Imperfectionists, The

Imperfectionists, The
Tom Rachman
RRP:
NZ$ 30.00
Our Price:
NZ$ 24.00
Paperback
h198 x 129mm - 288pg
31 Oct 2011 AU
International import eta 7-19 days
9781921656880
Out Of Stock
Currently no stock in-store, stock is sourced to your order
Tom Rachman's first novel will set him on the literary map of the world. He makes us care about people who are both flawed and immensely engaging - about their lives, their families, and about the larger family that is their newspaper. The Imperfectionists tells stories about the peculiar people who write and read an international newspaper based in Rome: the obituary reporter who will do anything to avoid work, the Mideast correspondent who has no clue how to produce a news story, the grumpy editors at headquarters, the devoted subscribers aroudn the world, and the dog-obsessed publisher who seems less interested in his struggling newspaper than in his magnificent basset hound, Schopenhauer. While the news of the day rushes past - war in Iraq, terrorism, the roller-coaster economy - the true front-page stories for all of them are the blunders and triumphs of their own lives. The Imperfectionists touches on the fall of newspapers and the rise of technology but, above all, it is a moving novel about eleven unusual, endearing characters.
'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. 'an addictive read: quirky without being daft, funny without being shallow and the sort of book many a journalist will wish they had written' Times. 'expertly crafted ... sublime writing ... so beautifully written, so compassionate in its observation and understanding of human behaviour, that one cannot tear the eyes from the page. The sheer dexterity of the writing brings a haunting beauty to the many tragedies within the narrative' The Times.
Tom Rachman was born in London and raised in Vancouver. He is a graduate of the University of Toronto and the Columbia School of Journalism. He has been a foreign correspondent for The Associated Press (stationed in Rome, with assignments taking him to Japan, South Korea, Turkey and Egypt, among other places). From 2006 to 2008, he worked as an editor at the International Herald Tribune in Paris. The Imperfectionists is his first novel and is being published in ten countries.
Status: Active
ISBN-13: 9781921656880
Published: 31 Oct 2011
Published In: Australia
Imprint: Text Publishing Company
Publisher: Text Publishing Co
Format: Paperback
Height: 198mm
Width: 129mm
Pages: 288
Dewey: 813.60

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