The Elegance of the Hedgehog
Muriel Barbery, Alison Anderson
Then there's Paloma, a twelve-year-old genius. She is the daughter of a tedious parliamentarian, a talented and startlingly lucid child who has decided to end her life on the sixteenth of June, her thirteenth birthday. Until then she will continue behaving as everyone expects her to behave: a mediocre pre-teen high on adolescent subculture, a good but not an outstanding student, an obedient if obstinate daughter.
Paloma and Renée 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 Renée's timeworn disguise to the secret that haunts her. This is a moving, funny, triumphant novel that exalts the quiet victories of the inconspicuous among us.
Tagged as:
- contemporary 6
- mystery 5
- m-f romance 1
- older/mature 1
- childfree 1
- class difference 1
- grumpy & sunshine 1
- multicultural 1
- east asian mc 1
- grumpy/ice queen 1
- poor heroine 1
- plain heroine 1
- working class heroine 1
- sweet/gentle hero 1
- rich hero 1
- Add topics
- content warnings
- no hea 1
- death / grief 1
romance tags
