Great Read for in the Air: The Elegance of the Hedgehog

In addition to playing video games on airplanes, I also read a lot.  And I sometimes come across books that really strike me.

This is one of them.

I just finished up The Elegance of the Hedgehog and it was a beautiful story–especially if you grew up being on the geeky-side.

Basically, three unlikely people–an apartment building concierge, a rich Japanese man, and a young girl–form a friendship over their shared feelings of being a bit outside of the norm of society.

All are afraid to show their true self to the world because they don’t fit into the “normal mode” of how someone in society should act at their age/station.

The concierge is an autodidact and the twelve-year old girl is a complete genius–but both hide that about themselves.  The wealthy man avoids hanging out in the socialite circles he should, and avoids people trying to spend time with him because they are in the same “station”.

He sees through the concierge’s and girl’s act and the three of them are able to engage with each other in a way they never have before.

There was a lot in the book I could relate to.  And I wished I could be part of that friendship.

(I feel like I’m on Reading Rainbow saying this part), but I don’t want to give the rest of the book up, so I seriously recommend checking it out.  It’s available in paperback and on kindle for less than $10.

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