The Imperfectionists, by Tom Rachman

My son the budding literary scholar recently mentioned that he had checked out my blog a time or two and noted that I seem to be more engaged with character than plot. That interest in character means I like The Imperfectionists, which doesn't have much of a plot, a lot. Each chapter is devoted to one character--all in some way related to "the paper"--a failing English-language international paper published in Rome. Between the chapters are brief accounts of the paper's history, from its founding by a wealthy industrialist in the 1950s to its demise under his completely disinterested grandson's leadership.

The first character we meet is over-the-hill Paris correspondent Lloyd Burko (who, we later learn, was once a star reporter), looking for a story to raise money for the rent. His latest wife is living with her lover across the hall, and the children from his several previous marriages have little to do with him. Nonetheless, he tries to wangle a story from his son, who supposedly works at the French foreign ministry. His son hints at a development in Gaza, and Lloyd turns the hint into a story (without benefit of actual reportage). When the paper rejects the story as the fiction it is, Lloyd confronts his son, with an unexpected outcome.

Rachman renders the other characters--obituary writer and son of a famous novelist Arthur Gopal, business writer Hardy Benjamin, editor-in-chief Kathleen Solson, reader Ornella de Monterecchi, and others--with an equal lack of pretense or pity, but with telling details and dialogue. While some reviewers have noted that Rachman paints the world of the newsroom affectionately (he worked as a journalist with the International Herald Tribune), he portrays the staff as complicit, if not completely responsible, for the paper's fate (which seems clear early on).

My favorite character (probably the favorite character of anyone who has tried to teach others about grammar) is corrections editor Herman Cohen. Herman scans the paper for problems and then rips off additions to "The Bible," the voluminous style guide he expects editors to follow. (See the favorite passage below for a sample.) Despite his stern approach to the staff, Herman has a soft spot for his prep school roommate Jimmy, a man of no apparent talent who Herman nonetheless believes is destined to be a great writer. His disillusionment is both funny and sad, as are the situations in which Rachman puts many of the characters--and the paper itself.

Highly recommended!

Favorite passage:

GWOT: No one knows what this means, above all those who use the term. Nominally, it stands for Global War on Terror. But since conflict against an abstraction is, to be polite, tough to execute, the term should be understood as marketing gibberish. Our reporters adore this sort of humbug; it is the copy editor's job to exclude it. See also: OBL; Acronyms; and Nitwits.