The Elegance of The Hedgehog

The next book for the month of April was The Elegance of The Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery.  This book does not fall into the historical category but we thought we would mix things up a bit.  Mix is certainly the right word not only for this novel but the reviews and conversation of the book club as well.  Half of the gals in our group loved it and gave it a 4 or 5 star GroupReads rating.  Others, like me, either did not finish or got through it.  The club met at and Indian restaurant in Bellevue called Chutneys.  I could not make it but I hear the food is amazing and the book club girls closed the place down.  (Which we tend to do anyway!)  For me the first half of the book was confusing and annoying and I really didn't care or attach myself to any of the characters.  The Concierge was intriguing enough so I kept reading.  The second half is certainly much improved and I am still slowly getting through it.  The book is set up to give you different perspectives of 2 main females characters.   Normally I enjoy this type of bird's eye view but in this case I just couldn't get interested in character's interests.  Set in a Paris apartment complex, it gives a dynamic view of dweller relationships from the older, single female concierge, to the young, highly gifted girl in angst to the new dweller from the outside.  If you want complex and sometimes philosophic, this might be the book for you!