LE CODE DE PERELA

First English translation of Il Codice di Perel , Aldo Palazzeschi's experimental anti-novel, which was first published in 1911 as part of the Italian Futurist movement. Quite literally a "man of smoke," Perel appears one day to delight, inspire, and alarm the men and women of the City. His popular rise and disgraceful fall - marked by a series of encounters with every type of modern citizen - make for an often hilarious and sometimes nightmarish social satire. The Man of Smoke becomes the pivotal metaphor around whom the author weaves his tragicomic play between lightness and heaviness. Paperback, 256 pp.