I am in awe of this book, possibly because its author paid much importance to the inner lives of the characters, unlike some action-filled novels lacking in depth.

In the story, Renée Michel and Paloma Josse are the two main characters, who although living in the same apartment building do not know about each other and how much they are alike until more than halfway through the book.

Renée Michel is a 54-year-old concierge from humble beginnings but with a developed mind and tastes who hides behind her vocation. Paloma is the 12-year-old, soon-to-be-13, who comes from a rich well-educated family; she despises her family, their snobbery, and the life she is being forced to live. Both Renée and Paloma concentrate and reflect on the nature of true beauty, art, and the meaning of life and death.

Without giving much about the plot, I can only say that when one of the tenants in the building die and his apartment is bought by a Japanese man who understands and befriends both ladies, and then the two learn about each other and connect. The story has a sad but poignant ending.

Although the novel has an immense amount of sophisticated cultural, philosophical, and enlightening thought, it also has a delicately balanced emotional side to it with gentle and reflective twists and turns and remarkably touching scenes at its end.

The story is written from the two viewpoints of Renée and Paloma. The viewpoints are in different chapters and in two different typefaces; thus, it is easy to know who is the speaker. The characters are wonderfully developed and in addition to the original theme of what makes life worth living, the themes of hypocrisy, class consciousness, and the importance of arts and letters in a life make this a unique novel.

I loved this novel for its delicateness yet at the same time its intensity and for its referrals to cultural icons and thoughts and the characters’ musings on them. There are some things about the characters that coincide with who I am. This, too, may be part of the reason why I enjoyed reading this book so much.

This book was written in French originally with the title of L'Élégance du Hérisson and translated into English by Alison Anderson.

its characters, and the depth of thought and learning that went into writing it.

is Muriel Barbery who is a French novelist and professor of philosophy.

it will be one of the books for me to always remember. If you like external action more than the internal, however, this book may not be for you; although, I think, the external action is not lacking.

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Created May 19, 2017 at 2:30pm • Submit your own review...