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The Imperfectionists
The Imperfectionists: A Novel | Tom Rachman
Set against the gorgeous backdrop of Rome, Tom Rachman's 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 it - and themselves - afloat. 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 staff's 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 family's quirky newspaper. As the era of print news gives way to the Internet age and this imperfect crew stumbles toward an uncertain future, the paper's rich history is revealed, including the surprising truth about its founder's intentions. Spirited, moving, and highly original, The Imperfectionists will establish Tom Rachman as one of our most perceptive, assured literary talents.
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review
Cinfhen
Imperfectionists | Tom Rachman
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Pickpick

I picked up this book just to have a look and ended up reading the entire thing in one sitting- even skipping dinner!!! I LOVED it @BarbaraBB ♥️🙌🏻 Interconnected vignettes surrounding the staff of a small international English language newspaper located in Rome. Each chapter introduces another news correspondent. The writing is sharp, funny, authentic and memorable. Can‘t believe this was Rachman‘s debut novel! Fantastic

BarbaraBB Wow, that is such a relief! I loved it too and I could connect to some characters and the atmosphere at the office and I so hopes you would too!! 😅😘 9mo
Cinfhen Yes, it‘s so relatable even if you‘ve never worked for a foreign newspaper @BarbaraBB and I SO LOVED the format 💜 (edited) 9mo
sisilia I read this ages ago and I dont remember what it‘s all about 😅 but I remember liking it 9mo
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Cinfhen @sisilia Hi!!! This book is from 2010 but it didn‘t read as dated….although the news headlines were a bit “old” 😂😂😂 It‘s just a glimpse into different lives of the people who work at a small independent newspaper 9mo
Centique I loved this too Cindy! So glad you loved it. 💕 9mo
Megabooks Sounds very good! Great review! 8mo
Cinfhen It‘s my favorite form - interconnected stories @Megabooks 🥰 8mo
73 likes6 stack adds7 comments
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OriginalCyn620
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Bailedbailed

This is my #doublespin for this month, but I‘m about 30% in and I‘m gonna bail. It‘s not holding my interest and I just don‘t care about the story, not that there‘s been much of one so far. Each chapter seems to be about one specific character and reads like a short story. Maybe I‘m just not digging that format?

#bookspinbingo

LiteraryinLawrence I remember buying this at a library book sale, being intrigued by the description, and then actually not connecting to it at all when I started reading it. I donated it right back to the library for the next year‘s sale. 🤷🏻‍♀️ 2y
TheAromaofBooks Bailing seems to be in the air - you're my second tag in a row for a DNF!! Sometimes a book just doesn't work! 2y
40 likes2 comments
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Reggie
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Pickpick

Wow, for a first book this was great. We get 11 related short stories of people under the arc of the life and death of an American newspaper in Rome that they have a connection to. If I had read this 11 years ago when it first came out, I think I would have taken these stories better. The main character of each story suffers from an illusion, a delusion, a kind of fantasy. They all get brought back to reality. Very compelling, just a downer.👇🏼

Reggie A sad pick. Thanks again, @Centique, for this wonderful book. 2y
Ruthiella I liked this book a lot too, but yeah it was a little depressing. 2y
Centique Aww I‘m glad you liked it but sorry it made you sad! 💕 These are tough times for sad reads. 2y
Reggie @Ruthiella @Centique on a lighter note, Brittney Spears got to leave her conservatorship. So something good did happen this week. 2y
71 likes1 stack add4 comments
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LeslieO
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Set in #Rome. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ #julyjourneys

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks 🙌🏻📚🙌🏻 3y
Eggs ❤️🇮🇹💚 3y
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review
Centique
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Pickpick

On a break from our beachside town to this blustery, windswept beach in Coromandel. 💕 I just devoured this book of short stories from 2010. They‘re set around a small international newspaper published by a bunch of Americans living in Rome. The author was once a reporter and editor and the setting and work details feel authentic. Each story exposes the life of a different person working on the paper or related to it.⬇️

