I'm glad you enjoyed the novel despite of the heavy philosophy and pretentious moments (it was written by a French philosophy professor, so...xD). I posted up my thoughts about this book over here if you're interested in comparing notes =D
Wow, what a thoughtful and thorough review! You definitely enjoyed it more than I did, but I did grow to like the book more as it progressed. I have nothing against philosophy in general, but I was irritated by the way Renee name-dropped people like Kant and Husserl just to prove that she was so much smarter than everyone else. So some parts of this book really annoyed me! Luckily there were also some parts I really liked, so my overall feeling is pretty positive.
Yeah, I was quite surprised at how much I enjoyed it. But I know what you mean, it does take a while to get into it, especially with the way the characters were (like with the name-dropping) at the beginning (I forgot how annoyed I was with Paloma initially, lmao).
It's funny how people react differently to things. I thought the journal of "profound thoughts" was funny and rather endearing because she's 12 because the audience understands what the girl does not, having already been 12 ourselves and knowing how silly we were. Kind of like that quote from Twain, "When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years."
It's been a while, but I thought that Renee's general demeanor grew out of class conflict by and large. Hmm, I should really go back to that book.
I can see how the "profound thoughts" journal is funny, but it didn't strike me that way on first reading. As you say, everyone reacts to certain tropes in different ways.
As for Renee, you're right, most of her character was based on class conflict. She annoyed me too, though, by playing into the stereotype of the dumb concierge. I think she should have been bolder and more honest about who she really was. But then I guess we wouldn't have a book!
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It's been a while, but I thought that Renee's general demeanor grew out of class conflict by and large. Hmm, I should really go back to that book.
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As for Renee, you're right, most of her character was based on class conflict. She annoyed me too, though, by playing into the stereotype of the dumb concierge. I think she should have been bolder and more honest about who she really was. But then I guess we wouldn't have a book!
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Thanks for including your review on the European Reading Challenge.
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