Kakuro not only suspects Renée’s cultural refinement, but also recognizes Paloma’s brilliance, and thus befriends them both and brings the kindred spirits together. The book speeds up considerably when Kakuro Ozu moves into the apartment of one of the deceased tenants. It’s magnificent, don’t you think? Nouns, verbs… When you’ve grasped this, you’ve grasped the core of any statement. I find there is nothing more beautiful, for example, than the very basic components of language, nouns and verbs. And that’s where it becomes wonderful because you say to yourself, ‘Look how well made this is, how well-constructed it is! How solid and ingenious and rich and subtle!’ I get completely carried away just knowing there are words of all different natures, and that you have to know them in order to be able to infer their potential usage and compatibility. When you use grammar you peel back the layers to see how it is all put together, see it quite naked, in a way. But when you are applying the rules of grammar skillfully, you ascend to another level of the beauty of language. You can recognize a well-turned phrase or an elegant style. When you speak, or read, or write, you can tell if you’ve said or read or written a fine sentence. Personally I think that grammar is a way to attain beauty.
Paloma in her journal writes about her own view on grammar: Both Renée and Paloma are grammar sticklers, which apart from being hilarious, also allows the reader to appreciate the elegance of the construction of language. Barbery’s focus on the minutia of life allows the reader to appreciate the subtleties which are so often taken for granted like the universality of culture, and the beauty and simplicity of grammar. Though there is very little action in the book, it is nevertheless engaging. The story continues as Paloma searches for beauty in the world and Renée struggles to suppress and hide her own. Paloma decides to commit suicide in order to escape from a world that she sees as useless and distinctly unfair. As a brilliant child, she is unable to reconcile her family’s elevated role in society with their inherent stupidity. Thus Renée is seldom allowed to reveal her true self and remains isolated. As a concierge she appears stupid and obtuse in order to allow her tenants to maintain the illusion that everything is as it should be. To reveal her intelligence would be to betray the role society has given her. Renée is determined to hide the fact that she is well read and brilliant while still enjoying the literature, film, and music for which she lives. The Elegance of the Hedgehog is told from the perspective of a French concierge of an upper class building, Renée, and a pre-teen genius, Paloma who lives in that same building. ** SPOILER ALERT! If you haven’t read this book and are still hoping to be surprised by the ending do NOT continue reading, regardless of how provocative this bold, starred writing is!**
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