Dubray Books

1. A Journey
   Tony Blair
2. Human Chain
   Seamus Heaney
3. Skulduggery Pleasant: Mortal Coil
   Derek Landy
4. The Help
   Kathryn Stockett
5. Stand by Me
   Sheila O'Flanagan
6. Mini Shopaholic
   Sophie Kinsella
7. Shadow Wave
   Robert Muchamore
8. The Power
   Rhonda Byrne
9. The Slap
   Christos Tsiolkas
10. The Foster
    Claire Keegan
11. Room
    Emma Donoghue
12. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest
    Stieg Larsson
13. One Day
    David Nicholls
14. To Kill a Mockingbird
    Harper Lee
15. Started Early, Took My Dog
    Kate Atkinson

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Dubray Review

This is one of those very rare novels that you you gasp in admiration while reading and will  remember forever afterwards.  As the title suggests, it’s beautifully translated from the original French.  An ‘Elegant Hedgehog’ is how twelve year-old Paloma sees the nondescript concierge of her grand Parisian apartment building.  Shuffling about in her concierge’s lodge, Renee has a secret: beneath the façade, she is cultivated, devoted to the arts, and something of a philosopher.  Meanwhile, misunderstood Paloma lives a privileged life yet contemplates suicide.  The death of one neighbour brings a dramatic change to the whole building. Renee and Paloma strike up an unlikely friendship, a balm to two lonely souls who are out of step with their world.  The Elegance of the Hedgehog took France by storm and for very good reason.

- Aileen Smyth, Rathmines