The newspaper was founded in Rome in the 1950s, a product of passion and a multi-millionaire's fancy. Over fifty years, its eccentricities earned a place in readers' hearts around the globe. But now, circulation is down, the paper lacks a website, and the future looks bleak. Still, those involved in the publication seem to barely notice. The obituary writer is too busy avoiding work. The editor-in-chief is pondering sleeping with an old flame. The obsessive reader is intent on finishing every old edition, leaving her trapped in the past. And the dog-crazy publisher seems less interested in his struggling newspaper than in his magnificent basset hound, Schopenhauer. The Imperfectionists interweaves the stories of eleven unusual and endearing characters who depend on the paper. Often at odds, they are united when the focus of their lives begins to fall apart. Funny and moving, the novel is about endings - the end of life, the end of sexual desire, the end of the era of newspapers - and about what might rise afterward.
The Imperfectionists
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Review
'Rachman is an admirable stylist. Each chapter is so finely wrought that it could stand alone as a memorable short story... Funny, poignant, occasionally breathtaking novel' Financial Times.
'sketched with lively charm... loaded with charm and insight, the novel brings human tenderness to an inky business besieged by budget cuts and online competition' Daily Mail.
'Rachman has a real gift for capturing a life in a few sentences ... we realise the book has taken us through the 50-year life of the newspaper, and brought to life a moving cast of characters. By turns, funny and desperately sad, Rachman's always readable novel is a terrific debut' The Jewish Chronicle.
'A precise, playful fiction with a deep but lightly worn intelligence' Times Literary Supplement.
'Vignettes packed with poignant insights and laugh out loud dialogue, the reader is left amazed and delighted by this new author whose prose is reminiscent of Portman and Vonnegut yet wholly and wonderfully his own. Buy this book!' Canada Post.
'The Imperfectionists is alternately hilarious and heart-wrenching, and it's assembled like a Rubik's cube ... a cross between Evelyn Waugh's Scoop and Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing adventure ... (this) is so good I had to read it twice' New York Times Book Review. 'Hilarious and poignant debut... Rachman's strength lies in the rendering of the characters - all 11 are believable, flawed and lovable... The Imperfectionists is funny and prescient, but still full of hope' Yorkshire Post.
'Light-footed lyricism... a series of acutely observed character sketches and a poignant sense of nostalgia' Glasgow Herald. 'Anyone who has ever spent time in newspaperland will recognize The Imperfectionists' high degree of authenticity. So will quite a few people beyond' Guardian.
'sketched with lively charm... loaded with charm and insight, the novel brings human tenderness to an inky business besieged by budget cuts and online competition' Daily Mail.
'Rachman has a real gift for capturing a life in a few sentences ... we realise the book has taken us through the 50-year life of the newspaper, and brought to life a moving cast of characters. By turns, funny and desperately sad, Rachman's always readable novel is a terrific debut' The Jewish Chronicle.
'A precise, playful fiction with a deep but lightly worn intelligence' Times Literary Supplement.
'Vignettes packed with poignant insights and laugh out loud dialogue, the reader is left amazed and delighted by this new author whose prose is reminiscent of Portman and Vonnegut yet wholly and wonderfully his own. Buy this book!' Canada Post.
'The Imperfectionists is alternately hilarious and heart-wrenching, and it's assembled like a Rubik's cube ... a cross between Evelyn Waugh's Scoop and Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing adventure ... (this) is so good I had to read it twice' New York Times Book Review. 'Hilarious and poignant debut... Rachman's strength lies in the rendering of the characters - all 11 are believable, flawed and lovable... The Imperfectionists is funny and prescient, but still full of hope' Yorkshire Post.
'Light-footed lyricism... a series of acutely observed character sketches and a poignant sense of nostalgia' Glasgow Herald. 'Anyone who has ever spent time in newspaperland will recognize The Imperfectionists' high degree of authenticity. So will quite a few people beyond' Guardian.
From the Inside Flap
The newspaper was founded in Rome in the 1950s, a product of passion and a multi-millionaire's fancy. Over fifty years, its eccentricities earned a place in readers' hearts around the globe. But now, circulation is down, the paper lacks a website, and the future looks bleak. Still, those involved in the publication seem to barely notice. The obituary writer is too busy avoiding work. The editor-in-chief is pondering sleeping with an old flame. The obsessive reader is intent on finishing every old edition, leaving her trapped in the past. And the dog-crazy publisher seems less interested in his struggling newspaper than in his magnificent basset hound, Schopenhauer. The Imperfectionists interweaves the stories of eleven unusual and endearing characters who depend on the paper. Often at odds, they are united when the focus of their lives begins to fall apart. Funny and moving, the novel is about endings - the end of life, the end of sexual desire, the end of the era of newspapers - and about what might rise afterward.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
23 of 23 people found the following review helpful
By Ashley
Format:Hardcover
I bought this book based on the glowing reviews I'd read in the media. However, I found myself enjoying it less and less as I read. By the half-way point, I had to psych myself up to read it. Normally the writing style is what lets a book down for me, but I found Rachman's style unobtrusive and easy to read.
