Description

By (author) Lakhous Amara; Translated by Goldstein Ann

Short /annotation:
”The author”s real subject is the heave and crush of modern, polyglot Rome, and he renders the jabs of everyday speech with such precision that the novel feels exclaimed rather than written.” – The New Yorker

:

Clash of Civilisations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio tells the story of the immigrant tenants of a building in Rome, who offer skewed accounts of a murder.

In this award-winning satire by the Algerian-born Italian author Amara Lakhous, each character takes his or her turn centre-stage, “giving evidence,” recounting his or her story―the dramas of emigration, the daily equivocations of immigration, the fears and misunderstandings of a life spent on society’s margins, abused by mainstream culture’s fears and indifference, preconceptions and insensitivity.

What emerges is a touching story that is common to us all, whether we live in Rome, London or in Los Angeles.

“The author”s real subject is the heave and crush of modern, polyglot Rome, and he renders the jabs of everyday speech with such precision that the novel feels exclaimed rather than written.”―THE NEW YORKER

Review quote:
“The author’s real subject is the heave and crush of modern, polyglot Rome, and he renders the jabs of everyday speech with such precision that the novel feels exclaimed rather than written.”

Review quote:
“An Italian noir-comedy-satire, written by an Algerian, that effectively breaks rules and has a good time doing it.”

Review quote:
“This short but nearly flawless novel offers an intriguing and satisfying blend of crime and literary fiction.”

Biographical note:
Amara Lakhous was born in Algiers in 1970. He has a degree in philosophy from the University of Algiers and another in cultural anthropology from the University la Sapienza, Rome. He recently completed a Ph.D. thesis entitled “Living Islam as a Minority.” His first novel, Le cimici e il pirata (Bedbugs and the Pirate), was published in 1999. Clash of Civilizations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio, winner of Italy’s prestigious Flaiano prize, is his second novel. He currently resides in New York. Ann Goldstein is one of the most accomplished translators from the Italian working today. Best known for her translations of Elena Ferrante’s oeuvre, she has also brought to Anglo-Saxon readers novels by Primo Levi, Pierpaolo Pasolini, Alessandro Baricco and other classic and contemporary Italian writers.