"The elegance of the hedgehog" by Muriel Barbery

A new book for bookclub and already I'm putting off reading it.  Two people I know have already read "The elegance of the hedgehog" and neither had kind words to say about it.  The Mum at work said she refused to finish reading it for her bookclub and Judy in our bookclub said we would definitely need an extra week to get it finished.  Hardly inspiring reviews are they?

So what's it about -

"Renee is the concierge of a grand Parisian apartment building on the Left Bank.  To the residents she is honest, reliable and uncultivated - an ideal concierge.  But Renee has a secret.  Beneath this convential facade she is passionate about culture and the arts, and more knowledgeable in many ways than her self-important employers.

Down in her lodge, Renee is resigned to living a lie; meanwhile, several floors up, twelve year old Paloma Josse is determined to avoid a predictably bourgeois future, and plans to commit suicide on her thirteenth birthday.

But the death of one of their privileged neighbours will bring dramatic change to number 7, Rue de Grenelle, altering the course of both their lives forever."

Now do I start this book straight away or do I finish the book I'm half way through and loving?  Actually I might see if the library has an audio of "The elegance of the hedgehog" then I could listen to it...might be a tad quicker that way.