Help me remember a book title!

There was a review of it in the Glasgow Herald about a month ago, and had such a striking title I knew I'd remember it. I didn't.

Published recently, it's set in France, although I can't remember the plot. It's got a title that I remember as being reminiscent of "The Curiousness of Elephants". "The <somethingness> of <something>".

I think...

Any help would be gratefully received - I REALLY wanted to read it, I know I did!

Now I search harder, I keep seeing that McCall Smith one coming up. It's not "The Unbearable Lightness of Scones".

May have the name of an insect in the title...

The Artiness of Arachnids?
The Boorishness of Beetles?
The Fickleness of Fleas?
The Lusciousness of Lepidoptera?
The Mulishness of Mayflies?

Having spent the last hour trying to think up similar titles, this REALLY made me laugh :-)

Is the Glasgow Herald online? Maybe you could search among the older reviews and hit on it.

It is, but I can't find the "Arts Books Cinema" section, which is what I'm sure this was in. It's also a bit clunky to search. It's browseable, but only with an Athens login, which I no longer have. Have spent the last hour and a bit browsing recently published books on Amazon!...

I'm going to go back to the Herald online and give it another go though.

The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery.

What do I win?

Esteem and gratitude. C.O.D.

Have just woken up, read this - brilliant!

You win my eternal gratitude, thanks and esteem. The rest of your reward waits for you in heaven...

Seriously though, thankyou!

Better yet, tell me what to read from the Scottish writers. I have read Alisdair Gray (rules). I have heard the name Frank Kuppner but not read anything.

Christopher Brookmyre - writes brilliant crime fiction. Very funny, very dark, very Scottish! I would HIGHLY recommend his stuff.

Um... Lewis Grassic Gibbons (born James Leslie Mitchell) if you want some early 20th century Scottish turgid-but-classic stuff. Particularly Sunset Song, although I'd recommend the whole of the "A Scots Quair".

George Douglas Brown (more of the same, but different!)

Ian Rankin's Rebus novels, I'm not much of fan of, but the ones penned under the name Jack Harvey are excellent - Bleeding Hearts is excellent.

I've not read any Alisdair Gray - although I've heard his stuff recommended (particularly "Lanark").

Similarly Alexander McCall Smith, widely acclaimed - I'm not really a fan of his stuff, but I think I'm the only one!

Kuppner, I've not heard of...

Alexander Trocchi's 'Young Adam' is good, and I think is the only proper book he ever wrote.

George Douglas Brown (more of the same, but different!)

Yes, recently read his 'House with the Green Shutters', which was grimly funny and rather excellent, in a sort of Scottish Thomas Hardy way.

Robert Louis Stevenson! and Muriel Spark!

I've not read any Alisdair Gray - although I've heard his stuff recommended (particularly "Lanark").

I used to be a massive fan - I think Janine 1982 ended up being my favourite, but Lanark is definitely the place to start.

I must admit I find his precise, Lowland voice with its careful, simple democracies a little tiresome now, but that's possibly the result of over-indulging in his books back in the day. Definitely worth reading.

Also, I met him once - he was very nice, had popped in to the shop I worked in because he'd heard I was a fan. I was rather busy and a bit het up, but even considering that I was totally LAME.

He asked me what I liked about his books, which I'm sure both before and after the event I could have stabbed at more or less articulately, but in the event just ended up stammering, 'They're good.'

There was a longish pause and then he signed a copy of one of his books that I proffered wordlessly and went away.

The fact we're this far into the thread and nobody's mentioned James Kelman makes me weep tears of blood.

Also, Andy: if I'd seen this thread sooner I'd have searched the Herald archive for you myself -- sorry. Glad you got an answer. And "a bit clunky to search" is an understatement but hopefully that'll all change soon.

Fiendish - many thanks anyway... I'm glad someone got it, because from what I remembered, there was no way I would ever have dredged the correct title up!

Also Scottish, and one of the best books ever, James Hogg's 'Confessions of a Justified Sinner'.

god this book is so bad

Which one? The Elegance of the Hedgehog?