Kensington Library Book club

The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery is this month's selection. It is a lovely novel about life, art, philosophy, culture, class and privilege seen through the eyes of a 54-year old French concierge and a precocious but troubled 12-year-old girl.  Concierge Renee Michel’s unassuming exterior belies her keen, questing mind and profound erudition. Paloma Josse is a 12-year-old genius who behaves as a pre-teen high on adolescent subculture, a good but not outstanding student, an obedient if obstinate daughter. She plans to kill herself on the sixteenth of June, her thirteenth birthday. Both hide their true talents from the bourgeois families around them, until a wealthy Japanese gentleman moves into building. He sees through them, perceives the secret that haunts Renee, and wins Paloma's trust. Moving, funny, and tender, Barbery's novel exalts the quiet victories of the inconspicuous among us.

Book group meetings are held on the fourth Monday of every month in the library at 7:00 p.m. Each meeting starts with a poem selected and read by a member with a brief discussion following the reading. New members are always welcome.