Review: The Imperfectionists
Editorial Review - Kirkus ReviewsAn English-language newspaper headquartered in Rome brings together a strongly imagined cast of characters in journalist Rachman's first novel. Lloyd Burko used to be a stringer living in Paris. He's still in Paris, but now he's just an impoverished former journalist who pretends to have a computer and whose latest wife has moved in with the guy across the hall. Arthur Gopal is languishing as an obituary writer until a death in his own life enables his advancement by erasing his humanity. Hardy Benjamin is a business writer, savvy and knowledgeable about corporate finance but utterly hapless in romance. What they have in common is the never-named paper, whose history is doled out in brief chapters beginning in 1953. The novel's rich representation of expatriate existence surely benefits from the author's experiences as an AP correspondent in Rome and an editor at the International Herald Tribune in Paris; his thoroughly unglamorous depictions of newsroom cubicles and editorial offices will resonate with anyone who's had a corporate job. But, while the newspaper is its unifying factor, the narrative's heart beats with the people who work there. Rachman's ability to create a diverse group of fully formed individuals is remarkable. Characters range from a kid just out of college who learns the hard way that he doesn't want to be a reporter, to an Italian diplomat's widow. Some are instantly sympathetic, others hard to like. Each is vivid and compelling in his or her own way. The individual stories work well independently, even better as the author skillfully weaves them together. Cameo appearances become significant when informed by everything the reader already knows about a character who flits in and out of another's story. The novel isn't perfect. The interpolated chapters about the paper's past aren't very interesting; the final entry ends with a ghastly shock; and the postscript is too cute. Nevertheless, it's a very strong debut. Funny, humane and artful.
Review: The Imperfectionists
Editorial Review - Bookreporter.com - Norah PiehlMuch has been made of late of the socalled death of journalism. College students are actively discouraged from pursuing news writing as a career, layoffs at bigcity papers make daily headlines, and news media report the ascendency of “citizen journalists” who report on (and analyze) the news on countless blogs and websites. But what of the people behind those headlines, even the headlines ... Read full review
Review: The Imperfectionists
User Review - Bill - GoodreadsAn Imperfect Exercise In Aristotelian Drama Rachman, Tom. (2010). The Imperfectionists. New York: Random House/Dial. This New York Times “Notable Book” comprises a dozen or so short chapters, each of ... Read full review
Review: The Imperfectionists
User Review - Bjorn - GoodreadsIn 1953, a rich American who finds himself in Rome has an idea: The war is over, there's a new world being born... Why not start a newspaper? Not just any newspaper, but a Serious Newspaper, an ... Read full review
Review: The Imperfectionists
User Review - Ricki Treleaven - GoodreadsThe Dixie Diva Book Club's October selection is The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman. This is not a novel; it is a collection of vignettes about different staff members of an unnamed English language ... Read full review
Review: The Imperfectionists
User Review - Jelena - GoodreadsI came by “The Imperfectionists“ through personal recommendation and several positive reviews I read. Although indicated to be a novel, the book consists of short stories so that each chapter ... Read full review
Review: The Imperfectionists
User Review - Sean - GoodreadsThere were a number of bright spots in this book, about the staff of an English-language newspaper based in Rome. It's not so much a novel as a series of character vignettes, interelated short stories ... Read full review
Review: The Imperfectionists
User Review - John Beck - Goodreadshttp://andalittlewine.blogspot.com/2012/04/review-of-imperfectionists-by-tom.htm... Last weekend, I read Tom Rachman's The Imperfectionists. I haven't tried to give "stars" to books I've reviewed ... Read full review
Review: The Imperfectionists
User Review - Madeleine - GoodreadsOnce 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 ... Read full review
Review: The Imperfectionists
User Review - Inez - GoodreadsThe Imperfectionists is a novel that reads like a short story collection about loosely connected individuals. Each chapter is its own vignette, focusing on each character's daily trials as they relate ... Read full review
