One, No One and One Hundred Thousand

Luigi Pirandello · 1867–1936 · Italy

Originally Uno, nessuno e centomila (Italian)

Why it matters

A man's wife casually mentions his nose is crooked, and the observation unravels his entire sense of self. Pirandello's last novel pushes his obsession with the multiplicity of identity to its most radical, dissolving conclusion.

At a glance

Obsessive, spiraling interior argument with little conventional plot to anchor it.