Witty and touching, this novel features two of my favorite female characters -- Gillian Anderson

Resistance is futile . . . you might as well buy it before someone recommends it for your book group. Its charm will make you say yes - Guardian

Clever, informative and moving . . . an admirable novel which deserves as wide a readership here as it had in France - Observer

Wins over its fans with a life-affirming message, a generous portion of heart and Barbery's frequently wicked sense of humor - Time Magazine

A book of great charm and grace - Metro

Breathtakingly singular novel . . . totally French yet completely universal - Good Housekeeping

The book's attractive, Amélie-esque Parisian setting and cast of eccentrics will appeal to many - Sunday Telegraph

Gently satirical, exceptionally winning and inevitably bittersweet - Washington Post

Enthusiastically recommended for anyone who loves books that grow quietly and then blossom suddenly - Marie Claire

Reveals itself as a version of the Cinderella fairytale - Financial Times

Barbery's sly wit . . . bestows lightness on the most ponderous cogitations - New Yorker

The narrators' kinetic minds and engaging voices (in Alison Anderson's fluent translation) propel us ahead - New York Times Book Review

An elegant, light-spirited and very European adult fable - Kirkus Reviews

Nobody ever imagined that this tender, funny book with a philosophical vein would have enjoyed such incredible success. For some, it is part Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder, part Monsieur Malaussene by Daniel Pennac. While for others it resembles a written version of the film Amélie. Either way, readers are responding in vast numbers - Le Monde

The reader will be amused, surprised and moved by this philosophical tale: a user's guide to life which is a delight on every level - Elle

At once absurd and lyrical, cheery and bleak, contemplative and tender . . . It is the revelatory joy the characters afford each other - with recognition, with friendship, with love - that quietly rises to the top - New Statesman

A beautiful story with a large cast of fascinating, complicated characters whose behavior is delightfully unp