The Elegance of The Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery

If you wondered why you studied Liberal Arts in college rather than something more practical like engineering or ceramics, the French novel  The Elegance of the Hedgehog is the reason. The novel is sprinkled with enough literary and philosophical references to make you feel really good about the money your parents spent on your fine education .  (I remember Kitty, but who is Husserl?)   

This funny and poignant  novel concerns  two residents of  an upscale apartment building in Paris.  Paloma, a precocious, suicidal 12 year- old girl and the building’s concierge, Renee, are misfits in their respective milieus.  Both hide their intelligence and sophisticated interests behind the accepted stereotypes of their age and position.

The two outcasts might have lived forever in mournful isolation but for the appearance of a wealthy Japanese tenant.  Keen-eyed Mr. Ozu spots potential soul-mates in these two, and suddenly everything changes.  A lovely book that I would happily re-read.