Autodidact [aw-toh-dahy-dakt, -dahy-dakt]

 a person who has learned a subject without the benefit of a teacher or formal education; a self-taught person.

I chose this picture because Renee, one of the narrators, reveals that this is the last film she watched with her husband before he died from cancer. 

She starts the chapter wih a quote to describe how terminal illnesses consume a family: 

"When illness enters a home, not only does it take hold of a body; it also weaves a dark web         between hearts, a web where hope is trapped. Like a spider's thread drawn ever tighter around           our projects, making it impossible to breathe, with each passing day, the illness was                           overwhelming our life."

This quote was particularily resounding because my mother is fighting cancer for the 3rd time in her life. Each time she was diagnosed, the illness crept into every facet of our family much like the cancer cells consume the body. As I watch her suffer the effects of chemo and the cancer itself, I struggle to maintain my compusure so that I can be a source of comfort her her. However, when I call her every night and I hear the weakness of her voice, it is like a fly vibrating a thread of the spider's web and I quickly compartmentalize my reactions before my fear is noticed. I dread knowing that I may have summoned the spider for its prey.

Profound thought: stay centered without losing your shorts

The story is set in a high end apartment building in Paris. The first narrator is Renee Michele who is the 54 year old concierge. She is very intelligent and basically taught her self to read. Her commentary is heavy with allusions to philosophical paradigms from Marx to Kant. However, she has quite a low opinion of her outward appearance and even calls herself lumpy and a hunchback. She has lived her life in poverty, yet she is much more articulate than many of the well-educated rich patrons living in the building. Her conemptuous commentary about these inhabitants is dripping with sarcasm. 

The other narrator is a young girl who lives with her rich family in the building. However, the young girl shares Renee's contempt for the wealthy and obnoxious residents. In fact, the girl has decided that she must kill herself on her 13th birthday so that she doesn't fall into the absurdity of the rat race of adults. The two narrators are distinguished by different fonts which makes it easier for the reader to follow. 

Why I chose this novel

I'll admit it. I started this novel, but I never finished it. Blasphemous for an English teacher, I agree. However, one of the protagonists in this novel was touted as the female Holden Caulfield, but alas she was a poor doppelganger for one of my favorite protagonists. After 100 pages in, I slammed the door in her face and refused to give her a chance. After some consideration, I have decided to give her another chance because from a literary standpoint the novel has received much critical praise.