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I’m not a huge fan of short stories. I do love books with multiple points of view, but with short stories, I feel like I never really get to know the characters or setting well enough to really enjoy them.
I have heard great things about Tom Rachman’s “The Imperfectionists” for years, but resisted it because I knew each chapter focused on a separate character and his or her individual story, which was a little too close to a short-story collection for me.
However, after reading “The 5th Wave” series, I was looking for something more realistic and contemporary. “The Imperfectionists” hit the spot.
The book focuses on the staff of an international newspaper located in Italy. Each chapter is told from the point of view of a different character. The actual work done at the paper isn’t as much a focus rather each character’s personal life. By the end, I found that I wasn’t left with too many questions since many of the characters appear in the background of multiple chapters, which fills in details that might otherwise have been missing in a short story.
I was left wondering about one character’s daughter who died inexplicably, as well as one character’s reference to being sexually abused. This gives more insight into that character, but it isn’t fully explored.
Most chapters take place in Rome, where the paper is located. One chapter’s location is Egypt, where a young man, who is trying to be a reporter for the paper, deals with a ridiculous journalist who invades his life. Another takes place in Atlanta, G.A., where the corporation that owns the company is located.
At the end of each chapter, the reader learns bits and pieces of the paper’s founding. It was started by an American, Cyrus Ott, who came to Rome in the 1950s to start the paper for reasons that aren’t completely revealed until the book’s end. Those short sections of the paper’s history takes it from the 1950s through to present time, featuring specific people and situations behind the periodical’s history. I found this particularly interesting.
The characters are a varied bunch from losers to people dealing with losses including death and lost love. The book begins with aging reporter, Lloyd Burko, who lives in Paris and is trying hard to hold onto his heyday as a writer. One of my favorite characters was Ornella, a long time reader who has a compulsive disorder that forces her to read the paper in order. It takes her so long that she’s stuck in 1994, even though the book is set in 2007.
“The Imperfectionists” isn’t a long book. It’s packed with interesting characters. It’s about people who hold onto their pasts and others who learn to let go. It’s a quick read, but in no way lacks depth. I’m surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Newspapers are struggling in the age of social media, the internet and TV. After the recent election, there’s been a lot of commentary on the role of news and how one gets their news these days. I found it fascinating to read about a paper past its prime in the light of what is going on with news and the media today.
