The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery

 This is originally a French book by Muriel Barbery, translated by Alison Anderson. This is Barbery's second book. 

Barbery is a philosophy professor and it shows. The chapters are short; sometimes just a page. So, it is structured like a thriller that has mini-cliffhangers (3 foot cliffs) at the end of each chapter. Here are a couple of Chapter names - "The Miracles of Art - Profound Thought No. 1", and "The Poodle as a Totem - Profound Thought No. 2". There are altogether 14 Profound Thought chapters in this book. If you just want the story, then you can skip all the profound thought chapters. But, if you are gojng to read this book after reading what I wrote above, you are going as much for the philosophy as for the story. There are other kind of chapter names as well, and they are "Profound" too, such as - On Wars and Colonies" and "Prophet of the Modern Elite". I am tempted to be the child in the Emperor's Clothes story, but I will refrain. Maybe I am just not smart enough to see the benefits of reading the deep thoughts. Although there are lots of deep thoughts, and philosophising, there are pop references to comtemporary movies(eg. Hunt for Red October) and TV shows (Bosch) in addition to a bunch of philospohers, sucha as Kant, Freude, Husserl

This novel was a best-seller in France and has been treated well by the critics, as evidenced by the reviews printed on the first two pages of the book. The description of each deep thought is "deep"and requires concentration to make sense of the text. Sometimes, the thought is just a thought and appears unrelated to the story or just tangentially related. 

The story centers aournd two protagonists. Reneé is a concierge in a Paris apartment building with an interior courtyard, garden and eight luxury apartments. Paloma is a twelve year old girl who is exceptionally intelligent and hides that fact. She does not want to join the rat-race of adulthood and has decided to commit suicide when she reaches thirteen years of age. Reneé is very intelligent and like Paloma, puts on a façade of a normal working class concierge who is expected by the pompous tenants to have no other life or interests.  Reneé's secret is easily seen through by Kakuro Uzo who moves into the building. Reneé has a literally fat cat named Leo, and Kakuro guesses immediately that the cat is named after Tolstoy. At first, Reneé is terrified of Kakuro's guessing her myriad interests. But, soon the two of them develop a bond. I cannot reveal the ending. Maybe there is a sweet ending or maybe there isn't.

If you are used to thrillers and mysteries, be forewarned that nothing much happens. However, the book still holds you and carries you to the end. You have to struggle through a bunch of philosophical thoughts or you can skip those chapters without losing the thread of the story. Finishing the book would be rewarding whether you care about the philosophy or not.