Centique They‘re so sharp and affecting. I usually stall reading short stories but because these are linked you‘re not being jolted out of the world continually. There is sadness and bitterness sitting in many of the office chairs, but the tone here isn‘t too acerbic, the characters feel fallible rather than despicable, and not without hope. 3y
Cinfhen Beautiful photos and fantastic review!!! #stacked 3y
Centique @Cinfhen thank you lovely! I think you would like these 😍 Hope you‘re enjoying your son‘s visit xxx 3y
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Cinfhen It‘s been very hectic but in the best way!!! How‘s your dad??? 3y
TrishB Beautiful review and pics ♥️ 3y
Centique @Cinfhen he‘s doing okay. It‘s busy working out what‘s going into storage, what‘s being sold, what‘s being donated etc. He‘s perversely insisting that he has to keep his car and he‘s planning on starting driving again so we‘re trying to avoid that somehow. (Though I doubt he could even get it out of the driveway) 😳😳😳 (edited) 3y
Centique @TrishB thank you Trish 😘 3y
Cinfhen Hahaha! Your dad is a live wire 🙌🏻💥✨💥 3y
Reggie Short stories are my jam and you make these sound great. Also, lovely pics! 3y
Suet624 I really enjoy stories that are linked. Stacked. And your photos!!! 💝 3y
Centique @Reggie I think you‘d like these. There is one that just.... broke my heart. Thanks re the pics 😘 3y
Centique @Suet624 thank you Sue 😘 3y
Reggie Update: I am halfway through them and….today I had to give this kid a break in our gallery and I finished the story about the friend who realizes his old friend isn‘t who he thought he had built him up to be all these years. When the kid came back I couldn‘t tell him what it was about cause I had a lump in my throat. There‘s these fantasies that keep getting popped in these stories that just dishearten me a little. It‘s a great book, just sad. 😞 2y
Reggie And now Betty moved back to New York and never went back to Rome! 2y
Centique @Reggie oh wow it really cut you up so you couldn‘t speak to that kid about it 😭 I can so picture you doing that! I hope it isn‘t too sad for you. For me that first story (I think it was) with Arthur interviewing the woman - whoa. 2y
94 likes6 stack adds15 comments
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Ncostell
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I stopped by my library‘s book sale this morning which is always dangerous (but luckily inexpensive) as my TBR pile is getting out of control. Between the stack of books my daughter picked up as well and my stack, I spent $11. I just can never resist!

Readerann Ahhh, those library sales... 😩📚📚📚 5y
Ncostell @Readerann I can‘t keep away yet I‘m running out of room for all of my books! 5y
61 likes2 comments
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Drocchio03
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Pickpick

I won‘t say run to the library, but it‘s still worth a read. Each brief chapter opens a portal into a character‘s life - all of them intertwined by the English newspaper out of Rome for which they work. Thinking this would have been a nice book club read; I would have liked to delve deeper with fellow readers into the characters‘ personalities and motivations.

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Drocchio03
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Looking forward to finishing over the weekend. Happy Friday, fellow Littens. 🙂

wanderinglynn Happy Friday! 👋🏻😀 5y
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Drocchio03
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Need to restart my other current read as I‘m not far in and have taken too long of a break from it. Wasn‘t in the mood to begin again now, so started anew with the imperfectionists. Intrigued by the setup: the history of an American newspaper out of Rome, interwoven through a compilation of vignettes of its staff. I‘m hopeful characters to come continue to deliver.

bookseller_cate Loved his newest, The Italian Teacher and have wanted to read his others for ages. I had the pleasure of interviewing him at his local event when he last passed through. Really nice guy. 5y
Drocchio03 @bookseller_cate how interesting! Was he what you were expecting? Did you have preconceived notions based on The Italian Teacher? ... if I enjoy this book as much as I believe I will, I‘ll add his others to my TBR list. 5y
bookseller_cate @Drocchio03 He was a delight, and pretty much what I expected: articulate and friendly. If I had to pick an unexpected characteristic, it would be how humble he is. 5y
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BibliOphelia
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Pickpick

What did you do to me, Tom Rachman?! This perfectly lovely book, each chapter focusing on someone associated with an English-language newspaper in Rome, with backstory on the paper threaded throughout...AND THIS IS HOW YOU END IT?!?! Each character vignette was a little jewel, most quite poignant. But that ending! 😳😳

LiteraryinLawrence Interesting... so I bailed on this book halfway through because it didn‘t grab me. So I don‘t know how it ended! Sorry it disappointed you! 6y
BibliOphelia @LiteraryinLititz I wasn‘t so sure about it initially but it really grew on me. The ending wasn‘t so much disappointment as something that happened that was TOTALLY unexpected and out of left field that didn‘t seem characteristic of the rest of the book and so was SHOCKING!! 😱😱 And, it may have made me cry... (edited) 6y
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BibliOphelia

“Nothing epitomizes the futility of human striving quite like aspartame...”

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BibliOphelia

“If history has taught us anything, Arthur muses, it is that men with mustaches must never achieve positions of power.”
Why does this seem so truuuee?? 😂🤣

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Caffeinated_Reader
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Well here is book 1 for the first day of our new year! I am ready to read the night away 🤓

3 likes2 stack adds
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Clwojick
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To be honest, if I'm at the thrift store or at the library I hardly ever read the back blurb of the book. If I like the spine or the cover, it goes in the basket. 😉 #LibraryWishlist #NeverEndingTBR

Have any of my fellow Littens read this book? Would you recommend? Please let me know. ☺️

Tadams4 Never heard of it but find the cover interesting! Looks readable 6y
MinDea I read this last year I think I remember liking it. I think I gave it 3.5 stars... 6y
My_novel_obsession I read it about five or six years ago and really liked it! 6y
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TaciturnWhenReading Same as @Anovelobsession. Read it a few years ago and really liked it. Definitely recommend. 6y
Clwojick @MinDea @Anovelobsession @taciturnbookworm thanks!! I'll definitely have to pick it up ❤️ 6y
MaureenMc 👍 6y
68 likes1 stack add6 comments
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aschermetz
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One of our consultants at work knows I'm a reader, and lately we've been trading books--I lend him all my political memoirs, and he's been bringing me interesting reads from all genres. Today he brought me this fat stack (though I've already read The Girl on the Train) and told me to just keep the lot! 🙌#bookpeoplearemypeople

review
HLouiseM
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Mehso-so

The descriptions were pristine. Rachman paints layer upon layer so subtly that I could ALMOST overlooked the complete absence of a plot.
Then he killed off the dog- the only likable character of the whole mess.
But, just maybe, the very pointlessness of the whole damned thing was it's point. I guess if I am asking myself that, the book has succeeded...

