Off The Shelf - The Elegance of the Hedgehog

This is a very thought provoking book which I thoroughly enjoyed!

The main characters are Renee, a widow of ten years, who is Concierge of a block of  

Apartments inhabited by rich people in Paris. Manuela is a cleaner for some of the residents, who has become a good friend to Renee. Paloma, is 12yrs old and a daughter of two of the residents, she has an elder sister Colombe. Kakura Ozu is a very rich Japanese gentleman who arrives as a new resident of one of the apartments.

Renee had come from a poor family and didn’t have the chance to learn as a child so she was determined in adult life to better herself educationally but at the same time she wanted to keep this from the residents who looked down on her as a mere Concierge so she keeps her ‘private life’ to herself and lives as the person they expect her to be.

Paloma was at odds with her ‘rich’ family and she hid from them and her school the fact that she was well advanced in her learning because she didn’t want to be treated as a ‘genius’ which she assures us she is! Paloma recognises the fact that Renee is not as stupid as she makes out to be and befriends her so as she can be there with Renee and away from her family who didn’t like her ‘hiding’ away from them in the apartment.

Kakura arrives and very quickly works out from something that Renee lets slip out that she is a very intelligent women who shares a lot of interests with him. Their love of books, music and films gives them plenty to talk about. The three become friends and when Kakura invites Renee to join him for dinner in his apartment she is reluctant to accept because has nothing to wear other than her working clothes but Manuela brings her a dress that she has been given by a client of hers whose mother has just died and persuades her to go.  She doesn’t want to take it but is talked into it by Manuela.

To say much more would be to give the story away and would spoil the reading for anyone.  All I will say is that it is well written and I found I couldn’t put the book down, wanting to know what was coming next.  It was funny and entertaining.  It was certainly very thought provoking.

I would recommend this as a good read to anyone who wants a story with a difference seen through the eyes of a 12yr old – a very intelligent 12yr old – and a working woman who was also very intelligent – both very good at keeping things secret.

Pauline