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Loading... The Imperfectionists: A Novel (Random House Reader's Circle) (original 2010; edition 2011)by Tom Rachman
Work InformationThe Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman (2010)
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Follows the life of small newspaper in Rome and the imperfect lives of those who work there. OK read. Hmmm. This was a really hard book to wrap my head around. It started very slowly and I didn't really understand the structure with the inset sections about the founding of the paper. Once I got a handle on things I decided I didn't like it much -- depressing stories. But then, something shifted and I really started to enjoy what was happening. The connections started to make sense and the stories were still sad but not quite as awful and bleak as the earlier stories but then we got to the final chapter and that really was a total downer. It made me feel awful and like it was all just a terrible use of my time. A wonderful little novel with, in many ways, a Roman newspaper as the main character. However, the novel consists of 11 short chapters where one of the newspapers' employees takes center stage, becoming the main character. What makes the novel so wonderful is just how well Rachman is able to so completely capture the life & and entire personality of his characters in these brief, sparse, and succint chapters. There was nothing wrong with this book. It was really well written, the characters were real people with real problems... I think the reason I'm only feeling three stars for this book is the structure. It's a collection of stories, linked by the story of the newspaper. I never felt 'hooked' by this story. All the same, [b:The Imperfectionists|6834410|The Imperfectionists|Tom Rachman|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1291052624s/6834410.jpg|7045390] provides a very fine snapshot of an era that may be coming to an end.
The novel is alternately hilarious and heart-wrenching, and it's assembled like a Rubik's Cube. I almost feel sorry for Rachman, because a debut of this order sets the bar so high. Enjoy "The Imperfectionists" for the gem that it is. "The Imperfectionists" is about what happens when professionals realize that their craft no longer has meaning in the world's eyes (think of all those hardworking monk-scribes idled by Gutenberg) and that the only people who really understand them are on the same foundering ship, and that, come to think of it, they really loved that damn ship for all it made their lives hell. He's both testing and tender towards his people - their loneliness and purposelessness, moments of cleaving awareness ("one day, his son will die"), capabilities for love and commitment, devotion to kids, awareness of the fading future of a faded friend. It's convincing and compassionate; amusing and affectionate. In fact, it's a bit of a jewel. Anyone who has ever spent time in newspaperland will recognise The Imperfectionists' high degree of authenticity. So – you hope – will quite a few people beyond it. The citadel may be crumbling, but the righteousness of the defenders, miraculously, endures. AwardsDistinctionsNotable Lists
An "imperfect" crew of reporters and editors working for an international English language newspaper stumble toward an uncertain future as the era of print news gives way to the Internet age. The story is set against the gorgeous backdrop of Rome. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.6Literature English (North America) American fiction 21st CenturyLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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