The Elegance of the Hedgehog

The Elegance of the Hedgehog
- Great product!
The internationalÂ bestseller that has sold over 10 million copies worldwide. The Elegance of the Hedgehog is a moving, funny, atmospheric novel that exalts the quiet victories of the inconspicuous among us.Â

We are in an elegant hÃ´tel particulier in the center of Paris. RenÃ©e, the building's concierge, is short, ugly, and plump. She has bunions on her feet. She is cantankerous and addicted to television soaps. Her only genuine attachment is to her cat, Leo. In short, she is everything society expects from a concierge at a bourgeois building in a posh Parisian neighborhood. ButÂ RenÃ©e has a secret: she is a ferocious autodidact who furtively devours art, philosophy, music, and Japanese culture. With biting humor she scrutinizes the lives of the building's tenants-her inferiors in every way except that of material wealth. Â

Then there's Paloma, a super-smart twelve-year-old and the youngest daughter of the Josses, who live on the fifth floor. Talented, precocious, and startingly lucid, she has come to terms with life's seeming futility and has decided to end her own on the day of her thirteenth birthday. Until then she will continue hiding her extraordinary intelligence behind a mask of mediocrity, acting the part of an average pre-teen high on pop subculture, a good but not an outstanding student, an obedient if obstinate daughter.

Paloma and RenÃ©e hide both their true talents and their finest qualities from a world they suspect cannot or will not appreciate them. They discover their kindred souls when a wealthy Japanese man named Ozu arrives in the building. Only he is able to gain Paloma's trust and to see through RenÃ©e's timeworn disguise to the secret that haunts her.
Country USA
Brand Europa Editions
Manufacturer Europa Editions
Binding Paperback
ItemPartNumber 9781933372600
ReleaseDate 2008-09-02
UnitCount 1
EANs 9781933372600

Country	USA
Brand	Europa Editions
Manufacturer	Europa Editions
Binding	Paperback
ItemPartNumber	9781933372600
ReleaseDate	2008-09-02
UnitCount	1
EANs	9781933372600

The Elegance of the Hedgehog

Customers who purchased this also purchased....