Aaagh. I just could not do it. I rarely do not finish a book but after two attempts this one was just too much. The story of Renée, who works at a fancy hotel in Paris and skulks in her little apartment pretending to be the stereotypical low-brow concierge to conceal her great intellect and philosophical prowess from her employers to avoid making them uncomfortable and challenging their prejudiced world-view, meanwhile sneering at them behind their backs with her intellectual snobbery. Unfathomable, pretentious and very, very dull. Oddly it won literary awards, which I find isn't always a great recommendation for an enjoyable book.

This book was gifted to me by NetGalley but unfortunately I failed to warm to its charms.

Didn't enjoy this one. The writing style just wasn't my cup of tea. May gove it another chance at some point as the story sounds interesting

I first had to read this in college and really enjoyed it! I loved it again when I read it for NetGalley. I rarely reread books, but I feel like I missed some things the first time. It is truly a great read.

Wow. What a wonderful little story. I think I may have identified with the concierge quite a bit, that may have contributed to my enjoyment. I am going to have to buy a copy of this book to add to my collection. I'm also looking forward to reading the other works by this author.

This review is in exchange for a free e-galley from netgalley.com.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read and review this book!

I had a bit of a hard time with this book but the ending really made the difference for me and left me with a higher opinion.

This is one of those books that made me feel I definitely wasn't smart enough to read it - it waxes on about various philosophies, art, music - plus it takes place in Paris so there were some language and cultural issues.

But it was a sweet story at the heart of it all - Renee is the concierge of an apartment building filled with rich and pretentious people. She makes no impact on their lives except to fill a role. She plays that role well - to them she is gruff, unattractive, watches too much TV. However, she is a self-taught intellectual who loves music, art, philosophy.

Paloma is a 12-year-old in the apartment building who is extremely intelligent and is planning on killing herself before her 13th birthday. Like Renee, she plays a role - doesn't appear too smart, exasperates her family with her quirks.

Things change in the building when a wealthy Japanese man, Ozu, moves into the building. He is able to see through them both.

This takes some time (and in my case, some skimming of long paragraphs!) but the end is worth the read.

A truly wonderful book. I wish that I was fluent in French so I could read the original book in the language it was written. Characters you can get lost in, and word choice which is so lavish and intellectual.