Imperfecţioniştii

by Tom Rachman

One of the most acclaimed books of the year, Tom Rachman's debut novel follows the topsy-turvy private lives of the reporters and editors of an English-language newspaper in Rome.

Genres: Fiction, Book Club, Short Stories, Italy, Contemporary, Literary Fiction, Journalism

340 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Tom Rachman is the author of four works of fiction: his bestselling debut, The Imperfectionists (2010), which was translated into 25 languages; the critically acclaimed follow-up, The Rise & Fall of Great Powers (2014); a satirical audiobook-in-stories Basket of Deplorables (2017); and an upcoming novel set in the art world, The Italian Teacher (March 2018).

Born in London and raised in Vancouver, Tom studied cinema at the University of Toronto and journalism at Columbia University in New York. He worked at The Associated Press as a foreign-news editor in Manhattan headquarters, then became a correspondent in Rome. He also reported from India, Sri Lanka, Japan, South Korea, Egypt, Turkey and elsewhere. To write fiction, he left the AP and moved to Paris, supporting himself as an editor at the International Herald Tribune. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and newyorker.com, among other publications. He lives in London.

Reviews

[Will Byrnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tom Rachman - image from his site

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.

The core here is a Rome-based English-language international newspaper. Rachman follows it from its inception in the 1950s to its 21st century demise. 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. 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. Rachman’s characters feel familiar and real, maybe a bit too real. I found that I was able to identify more than a couple of real people from my life who corresponded to the characters in his stories. And it is always a bit alarming to see parts of oneself in characters written by a complete stranger. Most of the characters are faced with personal and/or professional crises they must endure to be able to move on with their lives, or to understand their lives better, and that tell us something key about them. Loneliness figures prominently.

As a foreign correspondent and editor at the International Herald Tribune, Rachman clearly knows of what he speaks re the details of the paper portrayed here. Perhaps the central character here is the paper. We get to see how it was conceived, some of the struggles it endured over its lifetime, and what forces ultimately cause its demise. Like any good reporter Rachman has given us the information we need, the who, what, where, when and why, but he has enriched the telling with an emotional content, showing us the stories behind the people behind the stories. Read all about it.

Published - 2010

Review first posted in 2010



=============================EXTRA STUFF

Links to the author’s personal, GR and FB pages

Interviews
-----Bookpagge - Tom Rachman : Write what you know - by Eliza Borné
-----Bookbrowse - An interview with Tom Rachman - by Karen Rigby
-----BlogCritics - An Interview With Tom Rachman About His Novel The Imperfectionists - by Scott Butki

BookRags - The Imperfectionists: A Novel Summary & Study Guide

[Rachel · Rating 1 out of 5]

This isn't the worst thing I've read this year. Rachman, over and over again, convinced me to care about his characters and their relationships. I can't agree with Goodreads's assessment that the interspersed chapters on the history of the paper are dull; I found them warm and subtle. Neither, however, can I agree that Rachman "creates a diverse cast of fully realized characters." They may have diverse physical descriptions, but all speak with exactly the same voice. He even has one character, supposedly from Georgia, repeatedly use the word "proper" as a generic modifier, as in, "a proper shower" or "a proper relationship." Um, is Atlanta the seat of county called Georgia in England that I'm unaware of? Also, 100% of the characters are wretches hell-bent on unmooring themselves from the only harbor of human connection they have. Utlimately, that makes the experience of reading this book extraordinarily unpleasant, like being repeatedly kicked in the face by someone wearing really nice shoes.

[Violet wells · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eleven connected short stories each featuring a member of staff at a moment of crisis of an English-language newspaper in Rome. As is usually the case with short stories there are a couple of gems and a couple of lame ducks with the rest sitting somewhere between.

There’s no question this will be a narrative of decline and fall. The narrative begins in 1953 when idealism for the possibilities of journalism was readily accessible and ends in 2007 when cynicism was more likely to be the default setting. Every character in The Imperfectionists has been stalled in his or her ambition. It’s largely a narrative about compromise, the betrayal of ideals. The characters often enacting a last ditch fight against their own mediocrity or, to put it more kindly, their imperfections.

I’m not sure if this newspaper existed. I find it hard to believe. The English language paper in Florence comes out once a month; if it came out every day it would probably have survived no more than a month. There might be a fair few ex-pats in Italy but hardly enough to support a daily newspaper. From a personal point of view the most disappointing aspect was how little intimacy Rachman appeared to have with Rome itself. This could have been written by someone who had spent a three week holiday there. There isn’t the detail that a true ex-pat would be able to bring to the narrative. He knows his map of Rome well but his connection with the city seems no less superficial than that of a tourist. The daily grind and neurosis of running a newspaper, on the other hand, he clearly knows very well.

He certainly convinced me he’s a writer I want to read again (this was his first attempt at a novel) and I’m looking forward to his The Italian Teacher (already brilliantly and favourably reviewed by Elyse and Angela) when it comes out later in the year.
3.5 stars.

[Carmen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Horrid, depressing book about horrid, depressing people. Completely worthless. I can't even summon the desire to write a long review with quotes and burning passion.

Horrible.

[Fabian · Rating 4 out of 5]

The novel certainly arms itself with the age-old "Anxiety" plot device-- that which specifically dictates that the certain, if fated, meeting between characters A and B, once A's destiny has been discovered and B's is barely in-the-process-of... will be amazing-- it titillates beyond expectations, and these said expectations are definitely heightened. Better than Jennifer Egan's over-lauded "Goon Squad", this is yet another modern short story collection tied up neatly, thematically. & if it subscribes to the aforementioned device of uniting characters and bleeding their storylines, it also follows the "Write What You Know" paradigm that usually succeeds. & this novel totally takes it there-- to that place, that Absolutely Memorable First Novels territory (move over Cunningham, move over Chabon, and move over Brett Easton Ellis). The novel exhibits archetypes galore: the trials and tribulations of a staff of English-speaking writers of a Rome-based paper. Its enthralling; the perky and unwanted visitors/tourists, the hacks & frauds circulating the circulation, a sea of empty and unkept promises. Not to mention affairs, public humiliations, singular in situations, all the characters; all stories unique in dramatic pitch.

That being said, it is the second story that makes it to Jhumpa Lahiri territory (for no modern short stories can compare with her Interpreter of Maladies-- none). And no other story after that delivers the type of rapture again. Ah, well. The rest is as potent & as delish as a succession of sips from a strong espreszszo.

[Madeleine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once upon an occupationally happier time, I was an award-winning journalist. The "award-winning" part wasn’t all that important (though obviously not some unwelcome kudos) because I have loved print journalism in ways one should never love an inanimate intangible ever since the gateway drug that was my mediocre private university's labor-of-love, student-run newspaper showed me what I was meant to do with my life, a certainty that was cemented by the soaring pride I felt when our Little Paper That Could beat the piss out of Princeton's college paper in the New Jersey Press Awards the year I was opinion editor.

