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
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 recently completed a Ph.D. thesis entitled “Living Islam as a Minority.” His first novel, Le cimici e il pirata (Bedbugs and the Pirate), was published in 1999. Clash of Civilizations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio, winner of Italy’s prestigious Flaiano prize, is his second novel. He currently resides in New York.

• Nov 14 2014
  Off the Shelf: "Lithe and hilarious"
  
• Jun 9 2014
  The Culture Trip: "Lakhous paints an affectionate portrait of the present day Eternal City"
  
• Apr 21 2014
  Los Angeles Public Library Book Review: "Compelling, funny and illuminating."
  
• Apr 14 2014
  The Cornell Daily Sun: "Both prospective and current students voiced their approval of the selection of Clash of Civilizations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio... for the 2014 Cornell New Student Reading Project."
  
• Jul 6 2009
  Bookstore People: "Clash is a novella packed with themes. The most obvious is racism and immigration; apparently the inability to like people different from yourself is universal."
  
• Apr 3 2009
  The Washington Times: "Recalls Naguib Mahfouz's epic about slices of Egyptian popular life in the 'The Cairo Trilogy' of the 1950s. The rich variety of characters and psychological understanding place Mr. Lakhous in the tradition of Balzac and Dickens."