The Imperfectionists

Tom Rachman's bright, humorous debut is set against the stunning background of Rome and follows the crazy private lives of the reporters, editors, and executives of an international English-language daily as they fight to keep the newspaper—and themselves—afloat.

After the publication was started fifty years ago by an enigmatic billionaire, many changes have occurred, and today, in the midst of decrepit office furniture and faded carpets, the staff's personal dramas appear much more significant than the daily headlines. Abby, the beleaguered finance officer, finds that her work cutbacks and her love life are interwoven in a most unexpected manner; Arthur, the lazy obituary writer, is altered by a personal tragedy; and Kathleen, the haughty editor in chief, is still smarting from a betrayal in her open marriage. A seasoned Paris freelancer goes to extreme measures in the field to get his next assignment, while a ludicrous war journalist with an enormous ego manipulates the new Cairo stringer with great ruthlessness. The reclusive young publisher who is more preoccupied with his beloved basset dog, Schopenhauer, than with the future of his family's peculiar newspaper is also hiding in the shadows.

This flawed team crawls toward an uncertain future as the print journalism period gives way to the Internet era, and the paper's rich history is exposed, revealing the startling truth about its founder's goals.

The Imperfectionists, a lively, poignant, and very inventive book, will solidify Tom Rachman's reputation as one of our most astute and confident writers.