A review by jessieweaver
Clash of Civilizations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio by Amara Lakhous

4.0

One of my husband’s students read this in English class and gave it to him when he or she was cleaning out their locker. Mr. V read it and then insisted I did, too. It’s a short book, translated from Italian, about an immigrant-full apartment complex in modern-day Rome and a murder that takes place there. Every other chapter is a testimony from one of the residents of the apartment, showing his or her cultural bias and interpretation of the everyday life in the complex. The chapters in-between are the accused murderer’s diary of sorts, giving glimpses of his relationship with each character and the truth. It’s an easy read, and although the ending is sort of clipped and easy, the complexities of the relationships and immigrant biases makes it a worthy read. The book won the prestigious Italian Flaiano Prize.