“The tea ritual: such a precise repetition of the same gestures and the same tastes; accession to simple, authentic and refined sensations, a license given to all, at little cost, to become aristocrats of taste, because tea is the beverage of the wealthy and of the poor; the tea ritual, therefore, has the extraordinary virtue of introducing into the absurdity of our lives an aperture of serene harmony. Yes, the world may aspire to vacuousness, lost souls mourn beauty, insignificance surrounds us. Then let us drink a cup of tea”.

What first captivated me the most about this novel was the two unexpected narrators: a 54-year-old concierge, Renée, and a 12-year-old girl that lives in that building, Paloma. Although they live in the same place and interact with the same people, their storylines run mostly on parallel until they inevitably meet. I say inevitably because both characters share similar profound philosophical questions from their own perspective and an acute interest on a new tenant. Even though the novel’s storyline in terms of events is pretty dull, its brilliance relies on the profound thoughts of both, on the fact that Renée hardly leaves her room and that Paloma wants to avoid the banality of life, set her house on fire and commit suicide the day she turns 13.

Paloma’s determination and deep understanding of human relationships make her a character that transcends the narrative. She is both ingenious, naive and extremely cunning. For me, her thoughts reminded me of a 12-year-old self thinking adults had too many unnecessary problems. Today, I am now the adult that takes time to think about life and the disasters behind it, and I wish I had a Paloma nearby to help me find easy and practical solutions. A Paloma to have conversations about poetry and languages.

To write about Renée is to understand the hedgehog, spikey on the outside, but soft on the inside. It seems as though she has the most mundane job of them all, and yet, her inner life is fuller than most of the tenants’ lives. Her mind revolves around Kant and Tolstoy, the latter reflected through cat’s names, which become one of the first signs of her interest in the new tenant. She likes dark chocolate and considers herself an autodidact. These characteristics attract Paloma, the new tenant and the readers in such a meaningful way that a concierge, destined to be in the same place all her life, changes their way of living.

About Muriel Barbery

Muriel Barbery was born in Casablanca and grew up in France. She was trained as a philosopher, a discipline that is visible throughout the novel, and then decided to write. The Elegance of the Hedgehog, a novel that had outstanding success in and out of France, is her second novel. In one interview she said her favorite place in the world was Shinnyodo, Kyoto.

Other books written by French women

We just recommend books we’ve read 

• The Life of Elves – Muriel Barbery (Read by Angelica)
• The Lover – Marguerite Duras (Read by Angelica)
• Opus Nigrum – Marguerite Yourcenar (Read by Angelica)

French initiatives and projects that support and empower girls and women

HF Ile-de-France: égalité Femmes Hommes dans les arts et la culture

The purpose of the organization is to open spaces for discussion about gender discrimination in the arts and culture sectors and act upon them. They achieve this through different channels such as the identification of inequalities with relevant stakeholders, actions and mobilization against such acts and the creation of public policy to shed light on the discriminatory practices.

The way they propose solutions vary in content, form and target audience. They have debates with actresses and actors of the cultural world to share the different points of view, music festivals with women singers and actresses, and digital campaigns to share the situation of women in culture. For example, in France, only 15% of opera stage directors, 6% of film award winners and 21% of theater professionals are women.