Clash of Civilizations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781933372617)

The immigrant tenants of a building in Rome offer skewed accounts of a murder in this prize-winning satire by the Algerian-born Italian author (Publishers Weekly).

Piazza Vittorio is home to a polyglot community of immigrants who have come to Rome from all over the world. But when a tenant is murdered in the building's elevator, the delicate balance is thrown into disarray. As each of the victim's neighbors is questioned by the police, readers are offered an all-access pass into the most colorful neighborhood in contemporary Rome.
With language as colorful as the neighborhood it describes, each character takes his or her turn "giving evidence." Their various stories reveal much about the drama of racial identity and the anxieties of a life spent on society's margins, but also bring to life the hilarious imbroglios of this melting pot Italian culture.

"Their frequently wild testimony teases out intriguing psychological and social insight alongside a playful whodunit plot."--Publishers Weekly

Author: Amara Lakhous
ISBN-10: 1933372613
ISBN-13: 9781933372617
Publisher: Europa Editions
Language: English
Published: 09/30/2008
Pages: 144
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.40lbs
Size: 8.20h x 5.30w x 0.60d

Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 08/11/2008 pg. 29
Booklist 10/01/2008 pg. 26
New Yorker (The) 12/08/2008 pg. 97
Shelf Awareness 01/01/0001