Perfection

‘A jewel of a novel: precisely cut, intricately faceted, prismatically dazzling at its heart. Vincenzo Latronico is the finest of writers.’

* Lauren Groff, author of The Vaster Wilds *

‘A generation-defining piece of literature, one that spares us nothing. To read it is to look in a mirror and finally, for the first time, truly see yourself and the culture you’ve helped create: the one that lurks behind the filters, algorithms and curated ephemera of selfhood that make up our public lives. Read it and tremble.’

* Madeleine Watts, author of Elegy, Southwest *
‘ is dense with ideas, feelings, political insights, beautiful turns of phrase, unexpected observations about ordinary occurrences.’ * New Yorker *
‘Masterful…Quite brilliant.’ * Dylin Hardcastle, ABC RN The Bookshelf *
‘An important novel, innovative in its own way.’ * Claudia Durastanti, author of Strangers I Know *
‘Latronico is biting and withering, a funny critic of certain habits of mind and social conventions, which works especially well for the Berlin expat set…What’s notable about Latronico’s experiment is that by borrowing Perec’s mode of caricature—exporting it into the present—he shows something universal about generations and their anxieties.’ * Washington Post *

‘Hilariously contemporary, this short realist novel will keep you firmly grounded. ​It’s truly perfection.’

* Service95 *
‘A lucid and bitter portrait of millennial dreams and disillusionment.’ * Economist *
‘A biting and incisive satire of the expat scene.’ * New York Times *
‘An all too recognisable snapshot of a generation that wants to be original, just like everyone else.’ * Observer *
‘A taut masterpiece.’ * Foyles *
‘Quite simply perfection.’ * Australian Book Review *
‘Casts an acidic and oftentimes hilarious eye over digital nomad culture in postmillennial Berlin. Read and squirm.’ * Irish Times *
‘A gut punch reality check for your favourite Gen Zedder.’ * Daily Mail UK *
‘Minimal, elegant and gently savage about highly curated lives. Come for the coolness; stay for the existential crumble.’ * Sydney Morning Herald *
‘With deft imagery and lacerating prose, masterfully translated…it sinks deep and unsettles.’ * Mother Jones *
‘Stylistically daring but never gimmicky…Perfection!’ * Sydney Morning Herald *

Vincenzo Latronico was born in Rome in 1984 and lived for a number of years in Berlin. He is an art critic and has translated many books into Italian, by authors such as George Orwell, Oscar Wilde, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Hanif Kureishi. Perfection is his fourth novel, the first to be translated into English. He lives in Milan.

Sophie Hughes has translated Spanish and Latin American authors such as Fernanda Melchor, Alia Trabucco Zeran and Enrique Vila-Matas. She was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize in 2019 and 2020, and in 2021 she was awarded the Queen Sofia Translation Prize. Perfection is her first translation from Italian.