Comments (40)

What did you think about this title?
1 to 25 of 40 items
Sep 06, 2021rlsteuben rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
This is a delightful book about the confused staff at a European newspaper based in Rome, loosely based on what one supposes is the International Herald Tribune. Each chapter focus on one, possibly deranged individual or someone lusting,…
Jun 12, 2020BornToCirc rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
I found the organization of this book a little disorienting but ultimately the writing made it a good read. You get one chapter profiles of several employees, and the owner, of an English-language newspaper based in Italy. Most of the…
Mar 31, 2020Einer2 rated this title 1.5 out of 5 stars
Not sure why it is so loved! Finished it because I guess I was determined to see what it was about.
Cas22
Feb 25, 2020Cas22 rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
Given the author’s background in journalism, including time as a foreign correspondent, it is not surprising that this fictional story of the rise and fall of an English-language newspaper based in Rome and the complexities and…
Nov 24, 2016LearnDressage rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
This book was a bit disappointing for me. This is an odd because the author did a great job making me care for all his characters. However, this is the books flaw as well. The story is not a story at all but more of a character study. …
Mar 07, 2016lakme84 rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
I kind of lost somewhere in between trying to understand where the author was driving this story towards. It emphasizes more on personal lives rather than on the rise and fall of news-papers. I wished to see some meaty facts about the…
Aug 07, 2015lukasevansherman rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
There are 27 laudatory blurbs about this book. That's just way too many. The book is thoroughly mediocre. The only mildly interesting feature is that each chapter is about a different character, all linked by a newspaper. Imperfect is…
Dec 20, 2014Chapel_Hill_KenMc rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
Doesn't really hang together as a novel, but it's an interesting series of linked short stories that explore various characters at an international English-language newspaper in Rome.
sharonb122
Sep 19, 2013sharonb122 rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
I read this for our "Bookies" group. I enjoyed it. Each chapter focused on a different charater; all were interesting...some humorous, some poignant, others rather sad, but all were "imperfect." All worked for a small newspaper. It…
Mar 20, 2013kleinkid7 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Like Russell Banks' Trailerpark, this is more a collection of separate character pieces anchored to the same entity (in this case, an international newspaper based out of Rome) than a single plot novel. It tells some good stories about…
May 21, 2012DanglingConversations rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
The book reviews are overrated for this novel. The characters are not engaging, however the book is well written and certainly depicts an aspect of life as a journalist which I never would have envisioned myself.
Feb 23, 2012
The Imperfectionists are a group of people who work for, or are affiliated with, an English-language newspaper based in Rome. Each chapter presents a different character - Arthur, the lazy obituary writer, Kathleen, the imperious…
Feb 04, 2012Winnipeg1 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Loved it all, characters, setting & plot. Perfect ending for the story. Great 1st novel, great addition to the CanLit shelves. More Rachman please.
lmcgovern
Jan 05, 2012lmcgovern rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
I really liked this book- each chapter tells the decades long story of the evolution of a newspaper located in Rome, Italy. Interesting characters with enough overlap in their stories to make it seem like a cohesive overall story.
patienceandfortitude
Dec 23, 2011patienceandfortitude rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
This is a very well written book and I did find it entertaining, but it was really too dark and disturbing for me to enjoy it. I would hate like hell to work with Rachman or know him personally for fear of some future portrayal. He is…
Dec 20, 2011halgeon rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
Rachman's approach to presenting the characters was unusual, but I was left with a sense of several loose ends in some of their stories. An "imperfect" novel, perhaps?
Dec 19, 2011AnneDromeda rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
For my money, 2011 has been the year of the debut novel. Without so intending, I've reviewed more than a few of them in this space, from Matthew Norman's smutty, snarky *Domestic Violets*, to paranormal romance sensation Deborah Harkness'…
Dec 01, 2011gfabrey rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
insightful relationship analysis
Oct 13, 2011jquickmsw rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
In a word, brilliant. There are boring books and then there are boring readers, said a UW English prof in response to a student's comment that Shakespeare was "boring." This book is never boring; those who had a hard time with it or…
Aug 31, 2011ser_library rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
i finished the book because each chapter was almost an independent short story... and at the end i could not keep the characters straight in my mind the blurb promised a surprise ending.. well, i waited in vain for it and what…
Aug 07, 2011macierules rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Yes, the characters are imperfect. Very clever writing and interesting view of the state of the newspaper business.
Jul 28, 2011
bleh
Jun 08, 2011kyunga123 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Great book -- weak ending
May 26, 2011blolo rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
i liked all the different characters, but found it a bit disappointing that their stories ended. i wanted to revisit some of them. nonetheless, it worked well and it is a good book that humanizes, rather than romanticizes, journalism.
ksoles
May 19, 2011ksoles rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Ironically, "The Imperfectionists" is the perfect title for Tom Rachman's brilliant, astute and original debut novel. Set in Rome, the book describes an English-language newspaper's demise; each chapter (all of which read like short…