Nino Ricci reached new heights on his recent promotional tour in the U.S., particularly in New York City, where at one point he scaled to the top of the Empire State Building. On the book front, meanwhile, an event at one of Manhattan’s premier independent booksellers, McNally Jackson, drew an audience well into the double digits.

Already the raves have started to roll in. “Anna loved this,” commented culture blog largehearted boy on the Other Press edition of The Origin of Species (Anna herself was unavailable for comment), while an audience member at the McNally Jackson event was overheard to say, “Look, the cover matches our wallpaper!” Said Ricci, with his trademark modesty, “It’s a miracle just to be published.” Experts in the U.S. publishing industry who were familiar with Ricci’s work agreed.