When I graduated as a bright-eyed, enthusiastic young drunk, the only tears I shed during the ceremonial severance from the first place that ever felt like home were over saying goodbye to the paper that had directed me to my future path (and, for bonus sentimentalization, introduced me to my husband). At the time, I had no idea that I would spend the rest of my professional career desperately seeking the same sense of personal pride and professional satisfaction that has, so far, been exclusive to my days as a collegiate journalist.

I am grateful that I got to spend a little more than three years in newspapers; unfortunately, my dream job exists in an industry that has been manhandled literally to death since the rise of the internet. My last paper was under the control of a company whose corporate-bigwigs’ salaries reached numbers that I still can't believe actually exist and whose stock is doing well enough to reliably earn a spot in certain mutual funds' top-ten holdings. So, naturally, the newsrooms themselves -- the places where the actual product is miraculously birthed seven days a week as the few remaining editors and reporters and behind-the-scenes staff pick up yet another unceremoniously laid-off comrade's smorgasbord of responsibility -- face cut after cut, furlough after furlough, bloodbath layoff after bloodbath layoff and are still expected to perform as they did in the golden days of print journalism.

When I bid adieu to the newspapering life, I was disillusioned and demoralized. What began as the personal satisfaction of working in the very world I set out to immerse myself in ended with overworked anguish as I found myself moving farther from the very things that drew me to journalism in the first place. It had been ages since I last wrote an article or attended a meeting or snapped a photo or did any of the things that made me love coming home with newspaper ink under my fingernails. That, combined with hearing the industry's death rattle grow louder with every passing day, was what finally drove me to more stable ground.

For those and myriad other reasons, “The Imperfectionists” is a hard book for me to approach objectively: With absolutely no regard for reality, my newsroom nostalgia is a thing now steeped in shamelessly over-romantic fondness and colors anything that stirs it in a wistfully rosy hue. There are little things in here that betray the author's keen awareness of universal newsroom truths -- the bitter divide between editorial and corporate; the misunderstood self-righteousness of those tasked with maintaining some modicum of integrity in an industry that doesn't always put such an admirable endeavor above sensationalism and the almighty dollar (also: there are papers that still have corrections editors!?); the self-sacrifice and seeming dehumanization required to ascend in rank while keeping the paper's best interest at heart -- that hit all the notes of a sad song I know too well. The fictional focus of "The Imperfectionists" is the ballad of just one more newspaper on the brink of obsolescence and it is filled with the slow panic that is now endemic to any publication left standing these days.

The very human personalities pouring from these pages are what I imagine would make this a compelling story for those who haven't given their hearts to the cruel mistress of print journalism: This is, ultimately, a workplace tragicomedy that delves into the characters' personal lives, too. In newspapers as in any manically paced work environment, it is all too easy to form alliances that blind one to a compatriot's flaws, just as it's even easier to vilify the ad rep who constantly delays the release of dummy pages, the copy editor who inserts errors into flawless stories, the section editor who demands unreasonable word counts, the reporter who thinks her shit doesn't stink. Disregarding the non-professional side of one's coworkers makes it easier to despise them and launch ongoing battles, as well as serving as a much-needed distraction from the bigger, less controlled ugliness of shrinking ad sales and rapidly declining subscription numbers.

For being a dude-penned tale, the plight of being a lady journalist was explored with a surprising reverence. I wasn't always crazy about the way the female employees were represented here but Kathleen, the paper's executive editor, was a too-spot-on example of what it's like to be a woman playing in the boys' club (which, judging by some of the horror stories I've heard about newsrooms of yore, isn't nearly as bad as it used to be but, good God, some of the old-head editors I've worked with made it clear that it wasn't always my passion and journalistic acumen that got me hired). The lone female copy editor here, Ruby, paints a lonely picture of what it's like to care too much when a deserved pat on the back is swapped for constant animosity and serving as the go-to scapegoat: A woman who lives both alone and for the paper that employs her strikes a more poignant chord of melancholy than a man in the same position, and Ruby is the perfect vehicle for giving such aching sadness a place in the world outside the newspaper's walls.

Placing an English-language paper in Italy and staffing it with uprooted Americans was a nice touch. There is such a divide between Newspaper Life and Real Life that it's a difficult thing to translate for people who don't live for their work like any overly passionate journalist does, and the emphasized chasm of a cultural difference that lives just outside the office walls captures that dichotomy perfectly. There were other little flourishes that made my long-dormant inner journalist perk up with recognition, like how all of the news editor's thoughts are in headlines ("Keys in pocket, sources say") and the way all the non-flashback chapters are told in the present tense.

The closing chapters of this book broke my heart. Just. Destroyed it. It's obvious where the story's going pretty early on but it doesn't mitigate the ending's impact. Kind of like how that one last look at the newspaper office -- the very place that's become a second home after all the twelve-hour days and countless late nights, where you cried over Election Night results because there's no other place in the world you'd rather be when your candidate delivers a victory speech, where you swore in equal measures that you'd never work in this industry again because fuck this bullshit and couldn't imagine feeling this completely at home in any other workplace -- on your last day of being a journalist is always an increasingly close reality but is a terrible mix of freedom and defeat as the familiar building grows smaller and smaller in your rear-view mirror that final time.

[Mohammad Hrabal · Rating 4 out of 5]

چیزی که من واقعاً ازش وحشت دارم، زمانه. شیطان اصلی اونه: درست لحظه‌ای که دلمون می‌خواد بشینیم و لم بدیم، شلاقش رو برمی‌داره و می‌زنه تو سرمون، این‌جوری زمان حال با سرعت سپری می‌شه، از چنگ مون در می‌ره و یهو همه‌چی تبدیل می‌شه به گذشته، گذشته‌ای که قابل‌تحمل نیست، گذشته‌ای که توی این داستان‌های غیرواقعی سر می‌خوره. صفحه ۴۹ کتاب
واقعیت اینه: هیچ‌چیز، توی هیچ تمدنی، به پرباری جاه‌طلبی‌های بیهوده نبوده. اگر خدشه‌ای به این وارد بشه، دیگه‌ چیزی خلق نمی‌شه. کلیساهای جامع، سونات ها، دایرةالمعارف‌ها: عشق به خدا پشت هیچ کدام از این‌ها نبوده، عشق به زندگی هم درمیون نبوده. چیزی که بوده، فقط عشق انسان بوده به پرستیده شدن توسط دیگران. صفحه ۵۱ کتاب
می‌دونی این احمقانه است که می‌گن: ما تنها به دنیا می‌آییم و تنها می‌میریم… چرنده. همزمان تولد، همزمان مرگ، کلی آدم دوروبرمونن. بین این دوتاست که آدم تنها می‌مونه. صفحه ۵۱ کتاب

[K.D. Absolutely · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Imperfectionists is perfect. At least for my taste. You may have a different opinion about this book, but for me, it is just way above the many other books I've read. It is entertaining. It is thought-provoking. It is heart-wrenching. It is funny. It is informative. It has everything I am looking for a contemporary fiction novel.