My main complaint was the vignette-like structure of the novel. Although a clever idea, I felt it was more like a collection of short stories than a novel. Each chapter focused on one character working for an English-language newspaper in Rome, while making only background appearances in the other chapters. I kept expecting the author to bring all the individual storylines together in a meaningful way, but I felt like it never really happened (although maybe I just never 'got' it!).
I also found it very difficult to care for any of the characters. Only a few were likeable and after the first couple of chapters it was apparent that we would never get a second chapter with each 'main' character anyway, so there was little point in becoming invested.
Overall, I would say that the book was well-written (which was mainly why I gave it 3 stars) and I would be likely to give Rachman's future work a read. However, the short story style and lack of emotion I felt towards any of the characters put me off, meaning that I struggled to finish the book in the end.
My main complaint was the vignette-like structure of the novel. Although a clever idea, I felt it was more like a collection of short stories than a novel. Each chapter focused on one character working for an English-language newspaper in Rome, while making only background appearances in the other chapters. I kept expecting the author to bring all the individual storylines together in a meaningful way, but I felt like it never really happened (although maybe I just never 'got' it!).
I also found it very difficult to care for any of the characters. Only a few were likeable and after the first couple of chapters it was apparent that we would never get a second chapter with each 'main' character anyway, so there was little point in becoming invested.
Overall, I would say that the book was well-written (which was mainly why I gave it 3 stars) and I would be likely to give Rachman's future work a read. However, the short story style and lack of emotion I felt towards any of the characters put me off, meaning that I struggled to finish the book in the end.
19 of 20 people found the following review helpful
By Lucy
Format:Hardcover
I loved this book and was constantly surprised and fascinated by the stories and characters that it contained. There is a common link - the characters all work at an international newspaper - and their paths are expertly inter-woven. However, each character's world is so expertly drawn that each 'chapter' is the equivalent of a fabulous self-contained short story. I have never read anything quite like it. It is perfectly possible to read just a chapter/story/character and feel satisfied but I could not - I wanted to find out about the next person, his/her life and his/her story. The observation of the characters is so detailed, and depicted so accurately that it is impossible not to empathize with each of them - warts and all. The full range of human emotions and experiences are contained within the stories - love, loss, denial, jealousy, anger, frustration, fear and revenge. It is sometimes very funny and at other times very sad. This book is ideal for anyone who is interested in people and what makes them tick; it is great for those who don't want trash but can't face anything too highbrow at the end of a long day and it will move all who read it. Unforgettable.
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a set of linked short stories, each featuring a journalist (or an accountant or reader) associated with a failing English language paper in Rome. It's light and it's clever, but I found it did not engage me. We are not clear how characters come to be in the relationships they suffer from and that break up, so it is hard to care what is going to happen. Many of the stories depend on a twist in the last few lines for impact - and I found it wasn't that rewarding to have read the 20 previous pages to arrive at the denoument of the chapter. So: think carefully before investing the time in this novel and think whether it is for you, would be my advice.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
A brilliantly funny book
I loved this book, I read it now a while back but was reminded of it today and seeing some of the negative reviews felt I wanted to write a nice one. Read more
Published 21 days ago by Helena Frith Powell
4.0 out of 5 stars
Most enjoyable
The story centres around the lives of a group of expatriates working for a slowly-failing international English-language newspaper based in Rome. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Swizzlestick
2.0 out of 5 stars
Tediously negative characters
It could well be that the newspaper industry is only populated with unattractively negative characters but somehow I find that to be highly unlikely! Read more
Published 4 months ago by Ezequiel Bosch G.
4.0 out of 5 stars
pleasantly surprised
Like other reviewers, I'd seen this book well reviewed - and quite heavily pushed on Amazon as something I'd like, so I got a sample... and hated it. Read more
Published 7 months ago by M. J. WESTON
1.0 out of 5 stars
Completely unengaging book
I bought this book out of curiosity and from the very favourable reviews it got from the NYT. The first few chapters were so dull, particularly the writing style I concluded that... Read more
Published 13 months ago by dellyd
3.0 out of 5 stars
Maybe the title should have been a warning...
Rachman's debut novel has been lauded as a funny, intelligent and quirky look at the inner workings of a failing international newspaper, so I picked it up hoping for great things. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Miss E. Potten
2.0 out of 5 stars
A series of short character stories when I'd hoped for a seductive...
The characters are really interesting per se and the insights in their lives are well written and enticing but just as you get to know them they are dropped and the next chapter... Read more
Published 14 months ago by N. A. Stephens
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant
Quite simply the best novel I have read in two years. The vignettes are incredibly moving and the characters stay with you long after you put the book down. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Rojo99
2.0 out of 5 stars
You'll breeze through it...but that's not necessarily a recommendation
Misogynistic, unfunny, bland, predictable...but eminently readable. I had trouble putting this collection of intertwined stories down, but once I did I knew instantly that I... Read more
Published 16 months ago by A. Richman
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book!
The Imperfectionists
I am really enjoying this book. It is beautifully written, it's funny and portrays the miseries of a newsroom to a tee. Read more
I am really enjoying this book. It is beautifully written, it's funny and portrays the miseries of a newsroom to a tee. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Yolanda
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