beauty, in this world

i just finished this gorgeous, wonderful, spectacular, poetic and oh so inspiring book by Muriel Barbery called, 'The Elegance of the Hedgehog'. this is my homage to this novel....
i wish it was a croissant instead of a crumpet, but that leaves some room for hilarity because of part 4, chapter 6...and seeing as though i do not wish to ruin the gorgeous details of this book by trying to explain what it is about, or how i responded to its brilliance and humor, i will say nothing and keep the deeply personal meaning and loveliness i got from it to myself. instead i shall give you a few of my favorite passages with no context in hopes that it will suffice. maybe you will then grab a copy for yourself. (my copy will go directly to the chase/angela household for immediate consumption.)
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"The only purpose of cats is that they constitute mobile decorative objects, a concept which I find intellectually interesting, but unfortunately our cats have such drooping bellies that this does not apply to them." -pg 51

"The camellia against the moss of the temple, the violet hues of the Kyoto mountains, a blue porcelain cup-this sudden flowering of pure beauty at the heart of ephemeral passion: is this not something we all aspire to?" -pg 101

"At the door stands a courier, chewing on what must be a piece of gum for elephants, given the vigor and range of mandibular activity to which he is compelled." -pg 164

"...I'd like to remind everyone that Colombe washes her hands three times a day and screams the moment she gets the slightest suspicion that there might be an invisible hair in the shower (visible hairs are more improbable)." -pg 237

"...does this mean that this is how we must live our lives? Constantly poised between beauty and death, between movement and disappearance? Maybe that's what being alive is all about: so we can track down those moments that are dying." -pg 273

"I remember all that rain...The sound of it drumming on the roof, the paths running with water, the sea of mud at the gate to the farm, the black sky, the wind, the horrible feeling of endless damp weighing upon us as our life weighed upon us: neither consciousness nor revolt."
-pg 287
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i should stop here, even though much of what moved me was in the bigger picture, which was of course revealed at the end. this is a stunning novel. quite funny. quite charming. i hope you seek it out sometime and let me know your thoughts.