Hunting and Gathering

I bought this book in the course of fighting my own personal frightening illness. It is so movingly lets the reader not only live, but experience, the fundamental power of survival and love everyone experiences in varying degrees, that even this mystery and history addict, reading outside his normal comfort and interest zone, felt the cloud hanging over me dissipate as Anna Galvada tells the story of four people, each so alone to begin, create a family that is more sold than many families achieve by biological ties.There is nothing simplistic about the characters Anna Gavalda weaves. The author peels away the facade they present to the world to reveal the complex heartache within that is only cured by their contact with each other. For anyone who has ever lived in an urban commune, you will be in familiar territory, and if you have not, you will wish you would have. The characteristics and emotions inside each of the characters is anything but familiar. In fact, each of the characters is downright quirky. Gavada expertly shows, not tells, the layers and layers of history inside each of them, she hits on the truths of life, some of which surely almost anyone has experienced.This is, without a doubt, the most heart warming book I have ever read; and I so highly recommend it to anyone who has a heart.

Fabulous characters, all with their little flaws, low self esteem, and life throws them into one pot and stirsthem up. Two young men, one working as a cook 6 days a week to help support his aging grandmother whoraised him, another who has a grand apartment to live in but stutters in real life so sort of sticks to readingbooks and not socializing. A young woman who is thin as a rail and living as a cleaning woman, working officesat night and living in a very small one room up 8 flights of stairs. They end up meeting and giving strength to eachother and its a lovely well written story that gives you back faith in mankind.

Quirky, funny, sad... everything good is in this book. Woven with precession and care. It is a love song. Read this book.

I always have a hard time getting started when I read books for my book club. Maybe it's just the idea that someone else picked the book? This is a long book and takes a little while to get going but somewhere between pages 50 and 100 I really got into it. The characters are complex and likable. The setting is interesting. The ending is convenient but suspenseful and it had to end somehow. This is one of the most pleasant books we've had for book club. It doesn't rely on horrors or violence to move the characters. It is just the struggle of some slightly offbeat people to get through whatever comes. I don't expect this to be the deepest book club discussion we've ever had but there is enough to make it a very respectable choice.

This book will stay with me a long time. I wish I could read it in French, but assume that the translation was done well, as it is a joy to read. If it is even more eloquent in it's original language that would be incredible. The characters that Anna Gavalda created are so unforgettable. In it's simplest form, it is a story of abiding friendship, but it is so much richer and deeper than that. Don't we all know people that come along with unwieldy baggage from their childhood and rather different and strange characteristics? This story unfolds as the layers of each individual are peeled away and, as acceptance and understanding grows, so does the depth of their love for one another. A beautiful read that you won't forget. Merci beaucoup, Ms. Gavalda!

I read it in French (saw the movie in French). I loved it so much, I bought the english version for my friend here in USA. She loved it too!

I read "Hunting and Gathering" in the original, French version ("Ensemble, c'est tout"), so I'm not sure how well it translates. However, I loved this book. It's a page-turner. So well written that you really care about these charming and quirly characters and just want to know what will happen to them. This book is extremely joyful and uplifting, an ode to solidarity and human relationships. My only disappointment is that the ending seems rushed (as if the author hurried to hand in her manuscript in time), although it's satisfying.

This book is amazing and is one of, if not my absolute favorite book. I re-read it at least once a year and I still experience the full range of emotions I did the first time i picked it up. The characters are wonderful; they are each so beautifully flawed and real. They story is at its heart about love but I wouldn't call it a love story not in the sense of how we typically think of a boy meets girl love story; this story is about love in all the places it can be hidden. Anna Gavalda writes beautifully and I can't possibly do her writing or this story justice.

As with so many good stories, love is at the centre of Hunting And Gathering, and not just the romantic love of two people but also of the love for friends and relations as well as love for your art, for example possibly culinary art or art of the painting and drawing kind.The plot moves along wonderfully and the more it reveals, the more you want to know of these wonderfully drawn characters, of the lives they lead and the way they relate to each other.In five parts and with short chapters (mostly four or five page chapter) I found it a difficult novel to put down. I can see why it has sold so many copies and also why it has been made into a film though I do wonder if a filmed version could ever capture the magic of the novel - I am curious to find out though.I found Hunting and Gathering by Anna Gavalda and translated by Alison Anderson to be a really wonderful read.I said that I had wondered about the filmed version. I watched the film recently and very much enjoyed it even though I don't speak French.Some scenes from the novel were missing and although the acting looked first rate, the film (admittedly viewed with my lack of understanding of the French language) didn't look like it captured all of the charm of the novel, a good film but a great novel.

A beautiful written,and translated gem of a book. The characters are so endearing in their different ways depicting sad complex lives. Heartbreaking and rewarding.

Great product

We read this in our book club and most of us enjoyed it. I loved the different characters and was fascinated with their development. Also the writer got the French atmosphere and I felt I was in Paris whilst reading it.

The beginning is a bit depressing and I nearly gave up, as it is difficult to get into until she reveals who is who and how they are linked. HOWEVER - after the first few chapters I was hooked by the characters - loners from dysfunctional families, who get to know and support each other, and I just kept reading. You empathise with all of them, as her characterisation is excellent. It just gets better & better towards the end, with unexpected twists!