This book was one of the 100 Best Books in 2010 according to The New York Times. That and the very encouraging blurbs on both covers of the book made me buy and read this. ”Spectacular” says The New York Times to which I agree. ”Beguiling” declares the Washington Post, and yes I was enchanted.

Here are the longer ones:

”Marvelous… a rich, thrilling book … a splendid original, filled with wit and structured so ingeniously what figuring out where the author is headed is half the reader’s fun.” - JANET MASLIN, THE NEW YORK TIMES

This is an on-the-dot description of the book. Yes, the use of the interlocking characters have been used by Elizabeth Strout in her Pulitzer award-winning book Olive Kitteridge, the use of the chapters with different protagonists then later they will be meeting each other is similar to Jennifer Egan’s A Visit from the Good’s Squad and the stylist use of storytelling where two or more stories told in parallel or in circuit then meeting in the end or at some point in the narration is similar to David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas, Michael Syjuco’s Ilustrado or even to Samantha Sotto’s Before Ever After. However, what makes The Imperfectionists different from them is the readability of Rachman’s prose. That, for me, was very striking. Maybe because none of my GR friends have recommended or raved about this book to me or this was Rachman’s first novel so I did not know what to expect. I fully agree with Janet Maslin’s comment above though. Guessing where the story was heading was really fun because unlike Cloud Atlas for example, I did not have to write on a piece of paper the names of the characters in the previous story and read very closely so I will not miss the name as it was mentioned quite discreetly in the next.

”Each chapter is so finely wrought that it could stand alone as a memorable short story. Slowly, the separate strands become entwined… Funny, poignant, occasionally breathtaking.” - FINANCIAL TIMES

Exactly! Each of the 11 short stories could be read and enjoyed separately as each was filled with very interesting characters, in different circumstances, different eccentricities, different voices and almost different milieus. Almost because the protagonists’ common denominator was that they were all employees (publisher, officer, editors, writer, reporter, stringer, correspondent and even a lifelong dedicated reader!) of the newspaper company based in Rome, Italy. I saw myself in Lloyd Burko. My heart bled for Arthur Gopal’s loss then cheered him for his triumph towards the end. I saw myself prodding Hardy Benjamin to follow her heart, ”Go girl!” and guessing if there was a gay undertone in Herman Cohen’s friendship with Jimmy. I admired the tenacity of Kathleen Solson, despised the naivety of Winston Cheung and hated the guts of Rich Snyder. I saw the flight of my many near-old maid friends in Ruby Zaga and at the same time thought of how many people think that their families and friends who live overseas are all living rich and happy lives. I felt sorry for Craig Menzies and hoped that his misfortune will not happen to me because I am also a workaholic and now also reads a lot of books. Speaking of reading, you will sure be amazed of how Ornella De Monterechhi reads her newspapers! You will laugh at the end of Abbey Pinnola’s story. Lastly, you will feel sorry about the fate of the newspaper having the responsibility landing on the hand of disinterested heir Oliver Ott.

”So good I had to read it twice simply to figure out how he pulled it off. I still haven’t answered that question, nor do I know how someone so young … could have acquired such a precocious grasp of human foibles. The novel is alternately hilarious and heart-wrenching. - CHRISTOPHER BUCKLEY, THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW.

I did not agree with reading it twice because I read it very slowly. I spent two days reading this rather slim and thin book that I could normally read in 2-3 hours. But I agree with Rachman being so young yet so talented. I can’t wait to read his next book and see how else he will tell a story what with a breakthrough and breathtaking book as this.

”Tom Rachman is absolutely a writer to watch…” - ANDREA LEE, author of Lost Hearts in Italy

And yes, Goodreads (yes I am talking to you), in response to your big bold tag line on your new and nicer log-on screen, I say I just met my next (new) favorite book!

WAY TO GO, GOODREADS! Thank you for making the my past two years (I joined in October 2009) wonderful! My life could not have as fulfilling, happy and interesting as those two years if not because of you!

[Maryann · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first reviews of this book made me eager to plunge in, but I was so disappointed that I withdrew my suggestion to nominate it for our book club! I said to myself at least twice while reading this, "I hate this book." In the last 50 pages, I found some enjoyable sequences, especially the air plane ride between Abbey and the man she had just fired. Other than that story, it was not very enjoyable reading, unless perhaps one works for a newspaper and enjoys the personalities in that trade.

Overall, I could not relate to the characters or the plot, which was presented in such a disjointed manner. It was especially hard to follow for a neophyte Kindle user. Kind of like listening to the audio book of Margaret Atwood's The Blind Assassin without seeing the chapter headings or the table of contents. The chapter headings are deceptively timely and clever, but the plot did not live up to them.

There are so many new books out now that are SO much better.... The Infinities, Banville, The Surrendered, Lee, The Lake Shore Limited, Sue Miller, A Week in December, Faulk, the new Ian McEwan With so much superb fiction out there, this was a waste of time.

[William2 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exquisite. Newspapers have been dying in droves. The fictional newspaper here in Rome is struggling to survive. The advent of the Internet hasn’t helped matters. Author Tom Rachman once worked at The International Herald Tribune, now The New York Times International Edition. The fictional newspaper depicted here is a far less exalted endeavor. The novel’s structure is reminiscent of In Our Time except that the short italicized interstitial chapters here function as flashbacks. Hemingway’s is an unstrung story collection. The elegant stories strung together here, however, remind the reader of the cascading narratives Cynthia Ozick uses in her magnificent novel The Puttermesser Papers. Each chapter focuses on a character who does a different job at the paper—Paris correspondent, obituary editor, editor-in-chief, publisher, etc. Author Rachman ignores the old dictum that a novelist should avoid introducing new characters late in a book. Because here each chapter introduces a new character—all eleven of them straight. Sigh. Glad I don’t work in an office anymore! The misery of it all.

[Cynthia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an intriguing book though disconcerting. It’s set in the present or recent past at an English newspaper produced in Italy. As Elizabeth Strout did in “Olive Kitteridge”, last year’s Pulitzer winner, each story or chapter is seen through a different person’s viewpoint. In “Kitteridge” the theme was Olive and how others perceived her or she perceived them. In “The Imperfectionists” the paper is the common denominator. All the stories are the viewpoint of a Staffer.

