The Elegance of the Hedgehog

　　The enthralling international bestseller. We are in the centerof Paris, in an elegant apartment building inhabited by bourgeoisfamilies. RenA(c)e, the concierge, is witness to the lavish butvacuous lives of her numerous employers. Outwardly she conforms toevery stereotype of the concierge: fat, cantankerous, addicted totelevision. Yet, unbeknownst to her employers, RenA(c)e is acultured autodidact who adores art, philosophy, music, and Japaneseculture. With humor and intelligence she scrutinizes the lives ofthe buildingas tenants, who for their part are barely aware of herexistence. Then thereas Paloma, a twelve-year-old genius. She isthe daughter of a tedious parliamentarian, a talented andstartlingly lucid child who has decided to end her life on thesixteenth of June, her thirteenth birthday. Until then she willcontinue behaving as everyone expects her to behave: a mediocrepre-teen high on adolescent subculture, a good but not anoutstanding student, an obedient if obstinate daughter. Paloma andRenA(c)e hide both their true talents and their finest qualitiesfrom a world they suspect cannot or will not appreciate them. Theydiscover their kindred souls when a wealthy Japanese man named Ozuarrives in the building. Only he is able to gain Palomaas trust andto see through RenA(c)eas timeworn disguise to the secret thathaunts her. This is a moving, funny, triumphant novel that exaltsthe quiet victories of the inconspicuous among us.