Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico
Last Friday I was on a bus to Seattle at 9:00 AM. My plan was to stop at a Creative Mornings gathering downtown, where Masoud Torabi, an Iranian American writer, was scheduled to talk about Nomad Life. The event started at 8:30 AM. By the time I arrived, it was 9:50 AM. I missed the whole talk. I was drawn to the topic of nomadic life. In this context, it referred to digital nomads, a term for people with jobs that allow them to work remotely, often from places like Mexico City, Bali, and other popular destinations. That topic echoed the novel I was reading, about a couple who move to Berlin to keep freelancing without an office, then to other places, their freedom of movement making them what we might call digital nomads today.
On the bus I kept reading Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico, a short contemporary novel whose protagonists are a young couple working primarily as graphic designers. It follows their life after the move to Berlin with exquisite detail, then sets those details against the curated and often unrealistic moments shown on social media platforms like Instagram. It was hard to put down. The detailed descriptions of the couple’s life and work show how, over time, their life becomes boring in their eyes. In my view, their life was just fine, but social media, constant comparison with others, and even comparison with their younger selves kept them from feeling happy and satisfied. It was a great read: short, sweet, and an interesting reflection on how modern life and the constant search for something new can bring more of the same, leading to frustration and a persistent sense of dissatisfaction.
I am looking forward to other contemporary novels. This one felt like looking in a mirror. “They loved a double life. There was the tangible reality around them, and there were the images, also all around them.” Although I am aware of many of the things the couple do not seem to notice, I can still benefit from reminders to be happy with what we have.
