The Italian secret service has received intel that a group of Muslim immigrants based in Rome's Viale Marconi neighborhood is planning a terrorist attack. Christian Mazzari, a young Sicilian court translator who speaks perfect Arabic, goes undercover to infiltrate the group learn who its leaders are. Christian poses as Issa, a recently arrived Tunisian in search of a place to sleep and a job. He soon meets Sofia, a young Egyptian immigrant whose life with her husband, Said a.k.a. Felice, an architect who has reinvented himself as a pizza cook, is anything but fulfilling.In alternating voices, with an anthropologist's keen eye and with sparking wit Lakhous examines the commonplaces and stereotypes typical of life in multicultural societies. Divorce Islamic Stylemixes the rational and the absurd as it describes the conflicts and contradictions of today's world. Marvelous set pieces, episodes rich in pathos, brilliant dialogue, and mordant folk proverbs combine as the novel moves towards an unforgettable and surprising finale that will have readers turning back to the first page of Lakhous's stunning novel to begin the ride all over again.Praise for Amara Lakhous winner of the Flaiano Prizefor the Novel'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'What's memorable about Lakhous' Clash of Civilizations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittoriois what he shows us of an often inward-looking nation confronting the teeming vibrancy of multicultural life.' NPR's Fresh Air' Clash of Civilizations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittoriois a satirical, enigmatic take on the racial tensions that afflict present-day Europe.' Brooklyn Rail'Do we have an Italian Camus on our hands? Just possibly . . . No recent Italian novel so elegantly and directly confronts the 'new Italy.'' Philadelphia Inquirer
Description:
The Italian secret service has received intel that a group of Muslim immigrants based in Rome's Viale Marconi neighborhood is planning a terrorist attack. Christian Mazzari, a young Sicilian court translator who speaks perfect Arabic, goes undercover to infiltrate the group learn who its leaders are. Christian poses as Issa, a recently arrived Tunisian in search of a place to sleep and a job. He soon meets Sofia, a young Egyptian immigrant whose life with her husband, Said a.k.a. Felice, an architect who has reinvented himself as a pizza cook, is anything but fulfilling.In alternating voices, with an anthropologist's keen eye and with sparking wit Lakhous examines the commonplaces and stereotypes typical of life in multicultural societies. Divorce Islamic Stylemixes the rational and the absurd as it describes the conflicts and contradictions of today's world. Marvelous set pieces, episodes rich in pathos, brilliant dialogue, and mordant folk proverbs combine as the novel moves towards an unforgettable and surprising finale that will have readers turning back to the first page of Lakhous's stunning novel to begin the ride all over again.Praise for Amara Lakhous winner of the Flaiano Prizefor the Novel'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'What's memorable about Lakhous' Clash of Civilizations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittoriois what he shows us of an often inward-looking nation confronting the teeming vibrancy of multicultural life.' NPR's Fresh Air' Clash of Civilizations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittoriois a satirical, enigmatic take on the racial tensions that afflict present-day Europe.' Brooklyn Rail'Do we have an Italian Camus on our hands? Just possibly . . . No recent Italian novel so elegantly and directly confronts the 'new Italy.'' Philadelphia Inquirer