Interspersed with the viewpoint chapters are two or three page vignettes of the founder and his son and grandson as they each in turn take over the paper. This strand of DNA skeletons through the book putting the life of the paper and its purpose in context. For some reason, maybe because I recently read it, this reminded me of Thomas Mann’s “Buddenbrooks”. “Buddenbrooks” and “The Imperfectionists” are both generation novels with a strong first generation. These men are successful and driven however, each generation after that becomes weaker. The life force seems to dilute as the son and then the grandson stifle their own dreams and try to recast themselves as a replica of the founder, they are not true to themselves. They lose their vitality by living an inherited dream rather than finding and using their own talents. Of course this has a toll on the paper they’re running. Oddly I found myself turning back to the author’s picture as I read. He looks so young and untried yet he keeps piling on insights that feel like someone much older would intuit.

[Trin · Rating 3 out of 5]

So Christoper Buckley wrote this review in The New York Times which was basically, “OMG! BEST BOOK EVER! TOM PLEASE RESPOND POSITIVELY TO MY FACEBOOK FRIEND REQUEST AND MAYBE LET ME BEAR YOUR CHILDREN? <3333” Immediately, every freakin' person who came in my store was like, “Do you have...*desperate sigh* The Imperfectionists?” And then I had to tell them it was backordered because the publishers hadn't expected Christopher Buckley to propose marriage to Tom Rachman in The New York Times and therefore hadn't printed enough copies. And then some of them would sneer and tell me that they'd just get it on Amazon, even though Amazon didn't have it either. So that was fun.

Nevertheless, I really wanted to read this book, too, because 1) it's about journalists, 2) it's set in Italy, 3) it's got a great title, and 4) it had Christopher Buckley offering to deep-throat the author in the national press. Fortunately my mom snagged one of the first reprint copies and let me borrow it/allowed me to liberate the copy reserved under her name in the days before she had time to come pick it up. Yes, my mom has read this book, too, which means she will probably be reading this review, which means she just saw item No. 4 on the list up there. Sorry, Mom. I got carried away.

Anyway, my slightly illicit copy of this book made the reading of it seem even more exciting. I curled up on the couch and ploughed through the whole thing in an afternoon.

It was okay.

I mean, it was fine. Parts were funny. Other parts—the Cairo section in particular—were stretching the funny pretty thin. Rachman really doesn't take advantage of his setting, though—it's ITALY, and yet it might as well have been Akron, Ohio. And it doesn't really build to anything. Christopher, you promised me—in between doodling lots of pink hearts around Tom Rachman's name—that it builds to something: something so amazing, you imply with a dreamy sigh, the name “Tom” tripping breathlessly off your lips, that I'll want to read the book twice in a row. Eh. Once was enough. I certainly didn't feel the need to clutch my mom's copy to my chest and elope with it to Majorca, as you suggested to Tom. How's the honeymoon going, by the way? I may mock, but I gotta say: I really do hope you crazy kids can make it work.

[Karen· · Rating 4 out of 5]

I whizzed through this highly entertaining debut by Tom Rachman wondering how on earth he'll be able to follow it. He apparently used a lot of his own experience of working for the International Herald Tribune here, so the question is where he will go for material next. The Imperfectionists is funny and tender both, Rachman's fondness for his characters with all their failings and foibles comes roaring through, and the man has an uncanny eye, oops, no, sorry that should be ear shouldn't it? for a perfectly pitched dialogue. The structure is perfectly managed too. And what's more, you learn a lot about how a newspaper gets out into the world. Entertaining and informative, so what more could you ask for?

Re-read: Only two of the characters seem a tad overdone, too long in the oven. But it stands up well, Rachman's warmth comes through.

Now I'm making notes, because I have to lend my copy to one of the ladies. What's really odd is that when I read Ruby Zaga again in a gin-and-tonic induced maudlin state, I have nothing but compassion for the woman. She buys such personal presents for her brother, s-i-l and nephews and nieces, and she's so lonely and it's so hard when you're forty six and still wearing the clothes you wore when you were twenty seven. C'mon.

[Emily Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh for the Love of All that is Holy! Please, someone, tell me that Rachman earned more than a 3.5 from the Goodreads community on 'The Imperfectionists'!

Is it the irreverence, the flip attitude, the turn of a(n) intellectual phrase? The Washington Post calls it 'beguiling' - You're killin' me here!

This is off the charts, stratospherically (a) hilarious in its desperate pathos; (b) brilliant in its prose; (c) sinister in its cynicism. I'm hanging up my pen, I'm shredding all copies of my own debut novel.

Okay you 3.5-ers! You've never worked in a newsroom, have you? Maybe you've seen Broadcast News, or that flick that Glenn Close was in years ago in which she played the likeness of Kathleen Graham? The Imperfectionists exposes every wart, every risk, every weakness, and every delight of the news business.

Put down Koontz, Evanovitch, and Sparks and ... Read 'The Imperfectionsists...Again.

[Pei Pei · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed the first two stories in this book, but as I kept reading I lost interest. The book couldn't seem to make up its mind about what it wanted to be. As separate stories, it was uneven. I enjoyed some stories and laughed and paused thoughtfully at surprising moments, but many of the stories weren't strong enough to stand alone; the dialogue was sometimes cringeworthy and actually seemed to get worse as the book progressed (the same is true, I think, of the general quality of the stories). As a novel-in-stories, it didn't build continuous tension throughout to keep me invested. The pieces in between the chapters/stories seemed like they were supposed to be sustaining the narrative thread of the paper's history and development, but I just found it all supremely boring, and none of the characters who existed and then died solely within these italicized sidebars meant anything to me.

I also found the book highly misogynistic; nearly all of the women characters are insecure, sex-craved, weak-willed, manipulative harpies, or else just plain insane. The men are portrayed as flawed but not, ultimately, irredeemable, and generally a good deal more sympathetic than any of the women. The chapter told from the POV of Abbey - a forty year old woman, supposedly - was particularly horrifying, as it sounded like something out of badly written YA fiction.

I did like the very ending of the epilogue: it made me pause and reflect on the meaning and purpose of what had come before, but wasn't ultimately enough to change my mind about any of it.

[Alana · Rating 2 out of 5]

So... I'm telling you now that my sudden and vehement dislike of Tom Rachman's The Imperfectionists is totally irrational and cannot be defended with any argument that paints me as a level-headed reviewer. Up until approximately five pages from the end of the novel, I would have given this a three-and-a-half-out-of-five star review... not necessarily because I enjoyed every single moment of the novel, but because I thought it was an interesting look at the fascinating and rather endangered industry of newspaper publication.

Then a dog was killed and I'm sorry, but I immediately experienced a flash-back to my six-year-old self, uncontrollably sobbing because a story I was reading started with the drowning of a kitten. It's a horrific, staggering moment and I started to worry that I might actually cry into my scarf, standing on the subway in rush hour, attracting covert glances from other winter-clad commuters, while some child in a stroller would stage whisper, "Mommy, why is that lady crying?" Thankfully, I held it together, but my ability to enjoy any part of the novel had vanished.

