{"title":"Vincenzo Latronico","description":"\u003cp\u003eVincenzo Latronico crafts stories that delve into the intricacies of human experience with a subtle yet compelling voice. His works, such as \u003cem\u003ePerfection\u003c\/em\u003e, invite readers to explore themes of identity, ambition, and the pursuit of meaning within the ordinary and the extraordinary.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eRooted in general fiction, Latronico's narratives balance thoughtful characterisation with evocative storytelling, offering a literary journey that lingers long after the final page. His writing is perfect for those seeking nuanced, reflective reads that resonate on a personal level.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"perfection-by-vincenzo-latronico-9781922790897","title":"Perfection","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA razor-sharp novel from one of Italy's most exciting authors, about a millennial couple's quest for authenticity in a life designed according to social media trends.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThey have everything to make them happy. Expat couple Anna and Tom are living the dream in Berlin, in a bright, plant-filled apartment. Young, cool digital creatives, they enjoy slow cooking, Danish furniture, progressive politics, sexual experimentation, and the city's twenty-four-hour party scene.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIt's exactly the life they had imagined for themselves. But they begin to feel disillusioned, bored. Work becomes repetitive. Friends move away, have children, grow up. An attempt at political activism proves fruitless, since their direct action amounts to taking an Uber only if it is snowing, tipping in cash, never eating tuna.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eTrapped in a lifestyle optimised for digital perfection, yearning for authenticity, they find themselves doing something they could never have predicted.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eVincenzo Latronico's stylistic mastery, wit, and wry humour make \u003cem\u003ePerfection\u003c\/em\u003e a brilliant novel about contemporary life.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePRAISE FOR \u003cem\u003ePERFECTION\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e'Sharp and revelatory. Latronico demonstrates that, despite their vanity, his characters Anna and Tom are not so different from others whose lives are conditioned by the consumer economy—they want what others want—a life that is legible to them yet not prescribed. Latronico is a brilliant and fearless writer. I recommend this novel to every reader I meet.' – Ellena Savage, author of \u003cem\u003eBlueberries\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ePerfection\u003c\/em\u003e is a jewel of a novel—precisely cut, intricately faceted, prismatically dazzling at its heart. Vincenzo Latronico is the finest of writers.' – Lauren Groff, author of \u003cem\u003eThe Vaster Wilds\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e'This book gives startling form to the question of how to live a meaningful life; to the illusion that appearance is beauty; to the restlessness of contemporary society. I read it in a breath and I was captivated.' – Ayşegül Savaş, author of \u003cem\u003eThe Anthropologists\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ePerfection\u003c\/em\u003e is a generation-defining piece of literature, one that spares us nothing. To read it is to look in a mirror and finally, for the first time, truly see yourself and the culture you've helped create—the one that lurks behind the filters, algorithms, and curated ephemera of selfhood that make up our public lives. Read it and tremble.' – Madeleine Watts, author of \u003cem\u003eElegy, Southwest\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e'\u003cem\u003ePerfection\u003c\/em\u003e is dense with ideas, feelings, political insights, beautiful turns of phrase, unexpected observations about ordinary occurrences.' – New Yorker\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e'Latronico's conceit is clever and will delight anyone familiar with his source material, but his execution is ingenious.' – Alice Gregory, New Yorker\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46532456448236,"sku":"9781922790897","price":24.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/16320093482872.jpg?v=1749316160"},{"product_id":"perfection-by-vincenzo-latronico-9781681378725","title":"Perfection","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA New York Times Notable Book of 2025\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA 2025 International Booker Prize Shortlist Nominee\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLonglisted for the 2025 National Book Award for Translated Literature\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWinner of AIRMAIL's Inaugural Tom Wolfe Literary Prize for Fiction\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA scathing, provocative novel about contemporary existence by a rising star in Italian literature.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAnna and Tom, an expat couple, have fashioned a dream life for themselves in Berlin. They are young digital \"creatives\" exploring the excitements of the city, freelancers without too many constraints, who spend their free time cultivating house plants and their images online. At first, they reasonably deduce that they've turned their passion for aesthetics into a viable, even enviable career, but the years go by, and Anna and Tom grow bored. As their friends move back home or move on, so their own work and sex life—and the life of Berlin itself—begin to lose their lustre.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAn attempt to put their politics into action fizzles in embarrassed self-doubt. Edging closer to forty, they try living as digital nomads only to discover that, wherever they go, \"the brand of oat milk in their flat whites was the same.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ePerfection\u003c\/em\u003e—Vincenzo Latronico's first book to be translated into English—is a scathing novel about contemporary existence, a tale of two people gradually waking up to find themselves in various traps, wondering how it all came to be. Was it a lack of foresight, or were they just born too late?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47643160117484,"sku":"9781681378725","price":46.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/15c8e6785c32dac903ceacb57fdddb3f.jpg?v=1779169487"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/collections\/vincenzo-latronico.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}