The Appealing Hedgehog

I’m not sure what made “The Elegance of the Hedgehog” so appealing to French readers, but I think I’ve figured out why it struck a chord with me. It’s definitely not the story itself, in which the concierge of an exclusive apartment building, a 13 year-old girl from a wealthy family living in the building, and a Japanese widower become friends. There is virtually no plot and there are aspects to the story that don’t seem so plausible, such as the fact that just about every wealthy person in the book was a rude snob except for Mr. Ozu and one other lesser character (maybe in France that circumstance is perfectly believable). I’m also not sure about the ending; it almost seemed as if the author decided it was time for an end and selected the most efficient one she could think of. What I did find plausible and completely real was the way she captured that process where isolated people meet, discover shared sensibilities, become friends, and other differences just melt away.

(I just finished another book, Dance, Dance, Dance, by Haruki Murakami that also deals with isolation and a friendship between a teenager and an older character. Very different in feeling, but also a good read.)

--holladay