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HLouiseM
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At this point I'm finishing this out of spite...

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grlclldkll
Pickpick

Each chapter was a short story about a person working at a failing newspaper. I loved the characters and after their stories were over, I wanted more.

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grlclldkll
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Reading on my lunch break and found my boyfriend's name in my book 😍

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grlclldkll
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Been in a reading slump for months now. Going to attempt this book today.

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Eliza-beta
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Pickpick

This is one of the few times that I read a book because of the New York Times review. (Usually I find recommendations - or now Litsy - more reliable than newspaper reviews). It was great.

46 likes5 stack adds
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Linds
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I have a great memory for book covers, which means I often notice patterns and transaction like these total #covertwins Does anyone else notice almost identical covers out there in the wild? 😜

rachelm Whhaaaatt. That is crazy! 7y
12 likes1 comment
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JohnnySandman
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Pickpick

This is the second time I have read this book and I fell in love with it all over again. Well written characters that you feel for, the history of this strange newspaper in Rome, and a great ear for awkward dialogue. You'll laugh, cry, whatever and if you don't you have no heart. Grab a warm blanket, a drink of your choice, and check this one out.

8 likes1 stack add
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PNWBookseller85
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Pickpick

I know I'm not the first to post about this book today, but I'm gonna post anyway, partly because this was one of the few #workplacebooks on my shelf and also because it was a really, really good read about a dying industry and the people working to keep it relevant. It spoke to the bookseller in me.

@Well-ReadNeck @RealLifeReading
#somethingforsept #septphotochallenge #LitsyFeature

Well-ReadNeck ❤️📸 8y
Adventuresbetweenpages Are you by chance from Michigan? 8y
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Adventuresbetweenpages Ok! I knew a Becky Merilatt growing up in Michigan. Was wondering if to was the same one 😂😂😂 we were not friends or anything. I knew her because my sister dated her brother all through high school. But yay Seattle! Love Washington and Oregon! 8y
ReadingEnvy I have one friend in the newspaper industry and his work life has consisted of moving from paper to paper as they downsize and shut down. Heartbreaking 8y
PNWBookseller85 @ReadingEnvy it is heartbreaking. It's a noble profession. And we still need it. We need the neutral fact tellers to tamper down all the social media noise. And that's just a part of it too. 8y
93 likes13 stack adds6 comments
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Well-ReadNeck
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#SeptemberPhotoChallenge #somethingforsept Workplace books. I absolutely fell in love with this book about journalists and their paper and spent the summer it was released recommending it to everyone at the neighborhood pool. So, also something to mark the end of summer.

Abailliekaras Loved this! 8y
CoffeeK8 What a great workplace book! 8y
BethFishReads Loved this one too! 8y
See All 9 Comments
Readingrobin This was an interesting book. I remember reading it while on my exercise bike in the basement. Not the bed reading conditions but it worked. 8y
katedensen This is one of my favorite books of all time. Have you read his latest yet? 8y
ImaginativeMom I enjoyed this one, too. 8y
Portsidelib This book caught me off-guard. While reading, I didnt expect to be as affected by it. Those character deaths at the end though, wowza. 8y
Well-ReadNeck @katedfisher not yet! Just added to list. Thanks! 8y
Hazel0303 I don't know why, but I just couldn't get into this one! 8y
112 likes25 stack adds9 comments
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AEBowenPhD
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Panpan

So much middle aged white guy ennui.

Loreen Well, shoot. 😕 8y
ErickaS_Flyleafunfurled Ew. Then maybe I won't. 😕 8y
10 likes1 stack add2 comments
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librarymail
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I loved the hardcover dust jacket design. The paperback is making me feel meh. Is it worth reading? It's another #laundromatlibrary find

PNWBookseller85 I remember liking this, but not loving it. I read it a few years ago though, so it's a little hazy. 8y
Well-ReadNeck I adored this novel and recommended it to several folks. 8y
librarymail @BeckyMerilatt thx for the encouragement 😆 8y
librarymail @Well-ReadNeck thanks! 👌🏼 8y
7 likes3 stack adds4 comments
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gracemom
Pickpick

Quick read. I was able to finish it on two back to back flights today. Which was fortunate, because I definitely did not want to put it down. Each character is unique and well developed as their stories intertwined. I would totally befriend a few.

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LiteraryinLawrence

So missable! There wasn't a single character who I liked or cared about. Each chapter was basically a stand alone vignette about the different people who work for an international newspaper. I got about two thirds of the way through and then gave up.

cariashley I felt the same way!! I did finish it, but not before I accidentally dropped it in a pool and had to deal with crinkly pages. Maybe it was subconsciously intentional 😏 8y
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