num_pages: 272
description: Set against the gorgeous backdrop of Rome Tom Rachmans wry vibrant debut follows the topsy-turvy private lives of the reporters editors and executives of an international English language newspaper as they struggle to keep itand themselvesafloat. Fifty years and many changes have ensued since the paper was founded by an enigmatic millionaire and now amid the stained carpeting and dingy office furniture the staffs personal dramas seem far more important than the daily headlines. Kathleen the imperious editor in chief is smarting from a betrayal in her open marriage; Arthur the lazy obituary writer is transformed by a personal tragedy; Abby the embattled financial officer discovers that her job cuts and her love life are intertwined in a most unexpected way. Out in the field a veteran Paris freelancer goes to desperate lengths for his next byline while the new Cairo stringer is mercilessly manipulated by an outrageous war correspondent with an outsize ego. And in the shadows is the isolated young publisher who pays more attention to his prized basset hound Schopenhauer than to the fate of his familys quirky newspaper. As the era of print news gives way to the Internet age and this imperfect crew stumbles toward an uncertain future the papers rich history is revealed including the surprising truth about its founders intentions. Spirited moving and highly original The Imperfectionists will establish Tom Rachman as one of our most perceptive assured literary talents.
language: English
title: The Imperfectionists
publisher: The Dial Press