A novel that's 'a deluge of beauty'
A review of Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico.
Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico
I no longer really use social media, aside from messaging apps. This is not some great moral stance against the tech bros and their billion-dollar empires, it’s just what works for me.
That being said, non-fiction books or news stories about the evils of social media, the internet, and the ills of modern life are almost certain to turn me off. They all seem to run the risk of getting into doom and gloom lecture territory right from the get-go.
But what about a novel?
Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico is a boldly composed story about a young-ish couple, Anna and Tom, who live and work in Berlin as freelance designers.
They work from their apartment, go out to art galleries and bars, travel, do drugs, scroll social media, and they are happy. Wait, are they happy?
Perfection was published in Italy in 2022, and has been published in English this year, translated by Sophie Hughes.
It’s an example of the power the novel has to present ideas in a way that is less bash you over the head and more sink into your bloodstream.
One way the ideas in this book are conveyed is through its form. The whole book is described to us by the narrator — there is not one line of dialogue. This gives a sense of distance from Anna and Tom, we never really get to see them as who they are and how they interact with each other and the world.
This feels like a representation of how we see people on social media. It’s at a distance, removed from the real world, it’s a “con”, as this book puts it.
In perhaps my favorite passage of the book, Latronico writes about the “deluge of beauty” that people face online.
“But polemics and current affairs were mere thunder and lightning in what was a deluge of beauty. On their screens—everywhere, all the time—acquaintances and old schoolmates and strangers from around the world would share all that was beautiful in their lives.”
The book starts with eight or nine pages describing items in the couple’s apartment, through the view of photos posted on a listing for a short-term sublease. Quite a bold way to start a story. But it gives us a sense of how orchestrated everything is to make these photos look good online. Is this highly choreographed, stylish aesthetic what the apartment usually looks like? No, they have been cleaning for hours to make the photos look appealing.
This comes full circle with the last line of the book, describing a review of a retreat the couple started, “It’s all completely perfect, the story will say. It’s just like it is in the pictures.” Of course, we know this isn’t true.
That’s all. Thanks for reading.