The Elegance of the Hedgehog

Rene is the concierge of a grand Parisian apartment building. She maintains a carefully constructed persona as someone uncultivated but reliable, in keeping with what she feels a concierge should be. But beneath this facade lies the real Rene: passionate about culture and the arts, and more knowledgeable in many ways than her employers with their outwardly successful but emotionally void lives. Down in her lodge, apart from weekly visits by her one friend Manuela, Rene lives with only her cat for company. Meanwhile, several floors up, twelve-year-old Paloma Josse is determined to avoid the pampered and vacuous future laid out for her, and decides to end her life on her thirteenth birthday. But unknown to them both, the sudden death of one of their privileged neighbours will dramatically alter their lives forever. By turns moving and hilarious, this unusual novel became the top-selling book in France in 2007.

ISBN 1906040184   DEWEY edition DC22 ISBN13 9781906040185 (What's this?)   Pages 320 Publisher Gallic Books   Published in London Imprint Gallic Books   Previous ISBN 9781906040208 Format Paperback   Height (mm) 198 Publication date 21 Feb 2009   Width (mm) 129 Translator Alison Anderson   Academic level General DEWEY 843.92

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