Alison Reads

In Paris the homely concierge of a wealthy apartment building hides the fact that she is well-read and has sophisticated tastes. A precocious twelve-year-old girl in her building forms a bond with her, and they both are befriended by the new tenant, a very cultured Japanese man. The girl has decided to commit suicide on her 13th birthday. Will she, or will she decide that life is worth living after all? Alternating the voices of the concierge and the girl, this is a wonderful thinking person’s novel. Translated from the French.