2025 #28 The Book Censor's Library (Al-Essa)

 

The Book Censor's Library by Bothayna Al-Essa
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

While not totally subtle in its satire, Al-Essa's novel succeeds with a dark whimsy befitting Alice and Wonderland, which serves as larger reference for the story in more ways than one. But Al-Essa's looking glass is perhaps more than it seems, and we are easily manipulated into caring for characters even though they bear titles, like stock figures, rather than names. The "Everyman" approach keeps a strange distance, until we come to understand the power of our own imaginations with an ending that has been described as a "narrative rupture" or a "twist worthy of Kafka." The ending made me a bit cranky, initially, but the more I thought about it, it seemed perfect to serve Al-Essa's true narrative, with its hanging threads and all.

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50BC09 #11: The Elegance of the Hedgehog

The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery

A RESOUNDING FIVE STARS!


It is rare that I am so enticed by the back cover of a book that I pick it up in the store, but when I read the synopsis of The Elegance of the Hedgehog, I did just that. This book is now in my top five favorite books of all time.
The characters are enchanting, yet real. While I found twelve-year-old Paloma to be a bit overwritten at times, her fellow protagonist, Madame Michel, is so engaging and at once heartbreaking and loveable, that the precociousness of Paloma can be forgiven.
And the book is heartbreaking, but not because of the tragedies, but because of the joy. Life, in all its guises, leaps off the pages and finds places in the reader's heart that may have long been hidden. It is that kind of book.
I'm reticent to say "everyone should read this book" because I think it resonated with me according to my life experiences and my personality (I am Paloma and Madame Michel both). I'd give it a try, however. And I'd stick with it...if the intellectual meanderings of Paloma and Renée get tiresome, read quickly until Ozu enters the scene. Then, if you liked The Time Traveler's Wife, I think you'll find the rest of the book to be utterly compelling.