The Elegance of the Hedgehog

By Muriel Barbery

Subjects: class in fiction, Apartment dwellers, Fiction, general, Large type books, New York Times bestseller, Apartment concierges, nyt:trade-fiction-paperback=2008-12-07, New York Times reviewed, Fiction, philosophical novel, Paris (france), fiction, Friendship

Description: EA novel by the French professor of philosophy Muriel Barbery. The book centers on a working-class concierge of an upscale apartment building in Paris, Renee Michel. She is an auto-didact of immense learning who deliberately conceals her intelligence. Her secret is discovered by a young resident of the building named Paloma. The novel is narrated alternately by each of these two characters. First released in August 2006 by Gallimard, the novel became a bestseller of over a million copies.