Jan 30 2025 26 mins 2
First published in Italian three years ago Vincenzo Latronico’s Perfection is brought to an English speaking readership for the first time by Fitzcarraldo who publish Sophie Hughes’ exceptional translation on February 13th.
Taking inspiration from George Perec’s - Things, A Story of The Sixties, Perfection is the story of Anna and Tom, an Italian couple living a carefully curated life in Berlin as freelance graphic designers. The novel purposefully remains on the surface of their lives, never letting us into Anna or Tom’s thoughts - and the effect is uncannily familiar - we almost scroll through the chapters, an eerie sense of recognition rising.
At it’s heart, Perfection questions the corrupting individualism that we are relentlessly sold. It documents both the search for a lost authenticity and the reactionary response which that search engenders. And, ultimately, it portrays both the undefinable lack at the heart of modern life and the self delusion that lack necessitates.
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