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anusha_reads 's review for:
Perfection
by Vincenzo Latronico
reflective
medium-paced
BOOK #6 “PERFECTION” BY VINCENZO LATRONICO, TRANSLATED FROM THE ITALIAN BY SOPHIE HUGES, LONGLISTED FOR #INTERNATIONALBOOKERPRIZE2025
Anna and Tom, expats in Berlin, lead an aesthetically perfect life. They work freelance jobs and have a ravishing house filled with attractive items, parties, hosting dinners, and social events, documenting all these on Instagram. The descriptions are so vivid that one sees it as though scrolling through a feed.
But how long can this last? The couple soon begins to feel a sense of ennui.
A couple compelled to lead their lives in an unrealistically tailored reality that is shaped by the demands of digital media. The novel’s third-person narration enhances this effect, adopting the perspective of an omniscient observer—almost like a silent stalker—who knows everything about Anna and Tom, scrutinizing even the smallest details of their lives.
In an age where social media influences nearly every aspect of our existence, Perfection raises timely questions: How do we keep up with the ever-changing trends? What does popularity truly mean when friendships exist primarily in the digital sphere? Are the people who appear happiest online actually happy? And when we compare our lives to curated posts, are we measuring our happiness by reality or illusion?
FOMO (fear of missing out) permeates the novel, reflecting the anxieties of modern life. Perfection captures the struggles of a generation obsessed with digital validation—building their identities around what they perceive as happiness, only to question it constantly.
This is Vincenzo Latronico’s fourth novel in Italian but his first to be translated into English. Remarkably, it reads as though it were originally written in English, maintaining a sharp and immersive narrative.
A short yet powerful book that encapsulates the digital age in all its contradictions.
Anna and Tom, expats in Berlin, lead an aesthetically perfect life. They work freelance jobs and have a ravishing house filled with attractive items, parties, hosting dinners, and social events, documenting all these on Instagram. The descriptions are so vivid that one sees it as though scrolling through a feed.
But how long can this last? The couple soon begins to feel a sense of ennui.
A couple compelled to lead their lives in an unrealistically tailored reality that is shaped by the demands of digital media. The novel’s third-person narration enhances this effect, adopting the perspective of an omniscient observer—almost like a silent stalker—who knows everything about Anna and Tom, scrutinizing even the smallest details of their lives.
In an age where social media influences nearly every aspect of our existence, Perfection raises timely questions: How do we keep up with the ever-changing trends? What does popularity truly mean when friendships exist primarily in the digital sphere? Are the people who appear happiest online actually happy? And when we compare our lives to curated posts, are we measuring our happiness by reality or illusion?
FOMO (fear of missing out) permeates the novel, reflecting the anxieties of modern life. Perfection captures the struggles of a generation obsessed with digital validation—building their identities around what they perceive as happiness, only to question it constantly.
This is Vincenzo Latronico’s fourth novel in Italian but his first to be translated into English. Remarkably, it reads as though it were originally written in English, maintaining a sharp and immersive narrative.
A short yet powerful book that encapsulates the digital age in all its contradictions.