Reading up a storm

The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery

Renée is the concierge of an upscale apartment building in Paris. Outwardly she appears to be addicted to television and not at all an interesting person. In real life, she’s a lover of art, literature and philosophy. Most of the tenants in her building barely know she exists except when they need a package accepted on their behalf.

Paloma is a twelve-year-old girl who lives in the building. She’s so disgusted with her family and their wealth that she’s decided she must die on her thirteenth birthday.

The book is told from each of their perspectives in first person. Paloma’s story is told through “Profound Thoughts.”

When Mr. Ozu, a Japanese man, moves into the building, both Renée and Paloma feel they have met a kindred spirit, someone who understands them and their lives are changed forever.

At times I wasn’t sure why I should even care about these characters, they both seemed so pretentious in their own way. As the story went on and I began so see why they were the way they were and how they transformed. In the end, I actually cared about the characters and what happened to them.