Yesterday, the new book compiler went down, so no BotD was unleashed. Today, however, we’ll do two. The first is extra special, written up by Andrea Kempf, Librarian at JCCC, and responsible for an enormous chunk of our libGuides (they’ve got my name on them by default, but that’s changing). Without further ado, here’s her chosen book.
I like to read mysteries and I like locked room puzzles and I like books about how Europe is dealing with a massive influx of immigrants. The Clash of Civilizations over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio by Amara Lakhous, an Algerian immigrant to Italy satisfies all three desires. When a bully nicknamed “the Gladiator” is found stabbed to death in the elevator of his apartment building in Rome, the kindest resident becomes the chief suspect because he disappeared the day of the murder. An inspector interviews the residents revealing the pressures that build when everyone is from somewhere else and no one understands the other. It was impossible to guess the outcome until the last chapter. This is a page-turner that sneakily informs while it entertains.
