The Elegance of the Hedgehog

A poignant, humorous, and victorious book that celebrates the little wins of the unnoticeable among us.

We are in a classy apartment complex filled with bourgeois families in the heart of Paris. The concierge, Renée, observes the opulent but meaningless lifestyles of her several employers. She seemed to fit every cliché associated with a concierge—fat, irascible, television-dependent. However, Renée is a sophisticated autodidact who loves art, philosophy, music, and Japanese culture—something her employers are unaware of. She examines the lives of the building's occupants, who are mostly unaware of her presence, with wit and insight.

And then there's twelve-year-old genius Paloma. She is the gifted and remarkably intelligent youngster who has chosen to terminate her life on June 16, her thirteenth birthday. Her father is a tiresome MP. She will act like the preteen high on adolescent subculture that everyone expects her to act like until then—a fine but not exceptional student, a dutiful if stubborn daughter.

Paloma and Renée conceal their best attributes and genuine abilities from a society they believe is incapable of appreciating them. When a rich Japanese guy called Ozu arrives in the building, they find that they are similar spirits. He is the only one who can win Paloma's confidence and reveal Renée's dark truth under her well-worn mask. This book, which celebrates the little wins of the unnoticeable among us, is triumphant, humorous, and poignant.