My significant other laughed at me when I said this, then realized I was serious, but I yield to you the same points I yielded to him. Yes, I understand that the author didn't actually kill a real-life dog. Yes, I understand that the killing of the dog is supposed to be a horrific and heart-breaking moment (even if it's totally unnecessary). No, the act of killing the dog was not itself described, but rather, simply the fact/means of it stated. But because it was in there at all, my opinion of the book plummeted and I just cannot recommend this to anyone in good conscience. You see what I mean? It doesn't matter for me that up until then, I was thinking mildly positive things about the work. I know this is ludicrous and I know that I can read about people dying without batting an eyelash. Kids can die and I wince (like any normal person), but there's just a line a writer can't cross for each one of us and mine happens to be furry. I'm a terrible, unacceptably biased reviewer and I'm sorry.

The Imperfectionists, aside from being a novel where a dog is murdered, focuses on the employees of an English-language newspaper based out of Rome. The newspaper in the present day is clearly failing, but the employees trudge on, putting out the paper every day under increasing amounts of stress. Told in a series of snapshot stories that each focus on a different person, the stories weave through their lives to show private agonies and professional failures. There's very little happiness here (though perhaps a few small victories are recounted) as we read about the editors, publishers, and reporters that have had their lives changed by the paper. It covers the entire lifespan of the paper -- from its founding after World War II to its modern-day closure -- and while most of the characters live in the present time, there are short glimpses back at the lives of its previous employees.

While reading The Imperfectionists, I found myself recalling Joshua Ferris's And Then We Come to the End, another novel that follows several employees of a company that's going under. Even before the dog incident, I would say I far preferred And Then We Come to the End, and I'm betting that Rachman had read that one. Ferris is a far better writer than Rachman, who I felt relied rather heavily on the emotions stirred simply by the facts of the situation -- the decline of newspapers (which most, if not all, literate people are somewhat saddened by) and job loss. The writing itself seemed on the more positive side of mediocre (inoffensive? passable?), but still made me feel that this novel was overwhelmingly over-rated in the praise I've seen bandied about.

What The Imperfectionists *does* have is the benefit of being set in Rome. Having been in Rome a few months ago, I was pleased by the frequent mentions of specific places and neighborhoods, which allowed me to remember the twisting streets and odious traffic. I was surprised no mention was made of vespas. Given that this is a novel where it's clear things will Not End Well, it's to be expected that the tone will be relatively serious -- though there are several funny moments, even if they are often of the black humor or cringe-worthy variety. These are not happy people, by and large, and the turmoil in their lives both inside and outside of the office reflects this. A large number of tragic things happen in the course of the novel (tragic things are, after all, much more newsworthy than happy things), though they usually consist of what would be private gossip and never something printable (save for a few individual deaths). Children die, relationships are shattered, betrayals are engineered, and tempers are lost... the last item happening practically on every page. There's a pervading sense of loss... lost leads, stories, and profits... lost loves, friends, and children... lost innocence, lost opportunities, and lost dreams... and, of course, lost jobs.

Unless you're the wallowing type, I wouldn't recommend this for anyone who's recently lost a job. Nor would I really recommend this as a great "set in Italy" novel, though I did enjoy the conjuration of the city. And, it might go without saying, I wouldn't recommend this to those who are overly-sensitive to violence against animals. (It really just comes in out of the blue, folks. I'm not this crazy all the time.) If you have none of these problems and you can overlook the so-so writing, then I hope that you enjoy the novel, as it shows a certain amount of promise on the part of Tom Rachman. (Though perhaps I'm thinking that because the novel's already been optioned by Brad Pitt and that certainly can't hurt one's career.) The Imperfectionists inspires thought (even if I can't quite call it "thoughtful") and has glints of wry humor that keep the reader afloat in this portrait of a declining industry... I just wish the loyal, harmless dog would have made it to a really nice farm where he could chase rabbits.

[Ivonne Rovira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tom Rachman’s perfect debut novel The Imperfectionists consists of a series of interconnected short stories about people linked by an English-language international newspaper based in Rome, each chapter neatly self-contained but simultaneously referring to previous tales and containing clues to ensuing ones. It’s one of the greatest books I’ve ever read.

Rachman once worked as an editor at The International Herald Tribune, but the fictional international newspaper — founded by enigmatic millionaire Cyrus Ott for reasons only hinted at until the last chapter and now teetering on insolvency with a circulation of merely 10,000— bears little resemblance to the legendary Paris-based newspaper. Even a legendary former editor-in-chief of the unnamed Rome paper characterizes it as “a second-tier international newspaper,” one whose circulation never hits 40,000. The novel is mostly set in 2006 and 2007, but each chapter is bookended by flashbacks to the newspaper’s glorious founding and more illustrious past.

Despite the title, each of the poignant short stories is perfect: over-the-hill Paris correspondent and one-time lothario Lloyd Burko, disenchanted obituary writer Arthur Gopal; corrections editor Herman Cohen, who has lived in the shadow of a larger-than-life novelist his whole life; business editor Hardy Benjamin and her definitely imperfect boyfriend, perennially dissatisfied editor-in-chief Kathleen Solson, the heartless chief financial officer Abbey Pinnola, the ineffectual new publisher, Oliver Ott, grandson of the magnetic founder, among others. I found myself devouring each chapter/short story, each a witty gem where even the tiny details served to reveal the subject’s inner character. Some tales are sorrowful, some triumphant, all are mesmerizing as they unpeel the veneer that all of us assume at work to reveal the flawed human underneath.

What I found astounding is that Rachman was in his 30s when he penned The Imperfectionists. How had the British-born, Canadian-reared ex-pat journalist garnered so much insight into human nature, the dissatisfactions of the middle-aged, and the pitfalls of growing old before even hitting 40? Every character and every tiny detail rings true.

Journalists will especially adore The Imperfectionists, with its reminder of the Golden Age of journalism, with Underwriter typewriters and on-the-job drinking. What newspaper reporter doesn’t identify with Arthur Gopal when he observes, “’news’ is often a polite way of saying ‘editor’s whim’”?

Don’t miss this fascinating novel. I can hardly wait for Rachman’s upcoming The Rise & Fall of Great Powers to be released in a few days.

[Melki · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's strange...the author photo depicts an unassuming, modest fellow. I'd be grinning like a crazed despot if I had managed to produce such a polished and textured effort as my first novel.
The book is a series of interconnected short stories, revolving around the lives of staffers at a newspaper in Rome. Each character is fully fleshed and loaded with enough foibles, fears and frailties to easily fill a novel of his or her own. Though the book is loaded with comedic situations, an overwhelming theme of sadness permeates. All characters have one thing in common. They are all looking for someone, or something, that they can never have again.
If you chuckle at this line:
"News" is often a polite way of saying "editor's whim."
chances are, you will enjoy this book.
Oh - and if your copy contains the conversation between Malcolm Gladwell and the author - read it!
It's both entertaining and enlightening.

[Maxwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

In an interview in the back of the book with Malcolm Gladwell, the author says: "Writing (and reading) is a sort of exercise in empathy, I think. In life, when you encounter people, you and they have separate trajectories, each person pushing in a different direction. What's remarkable about fiction is that places you in the uncommon position of having no trajectory. You stand aside, motives abandoned for the duration. The characters have the trajectories now, while you just observe. And this stirs compassion that, in real life, is so often obscured by our own motives."

I think this speaks so accurately of this book. Each chapter follows a different character working at an English-language newspaper in Rome. And as they weave in and out of one another's stories, you get to go along for the ride. They aren't perfect (I mean, the title gives that away, and they can be cruel or jealous or overly ambitious, but they're very human characters. I found each narrative voice to be distinct--they are told from the 3rd person as opposed to the 1st which I think can be gimmicky and indistinguishable at times--and they are genuine.

My only issue with the book was the sort of historical narrative that would conclude each chapter. You got two or three pages of a linear history of the newspaper after each character's story. And these, in themselves, told the story of the newspaper. It was interesting, but I'm not sure how necessary it was.

I would highly recommend this for fans of Jennifer Egan's A Visit from the Goon Squas.

[Richard Derus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 4* of five

My four-star review is, at its simplest level, an exhortation to read this very good book.

http://tinyurl.com/n66zcsv


My reason for finally, four years later, writing the review is simply that it's on Kindle-sale in the US for $1.99. It's hard to find used books for that little money. It's hard to find a book I'd more strongly urge you to read for that kind of dosh.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

You may be wondering if "The Imperfectionists" deserves the rave reviews it's been getting in certain quarters. The short answer?
Yes, yes it does.

If you like the kind of review that captures the essence of a book in a pithy soundbite, I can offer you: "the 2010 version of "Then We came to the End", this year's "Olive Kittredge", or "Scoop" for the 21st century.

It's just as easy to give you the uncoded description. "The Imperfectionists" tracks the terminal decline of a fictional English language newspaper (headquartered in Rome), as its continuing slide into financial insolvency makes its extinction inevitable. The book is structured as a series of vignettes of the paper's key staffers, from obituary writer to editor-in-chief. This device allows Rachman to give a kaleidoscopic view of his main character, which is the paper itself, or more precisely the specific constellation of talent, personalities, relationships, financial conditions and just random luck that have combined in the past to allow the paper to thrive and which now guarantee its demise. This approach is not without risk; for instance, I thought the individual-viewpoint stories in "Olive Kittredge" never coalesced to a coherent whole. Somehow (alchemy? magic? witchcraft?) Rachman avoids this trap - TI flows smoothly and irresistibly to its foregone conclusion.

What makes TI irresistible is the brilliance of Rachman's gift for characterization. Collectively, the motley crew of staffers in this newsroom accommodate every dysfunction in the manual, and a few the psychiatrists haven't yet gotten around to classifying. With one or two exceptions, each of Rachman's characters is desperately unhappy. Many of them seem close to some kind of edge. I found them all completely believable and totally fascinating. The irony in Rachman's portrait is impossible to miss -- newspaper readers form their worldview by reading and trusting the words of these deeply flawed people. Rachman's particular gift is to sketch each character's flaws with the relentless clarity of the anonymous, omniscient narrator, but to do it with obvious warmth and affection. He's worked with these folks, at least with their real-life counterparts at the (now defunct) International Herald Tribune, and he loves them.

Ultimately, The Imperfectionists is his extended eulogy to the profession of newspaper reporter and it has the charm and the power to move us that the best tributes attain. There is an elegaic feel to the book which makes it a pleasure to read, even as Gotterdammerung approaches and things in the newsroom are getting progressively darker. Thus, the recent book that TI most closely resembles is Stuart O'Nan's exquisite (and underrated?) "Last Night at the Lobster", a low-key, extremely moving account of the last day at work for the staff of a NE Red Lobster restaurant chosen for closure by the corporate beancounters. Rachman's story has a little more razzmatazz (naked bodies and naked ambition, suave Roman suitors, fancy cocktails), which makes it more fun to read than the O'Nan book. Fortunately it achieves this without lapsing into predictability, while maintaining the warmth and heart at its core. Rachman is so obviously fond of the characters he's created, warts and all, that he charms you into liking them too.

If you've ever worked in a newsroom, or know anyone who has/does, you've got to score a copy of this book.

[switterbug (Betsey) · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this novel about a struggling international newspaper based in Rome, various characters tell the story through chapter-divided vignettes. You don't have to wait until the end for it to pull together, as it is loosely connected from the beginning. As you get deeper into the story, however, the connections deepen, complement, and piggyback each other. It spans about fifty years, from the first edition in 1954 until near-present time. The ineluctable end careens with humor and pathos.

The stories are alternately dry and humorous or wily and campy with a sharp eye registering human foibles and, at times, desperate aspirations. There is a love story triangle between Betty, Leo, and the newspaper's founder, Ott. The reader is cued early on, but over the years the journalists, editors, and descendents of Ott are in the dark about the reasons he started this floundering paper. Also, the twenty-first century is not on the horizon of the newspaper's advancement into the web-based age, and it is amusing to watch the editors act as apologists and defend the stasis of their decisions. As the finance department calls out for layoffs, the staff behave in comical ways with some dramatic results.

Each story has its own flavor and rhythm. There is one about an Asian American academic, Winston, attempting to break into journalism by competing for a job in Cairo as a stringer correspondent for the paper. His naiveté is surpassed only by his passivity when a vulgar, self-centered man name Snyder overtakes his lodgings and possessions. The interview on the street is hilarious, as Snyder gets Winston to do his bidding and ask harassing questions to a burka-clad woman.

There is also a touching story about a middle-aged, uxorious editor living with his young, pert girlfriend in Rome. It reads first like a winsome love story, and then a hair-raising zinger is thrown in that turns it into a bittersweet irony.

Ornella is a woman with OCD that is essentially trapped in the house by her own Kafka-esque torments, and will not advance on reading the newspaper unless she has read every word of every daily piece. Therefore, she is still hemmed in at the era before the Internet and is barely out of the Cold War. Rachman's portrayal of Ornella is both comic and tragic but never reductive. I felt the discomfort of the people around her and also her private agony and self-imposed siege.

In yet another chapter, one of the copy editors who were laid off is on a plane with the woman ("Accounts Payable") responsible for his demise. Their relationship goes from introduction to friendly exchange to attraction and evolves into a final, electrifying, and disturbing scene that gripped me with its magnificent timing and rhythm.

