Clash of Civilizations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio (Paperback)

At once a bittersweet comedy and a drama of racial identity, this book brings to life the hilarious imbroglios of the modern metropolis.

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. With language as colorful as the neighborhood it describes, each character in this choral novel takes their turn “giving evidence,” and the stories that emerge provide an all-access pass into the most fascinating of Roman neighborhoods.

“Do we have an Italian Camus on our hands? Just possibly.”—Philadelphia Inquirer

Amara Lakhous was born in Algiers in 1970. He has a degree in philosophy from the University of Algiers and another in cultural anthropology from the University la Sapienza, Rome. He is the author of five novels, including Divorce Islamic Style (Europa, 2012) and Dispute over a Very Italian Piglet (Europa, 2014).

Ann Goldstein’s translations for Europa Editions include all of Elena Ferrante’s books, including the New York Times best-selling My Brilliant Friend, named by the New York Times as the Best Book of the Century, and The Story of the Lost Child, which was shortlisted for the Man Booker International Prize. She is a Guggenheim Fellow and a recipient of the PEN Renato Poggioli Translation Award. She lives in New York.