Rachman’s characters feel familiar and real, maybe a bit too real. There are 11 stories here, each with newspaper headlines for titles, and between each is another piece in the historical tale of the paper, so make it an even dozen in all. The story of this paper is the story of the people it touches, from founder to Obits editor, from editor in chief to Cairo stringer. Rachman follows it from its inception in the 1950s to its 21st century demise. The core here is a Rome-based English-language international newspaper. This just in, Tom Rachman has given readers an exceptional set of stories about the birth and death of a newspaper, populated these tales with engaging characters and done so with great style and feeling. Spirited, moving, and highly original, The Imperfectionists will establish Tom Rachman as one of our most perceptive, assured literary talents.

And in the shadows is the isolated young publisher who pays more attention to his prized basset hound, Schopenhauer, than to the fate of his family’s quirky newspaper.Īs the era of print news gives way to the Internet age and this imperfect crew stumbles toward an uncertain future, the paper’s rich history is revealed, including the surprising truth about its founder’s intentions.

Out in the field, a veteran Paris freelancer goes to desperate lengths for his next byline, while the new Cairo stringer is mercilessly manipulated by an outrageous war correspondent with an outsize ego. Kathleen, the imperious editor in chief, is smarting from a betrayal in her open marriage Arthur, the lazy obituary writer, is transformed by a personal tragedy Abby, the embattled financial officer, discovers that her job cuts and her love life are intertwined in a most unexpected way. …The Secret History by Donna Tartt The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt Touch by Alexi Zentner Embers by Sandor Marai The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz The Changeling by Victor LaValle, The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman Ten Little Indians by Sherman Alexie We the Animals by Justin Torres Miles from Nowhere by Nami Mun Winter’s Bone by Daniel Woodrell The Road by Cormac McCarthy What Belongs to You by Garth Greenwell Lot by Bryan Washington Mr.Set against the gorgeous backdrop of Rome, Tom Rachman’s wry, vibrant debut follows the topsy-turvy private lives of the reporters, editors, and executives of an international English language newspaper as they struggle to keep it-and themselves-afloat.įifty years and many changes have ensued since the paper was founded by an enigmatic millionaire, and now, amid the stained carpeting and dingy office furniture, the staff’s personal dramas seem far more important than the daily headlines. Some books I loved, in no particular order and in general:

The imperfectionists by tom rachman