The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman
The newspaper was a loser, even before the internet. The decision by an otherwise savvy Atlanta businessman to publish an international English-language newspaper in Rome baffled his business rivals, his family, and his accountants. But decades after his death, the paper limps on.
In this brilliant first novel, Rachman devotes a chapter to each member of the current newspaper staff (or in one case a reader.) The result is a novel of short stories connected thematically by the paper and a general atmosphere of mischief, marital infidelity, and misunderstanding.
The tales of these hapless misfits are entertaining and poignant. The first portrait (Lloyd Burko, Paris correspondent) is the least engaging of the bunch, but stick with it. The life and times of Herman Cohen (grammar czar and Corrections Editor), Winston Cheung (outmaneuvered Cairo Stringer), Ornella de Monterecchi (eccentric Reader), and Oliver Ott (pitiful Publisher) are wonderful. And the conclusion of Abbey Pinnola’s (Chief Financial Officer) story is positively devious!
A great read. And as a bonus, the mystery of the founding of The Paper is revealed.