It focuses around a grand Parisian apartment building, where an older lady named Renee is the concierge. Deeply philosophical and cultured, Renee keeps her true identity a wonderful secret from the outside world, fearing that if the self-important residents knew she was more knowledgeable than them then they would go to great measures to dispose of her (by sacking her, I don't think murder would have been on the cards!). Renee is the perfect example of why one should not judge a book by its cover. Rough and shabby on the outside, and yet admirable with a sparkling personality on the inside, the reader feels themself rooting for her to keep her magnificent secret from the residents; and to have the opportunity to escape her tiny apartment in the bottom of the building and experience some of her dreams.

Living in Renee's building is 12-year old Paloma Josse; precocious, charming and suicidal. This impossibly clever young girl is determined to end her life before she enters her teenage years in order to avoid living the predictable, privileged bourgeois future that she knows she is destined for. It is a credit to Barbery that she has made Paloma so likeable. Upon seeing the word "precocious" my initial thought was that I hoped she would commit suicide and give her spoilt whining a rest! However, within the novels first few interactions with Paloma she quickly endears herself to your heart. Not to mention how amusing it is that she wishes to kill herself to avoid a life of boredom and has no real feelings of depression. Her attitude is that it is a regrettable but very necessary action for her to take. Barbery has managed to perfectly capture the strange workings of a pre-teens mind, and that is no easy feat for a 41 year old adult to achieve.

Perhaps the most important turning point in the story is Kakuro Ozu's arrival. This brilliantly cultured Japenese Gentleman moves in and turns both Renee and Paloma's lives upside down (or the right way up if you think it about). Kakuro brings their lives together, forming an unlikely triangle of friendship and producing many philosophical and beautifully heartwarming moments along the way.

Barbery pulls off this philisophical masterpiece with such flare it's difficult to imagine a reader not being irrevocably connected to the characters and sentiments she presents. If you're looking for inspiration in your life, or enjoy philisophical discussions regarding the point of existence (amongst other topics) then this charming novel is for you.

Under the Dome: Stephen King (Hodder & Stoughton)

Stephen King’s latest epic “Under the Dome” was a good 25 years in the making, and boy was it worth it. This apocalyptic vision of what could, and horrifyingly probably would happen if a small population of us were left to our own devices, cut off from the rest of humanity manages to grip the reader from the beginning and transport them directly to the small town of Chester’s Mill, Maine and the nucleus of the trouble.

The story follows the inhabitants of Chester’s Mill from the day an impenetrable dome descends over them. Typical of the ever-complicating King, the tale consists of a vast amount of characters, most of who are central to the plot and therefore need to be remembered. In his favour though, King is a master of characterisation, making this job easy for his readers. Big Jim Rennie, second selectman and chief villain of the narrative is a perfect depiction of all that is and ever has been wrong within politics. King appears to have taken all of the most terrible parts of all of the most despicable politicians in history and moulded this figure from them, adding a few psychopathic profiles in for good measure. Jim Rennie is a creation that sends chills down the reader’s spine purely because of how easy it is to see how he almost effortlessly manipulated himself into power despite being the barbaric person he is.

Other characters, such as Andrea Grinnell and Samantha Bushey strike the reader because of the stark contrast in the strengths and weaknesses of their personalities. Both women have great troubles to overcome in this novel, and they handle them in completely divergent ways. The fascinating element of these characters narrative is that right up until the climax of their individual stories the reader is unsure of whether their strengths or weaknesses will win.

Conversely, an aspect of “Under the Dome” I personally found disconcerting was King’s treatment of religion. In this book only the corrupt and evil characters believe in God. Piper Libby, the town’s vicar, is a “good” character, but she no longer believes in her religion. It is as if King is suggesting that only nutcases and extremists still believe in religion, and as someone who isn’t wildly religious but does have religious beliefs I found this mildly offensive.

If I could have changed something about this narrative it would have been the ending. It’s difficult for me to express my feelings here without spoiling the end somewhat. Suffice to say, I was a little disappointed and felt it could have been cleverer. My ending would also have made more sense and aligned with the theme of the novel a lot more, but King obviously had a different purpose for his epic and his ending does make sense. It just felt a bit lacklustre to me after the preceding story.

Which brings me nicely to the length of “Under the Dome”; at over 800 pages some readers may be put off from picking up this book. I wholeheartedly encourage you to give it a go. Not one page, storyline or character could have been cut out. It is a complete masterpiece and an almost effortless read. Even if you have previously hated Stephen King’s writing, (I for one wish I hadn’t wasted time reading “The Shining”), this is one novel that deserves to be read.