HA! I read Amelie Nothomb's Stupeur and tremblements a few months ago and LOVEDLOVEDLOVED it! I wouldn't recommend this particular one to an intermediate because of the copious use of the passe simple tense, which takes a while to get used to. Maybe the one YoLo suggested would be better, either way I only have good things to say about the writer so far.
I would jump right in and suggest a classic - l'etranger by Albert Camus. It's short, interesting, written in the first person with moderately-challenging vocabulary but not much grammar complexity, and there's an excellent added value to it of course :)
Courage, ca vaut la peine!!!