Pam's Book 21: The Imperfectionists

I read this book quite awhile ago. In fact, I've read several books since my last post and for some reason couldn't bring myself to blog about them. Then my cousin chastised me last night about it, so I figured I would make an effort to catch up. I still don't really feel like writing about them (summertime ennui?), so expect several short posts.

The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman reminded me a lot of Olive Kitteridge: it is a book of short stories that all share a common thread. Instead of a person, however, the common thread here is an English language newspaper based in Rome. The book follows its birth and demise in parallel stories. Each story is just a little depressing, in an everyday kind of way, like Olive Kitteridge. I enjoyed the glimpses into the life of people connected with the paper, but that's all I felt they were: glimpses. The only character I truly came to know was the paper. I'm not saying that's a bad thing; in fact, I think it was deliberate and necessary. I did enjoy how Rachman chose the people to portray in the book. Some choices were obvious, like the editor of the paper. Others, though, were just marginally connected, like the hopelessly unqualified recent college graduate who hopes for a job as reporter, or the washed-up old Paris correspondent who can no longer create a story.

This book read like Olive Kitteridge in some ways, but in others fell far short. This is Rachman's first effort, and the quality of language I fell in love with in Olive Kitteridge simply isn't present here. Instead of feeling hopeful at the end, I felt mildly depressed. But that's okay; the book was supposed to be mildly depressing. I hope.