Book Review: The Elegance of the Hedgehog

The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is about the intertwining lives of a young, super smart, rich girl and the older, intellectual, social recluse of a woman who is the concierge in her Parisian upscale apartment building.

I really liked the depth of characters in this book. The old woman, Renee was my favorite, maybe because I could kind of identify with her introverted ways. And the fact that she loved her cat, books, and good food. She also seemed a little more believable to me than the 12 year old Paloma. While I understand part of Paloma's character is being extremely smart, I just don't see a twelve year old having that deep of thoughts about life, politics, and society. Her character seemed much more believable when talked about from Renee's point of view.

I found myself tuning out during some of the more intense/long philosophical thoughts of both the main characters although I still found this to be a very enjoyable book. I'd say it borders more on the line of 3 1/2 stars, but I'll give it the extra bump, especially because the audio version was so good.

Full disclosure: I hated the ending.


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