Summary

Part I follows the activities of Nico Berengo, beginning with the day he slept with Ludovica on the couch in his living room. Berengo watches Ludovica sleeping and observes her in minute detail. He plans to introduce his friend Gustavo Tullio to the author James Murphy, who has been taking notes about Berengo for a project called “The Happy Life of Nico Berengo.”

Berengo lives entirely on his parents’ money and makes paltry sums writing interviews with American celebrities for Italian magazines. He checks his bank account to see if he can afford to buy Tullio’s children presents.

The narrator observes Berengo and Tullio shopping for toys that Tullio will take home to his five children in Italy. Tullio tells Berengo that his sons aspire to be American rockstars. Tullio is concerned by the...