We are in
the center of Paris, in an elegant apartment building inhabited by bourgeois
families. Renée, the concierge, is witness to the lavish but vacuous lives of
her numerous employers. Outwardly she conforms to every stereotype of the
concierge: fat, cantankerous, addicted to television. Yet, unbeknownst to her
employers, Renée is a cultured autodidact who adores art, philosophy, music,
and Japanese culture. With humor and intelligence she scrutinizes the lives of
the building's tenants, who for their part are barely aware of her existence.
Then
there's Paloma, a twelve-year-old genius. She is the daughter of a tedious
parliamentarian, a talented and startlingly lucid child who has decided to end
her life on the sixteenth of June, her thirteenth birthday. Until then she will
continue behaving as everyone expects her to behave: a mediocre pre-teen high
on adolescent subculture, a good but not an outstanding student, an obedient if
obstinate daughter.
Paloma and
Renée hide both their true talents and their finest qualities from a world they
suspect cannot or will not appreciate them. They discover their kindred souls
when a wealthy Japanese man named Ozu arrives in the building. Only he is able
to gain Paloma's trust and to see through Renée's timeworn disguise to the
secret that haunts her. This is a moving, funny, triumphant novel that exalts
the quiet victories of the inconspicuous among us.
I usually
love books that are based in Paris, but I have made it through 50% of the book
and I am sitting on the fence about it.
I have
enjoyed reading it so far. The characters are not unlikeable, the writing
easily transports me to the location of the story and I wouldn’t class it as
boring by any means – it reads like you are having a sneak peak in to Renee and
Paloma’s private lives making it feel even more real - but so far I can’t
really see the point of it all.
I’m putting
my decision to stop reading it down to me wanting to read something a bit
exciting and modern – the story so far has been moving along at a slow and
steady pace. Apparently the best part of the book is the last quarter so I am
keeping this in mind and will most likely come back and finish it at another time.
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