Set against the gorgeous backdrop of Rome, Tom Rachman’s wry, vibrant debut follows the topsy-turvy private lives of the reporters, editors, and executives of an international English language newspaper as they struggle to keep it—and themselves—afloat.

Fifty years and many changes have ensued since the paper was founded by an enigmatic millionaire, and now, amid the stained carpeting and dingy office furniture, the staff’s personal dramas seem far more important than the daily headlines. Kathleen, the imperious editor in chief, is smarting from a betrayal in her open marriage; Arthur, the lazy obituary writer, is transformed by a personal tragedy; Abby, the embattled financial officer, discovers that her job cuts and her love life are intertwined in a most unexpected way. Out in the field, a veteran Paris freelancer goes to desperate lengths for his next byline, while the new Cairo stringer is mercilessly manipulated by an outrageous war correspondent with an outsize ego. And in the shadows is the isolated young publisher who pays more attention to his prized basset hound, Schopenhauer, than to the fate of his family’s quirky newspaper.

As the era of print news gives way to the Internet age and this imperfect crew stumbles toward an uncertain future, the paper’s richhistory is revealed, including the surprising truth about its founder’s intentions.

Spirited, moving, and highly original, The Imperfectionists will establish Tom Rachman as one of our most perceptive, assured literary talents.

From the Hardcover edition.

湯姆•拉赫曼(Tom Rachman，1974— )生於倫敦，在溫哥華長大。曾在多倫多大學研讀電影，並在紐約哥倫比亞大學完成瞭新聞學碩士學業。從1998年起，他在紐約的美聯社國際部擔任編輯，後作為特派記者，前往印度和斯裏蘭卡，之後再返紐約。2002年，拉赫曼被派駐羅馬，擔任美聯社記者，亦曾受派前往日本、韓國、土耳其和埃及。2006年到2008年間，他在巴黎《國際先驅論壇報》擔任編輯。拉赫曼目前住在倫敦，他的第二本小說《大國興衰記》（The Rise & Fall of Great Powers）已於2014年夏天齣版。