The novel charmed me with a shake of quirk and whimsy but stirred me with its saucy and salty blend of ingenuity. The cast of expatriates contrasts brilliantly with each other and form a keen and off-kilter portrait of a newspaper dying to stay alive.

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

4/3/22: 3 stars. I wrote a glowing review of this book in 2010, but I didn't feel as enthusiastic about it during my re-read. Times and my tastes have changed.

6/26/10: 5 stars. I don't read a lot of books that aren't written for teenagers, but I read the reviews and the jacket on this one, and decided it sounded too good to pass up. Just a little over 24 hours later, I have finished reading it, and I am so glad it caught my eye.

This novel is a series of interconnected stories about the staff members of an English-language newspaper published in Rome. Each character's chapter begins with a headline and ends with a flashback to a significant moment in the newspaper's history. Though the atmosphere and history of the paper are important, and I enjoyed those sections between chapters, the truly brilliant aspect of this book is the characterization. Each and every staff member depicted throughout the story is a fully-developed three-dimensional human being. Each of them has such a specific life, and relationships with layers, complications, and in many cases, heartbreak. I loved all of them instantly, even the ones I thought I should hate, and I was impressed, as the book wore on, with how fresh everything still seemed 125, 150, 200 pages in. Rachman's writing is both extremely readable and extremely well-crafted, which is not often true of literary fiction. Often it's one or the other, but to have both, and to see it done so well was very satisfying.

The highlights for me were the relationship between publisher Oliver Ott and his dog Schopenhauer, stringer Warren Cheung's encounter with the strangely manipulative and carefree Snyder, reader Ornella's obsession with reading the paper in its entirety no matter how long it takes, and Herman Cohen's friendship with Jimmy, who has not become the man Herman expected him to be. This book made me consider the private lives of the people I have worked with, and caused me to wonder what people go home to when they leave work at night, and whether we could look at people the same way if we knew.

This book is just absolutely fantastic, and I can't wait for Tom Rachman to write his second novel. Highly recommended.

[Esil · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great collection of interconnected short stories. I loved the characters and English language Italian newspaper as a backdrop. I had a hard time putting this one down and was disappointed when it ended,

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fine, not fantastic.

If reviewing this from a literary perspective, I can understand the cover blurbs: "Spectacular" and "Gorgeous" and "Beguiling." But reviewing this from my gut, which is how I review, I am left feeling merely content.

It was smart of Tom Rachman to write in the third person present tense; it instils a sort of quick pace into the narrative which nicely mirrors the quick pace of journalism. The writing itself is beautiful. I found myself flying naturally and effortlessly through the words on the page.

That said, I couldn't help feeling slightly...bored? I suppose I expected more flash and ooo la la in there on those pages somewhere, and I felt like it didn't happen (for me, at least). I know that this is my own doing and that I shouldn't have entered with the expectations I did - I've been reading too many thrillers of late, perhaps. I now realise that my desire to romanticise the journalism industry created some unfair prejudices.

As for the key players: Rachman pulled back the layers of the characters and made them real. The characters experience real-life set backs and real-life bitter wars with their coworkers. It was unexpected due to my preconceived prejudices. In a way, I'm happy about that because it was a wake up call that I (and all of us) should really put aside our prejudices before coming to conclusions about something. Lesson learned!

And in the end, this was more about the people than it was about the newspaper company/industry as a whole. I should've expected that from a literary novel. The people were believable enough, but I found their dialogue trite. Anyone who reads my reviews knows I'm particular about dialogue. I just found most of the speech in this novel forced, and I couldn't imagine a real person saying 80% of the dialogue.

So, I'd give good scores to Rachman for making believable characters, but I'd take away some scores for filling their mouths with dirty dialogue. Thankfully, he's a good writer, so you kind of forget a bit about the dialogue.

My overall feeling at the end of this one: On to the next!

[Alice · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not enjoy this book at all. This is yet another entry in the category of books that are supposed to be literary fiction, but are poorly written and so clunkily plotted and presented that they barely resemble the heights of the genre. The Imperfectionists describes the staff of a barely-surviving English-language newspaper in Italy, each chapter devoted to a different person. Every character is reprehensible in some way, or else has very big, obvious unpleasant things happen to them. And they're all stereotypes; nuanced this book is not. Many of the plots are so overblown that they lose their grounding in real life. For example, one chapter is about a nice girl dating a loser, because she's desperate. He's such a loser that he's a caricature of a bad boyfriend, and she's so desperate that she's a parody of a pathetic spinster. While one might chalk this up to satire, good satire is still well-written and enjoyable to read. I slogged through it just to see if it got any better, but it left an overwhelmingly negative impression. Not recommended.

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 and 1/2 stars

I've read a few reviews that mention this novel reads like a group of interrelated short stories and I can see that, though I don't really agree, as I don't believe the chapters are fully realized enough to stand on their own, nor were they meant to be, as they are intended to be 'chapters' in the history of the newspaper first and foremost.

The fully realized people that populate the novel are the strongest element. There is sympathy for even the most unlikable characters (except for one, who doesn't deserve, need or want any anyway), something I greatly admire in any writer. The dialogue is exceptional.

The plot of each chapter can be quite inventive, as is the way the back-stories (they catch up with the present eventually) are featured at the end of each, though these are not nearly as strong as the central part of the various chapters. The reason for the paper's genesis (reminding me of the movie 'Before Sunset') is known to the reader from almost the very beginning and remains a mystery to the characters only (most of whom wouldn't care), so don't believe the inner flap about that "surprising truth" being revealed.

I enjoyed this book for the most part, though I did feel like a couple of the chapter endings were gimmicky and I didn't particularly care for the somewhat pedestrian summation. And while I liked the book while I was reading it, now that I'm finished, I feel disappointed that it all didn't add up to 'more.'

[CS · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story follows several members of an English-speaking newspaper based in Rome, Italy. There is some overlap and connection between the stories, especially the further you get into the novel. And between short stories about the individual employees of the paper is a main thread that tells the entire story of the paper.

I'm sorry for the unenthusiastic summary of this book. If you really want to get an idea of what this book is about, there are tons of summaries much better than mine (including, for once, cover blurb). I just can't manage a decent summary; I've lost the will to have this book engage me.

But before I go on a tirade about what made me abandon this book at the 200 page mark (when I had a mere 60 pages to go), let me give compliments where compliments are due.

Minus the fact the author barely uses any transitions or section breaks, this is probably one of the best written novels I've read in a long time. It is beautiful. It was stirring. It brought the characters to life. Rachman had an ear for dialogue and knew how to keep the pacing up, so that I honestly had trouble stopping unless I reached the end of a story.

Want an example of the writing?

