Perfection is sold to us daily by social media, through endless, artfully curated images of flawless, aspirational lifestyles. But, even if one were to achieve the dream, as Anna and Tom appear to have, with their cool, progressive, expat life in buzzy Berlin, would it bring satisfaction?

Anna and Tom are digital creatives, who spend their weekends socialising at art galleries and cool clubs with an endless stream of friends. While reality doesn’t always live up to their imagined life, they are happy, in love and able to pay their bills.

As they grow older, disillusion sets in. Gentrification sweeps Berlin, friends move away, their world changes. Instead of feeling fulfilled, they feel trapped. It’s impossible to quit social media because it facilitates every aspect of their life. How will they find authenticity in a world optimised for digital perfection?

Latronico has perfectly captured the digital world many of us live in with Perfection. This novella (at 150 pages) invites us to delve beyond appearances to question the culture we’ve developed and what makes a meaningful life.

Reviewed by Melinda Woledge

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Vincenzo Latronico is an Italian novelist, translator and art critic. He was born in Rome and currently lives in Milan. He is an art critic and has translated many books into Italian, by authors such as George Orwell, Oscar Wilde, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Hanif Kureishi.

His writing has appeared in frieze, Corriere della Sera and La Stampa and he is a regular contributor to Internazionale. Perfection is his fourth novel, his first to be translated into English, and was longlisted for the International Booker Prize 2025.