A touching story about a young girl from a wealthy family who befriends the concierge at her building. Filled with philosophical musings. A bittersweet ending. ( )

When I was about 2/3rd’s of the way through this book, I started writing my review in my head. “Barbery is a great writer,” I thought. “The story is artfully told in two different voices. Renee is a concierge in an upscale residential building, and Paloma is a twelve-year-old resident in the building. While Renee is struggling to conceal who she really is and play the part of a concierge, Paloma is struggling to figure out who she is and is contemplating suicide. The deep thoughts of both of these characters made me think about important issues like identity and the meaning of life. But,” I thought, as I neared page 200, “this is a good book, but not a great one. I just can't bring myself to really feel close to these characters.”

How wrong I was! In the final 100 pages of the book, the characters begin to pop off the pages. As they form relationships with each other and with a new resident in the building, they learn more about themselves. Through the eyes of others, I came to really care about these characters and to understand the challenges that they faced not just in my head, but also in my heart. The ending of the book took me by surprise, but it was an appropriate ending to this unusual book. This is one of those books that I expect will stick with me for a long while.

This is one clever novel written in a simple formula that draws the reader gradually into a philosophical fable.

Narrated alternately at each chapter, the story is dominated by Renée Michel, an unassuming concierge in her 50s who happens to be an autodidact who believes life is less complicated and more enjoyable by not displaying outwardly the depth of her knowledge. Paloma Josse is a precocious 12 year old daughter of a diplomat and socialite who lives in the same ritzy building as Renée, she believes adulthood is meaningless and plans to commit suicide on her 13th birthday and burn down the building she lives in.

The author tells Renée story in the first person and Paloma's is quoted from a dairy type notebook labelled "Profound Thoughts". They both share a friend in Monsieur Ozu, a mysterious, wealthy Japanese man who also resides in the building.

This story creeps up subtlety and takes hold of your attention without notice. It may seem slow at first but the author has written an exceptional tale about how one is perceived based on class, beauty and their position in life.
The described adventures of the characters show that even people from different backgrounds are not all that different and have a lot in common.

Although rich in texture and philosophy I found the story quite entertaining. It is a character study of three individuals and their inner thoughts towards life in general. This novel is not all substance it has a humorous side to it, one that made me smile and laugh at times.

"The Elegance of the Hedgehog" is a poignant and delightful read. ( )

I agree that it takes a bit of time to get into, and I have always had a dream of living in a Parisian block of apartements, quietly amused by all the snobbery around me.

It's funny, I didn't really enjoy reading this, however, looking back on the story, I'm smiling. Odd. ( )

A beautiful and darkly humourous book which will move the reader emotionally and intellectually.

The story is told from the perspectives of two protagonists; a brilliant twelve year-old and a refined concierge. Both characters are the antithesis of their respective stereotypes who completely dismantle the status quo by simply existing. These people make the reader aware of the tragedy of the modern poverty of spirit.

This book illustrates simple and profound ideals in the current context making them relevant and possible to put in to practice today. ( )