The paper's most loyal reader, Ornella de Monterrecchi, trooped down to headquarters to demand that closure be reconsidered. But she had arrived too late. The doorman was kind enough to unlock the vacated newsroom. He turned on the flickering fluorescent beams and left her to wander.

The place was ghostly: abandoned desks and cables leading nowhere, broken computer printers, crippled rolling chairs. She stepped haltingly across the filthy carpeting and paused at the copydesk, still covered with defaced proofs and old editions. This room once contained all the world. Today, it contained only litter.

WOW. Reading that, I was nearly moved to tears. I could FEEL Ms. Monterrecchi's loss (partly because it tuned into how I felt when I walked into Borders on its final day). I could see the ruined newsroom, see the flickering lights. This scene conjured up in me the perfect combination of nostalgia and mourning, of loss and ruination.

The characters were very realistic and nuanced. Each one felt vivid and unique, and considering this is a short story that switches from one to another, I think that is a great talent, to be able to create such different people. And each character is properly flawed; they make stupid mistakes, they say stupid things; they err, cheat, steal, and connive.

The stories were likewise very realistic. As befitting a title "The Imperfectionists", each story shows how imperfect the characters are. Some are smart enough to snap out of their funk; others wallow in it. The two stories I actually liked were Lloyd Burko (though why he had to go to such extents for an article, oh, Lordy) and Herman Cohen (though I could smell a mile away the "problem" with his friend).

So, here comes the big question. Why only 2 stars?

I supposed this will come off as a backhanded compliment, but I absolutely hated reading about characters that I grew to care about getting shafted over and over and over again. Not to mention, I could guess almost every time how each story would end.

For instance, "lonely" Hardy who becomes interested in Rory, a liar, a loser, and a user, to make her not lonely anymore. Sure, I know women who are like that; and I don't want to read about how they've screwed up their life and are settling for less than they deserve. I hated that Hardy should have to put up with Rory's crap, just so she "isn't lonely". Bullsh!t!

The other story that really bugged me was Winston Cheung's. I knew from the beginning that the d-bag reporter was going to use Winston like that, but Winston, being the idiot he was, just let him. It made me SO MAD, I had to skim most of that story, or I would have gone postal. I just wanted to scream at Winston, "Tell the F@#$er 'NO' already!!!"

Other stories ended in a way that left me clueless as to what happened and what had been accomplished. I don't get how Arthur Gopal suddenly got the motivation to be the best reporter he could be; I don't understand the final word exchange between Kathleen and Dario. And what was going on between Annika and Craig Menzies? They are together...but then she wants out...until she's sorry? But is she? And does he just hate himself for treating her like that? HUH?

As for the overarching story about the paper, it was just boring to me. Guy starts paper to please his old flame. He dies. Paper continues. Yes, there are more details than that (I actually did read all of these and finished this story), but I couldn't muster much interest, honestly.

And one more thing that bugged me: the "backdrop" of Rome. I know this seems silly and petty, but honestly, if I hadn't been told this was set against Rome, most stories (that were set in Rome) I would barely know. There are hardly any descriptions of that great city, beyond the note on the newspaper room saying "Outside is Italy". I certainly wasn't transported to another country.

I'm really disappointed in this book. I was really looking forward to a series of stories about newspaper employees set in Rome. And while I did like the writing, I found the book to be lackluster and frustrating. I don't want to read about characters I am made to like doing stupid things over and over and over again. That is not enjoyable to me.

If you are the person where you can ignore these such things, then this novel is for you. Alas, I couldn't even bear to finish the novel, even though I picked it for my Book Club.

[Emiliya Bozhilova · Rating 3 out of 5]

Как човек отива при света, и как светът отива при човека? И колко от човека и колко от света всъщност се съдържа в този обмен? А обмен ли е, или е само илюзия с дълги традиции и в непрекъснато променящи се форми?

Новините, отпечатвани в течение на половин век в измислен от Ракман международен американски ежедневник в Рим, са част от такъв обмен. Отблясъците на студената война, терористичните актове, бизнес анализите, културната секция и дори некролозите рамкират част от силните години и много по-голяма част от упадъка до деня на закриването. Интернет и телевизията сякаш убиват печатните медии. Това ли е краят на истинската журналистика, на критичния поглед, на търсенето на истината, на търсенето на справедливост и красота, на смелостта да слезеш до дъното на изпепеляващ конфликт, за да протестираш и информираш? Или това винаги е било илюзия, зад която се крият низките страсти на тълпата, хукнала след поредната клюка или направо фалшива новина, която е изгодна за рекламодател и акционер? Ненапразно Пилат Понтийски е запитал навремето що е истина.

Всяка глава е самостоятелен, но смислово свързан с осталите, разказ и портрет на член на последния екип на вестника, като в края му има и резюме за някой от успешните минали периоди. Излишно е да се коментира, че всички герои отговарят на заглавието - те са неудачници в един неудачен вестник в един неудачен свят. Никой от тях не е осъзнал, че е вече в XXI век. Опитват се да оцелеят по линията на най-малкото съпротивление и в кариерата, и в личния си живот, и си плащат. Малък пример: за няколко десетилетия в Рим никой от тях не е научил италиански като хората; вестникът през 2006 г. пък още няма уебсайт… А контрастът между успешните периоди и дългата инерция към пропастта на съвремието е умишлено подсилен.

Човек може да остане с впечатление, че Ракман май предпочита времето на студената война като време на своеобразно глобално джентълменство и разтърсващи исторически събития. А всичко след 90-те му се струва пародия на абсурда, изобилстваща от лениви и забравили да функционират мозъци, раждащи жалки явления и още по-жалки водещи заглавия. Както и че дамите с кариера са до една хищни богомолки, европейците - лениви дегенерати без капка мозък, поамериканчените азиатци - тук вече се стреснах - маймуни... Е, пародия, ще махне някой с ръка. Да де, но не съвсем. Освен това два от разказите ми се сториха напълно излишни - скучни и безцелни на фона на останалите.

От друга страна, това пътуване из нюзрума и и из залеза на утвърдилите се сякаш в неразрушим мавзолей печатни медии е доста увлекателно, със сух хумор и провокативна безцеремонност. А и кой може да убие жаждата за истина - и за истински новини? Формите и технологиите се менят, сърцевината - не. Но процесът на трансформация е винаги болезнен - особено за обичащите замръзналото във времето удобство. Дано те никога не надвишават броя на будните.

3,5⭐️

[jo]

not my cup of tea. i need heart in my books. love. i need love. if you are witty and biting and cool and write with corners and edges, you are not for me. you may be a really good writer, but you are not for me. cuz me, i need love.

and now suddenly i'm unsure about whether tom rachman wrote this with wit, bitingness, corners, and edges. maybe he didn't. maybe i suck at short stories. i don't know. i just didn't feel the warmth of love -- the milk of human kindness. compassion. the author's love for his characters. so i got bored. so i stopped reading.