I think this could have been an even stronger book, if the author had dared to take his premise (that one must be stupid to be a happily functioning member of society) more seriously. As it was, he danced a bit too much between goofball scenes, lecturing essays, and fairly profound insights... maybe he couldn't make up his mind just how silly or serious he wanted to get! That being said, there were some fabulously wry comments that popped up and took me by surprise. And I loved random details about Antoine's quirky character (his last big project was translating Proust's "In Search of Lost Time" into Aramaic!). A very smooth and easy read... lacking in depth, but full of some nice chuckles. :-)

On the stone table at the entrance to the Botanical Garden's greehnouse.