The elegance of the hedgehog

I scanned over the little reviews on the inside pages of the book and got the impression that I was supposed to really connect with the two narrators and just be amazed by this book. I was amazed – that so many people enjoyed it. I found the narrators ridiculously stupid, particularly Renee. She's supposed to be brilliant, but pretends to be an idiot because... apparently a concierge is supposed to be an idiot and heaven forbid she fail to fulfill a stereotype that I'm not really sure exists. Paloma I found less irritating, but I can make a lot of concessions for a 12-year-old. The first part read like a philosophical wank-fest and the second part [which I admittedly only skimmed:] read like a bad Harlequin romance. On a more pleasant note, I like the cover design. Kudos to whoever did that.