Tom Rachman
2010
4/5 stars
This is a set of stories about the various employees (and one reader) of a failing international English language newspaper located in Rome. Each chapter focuses on one person, giving a glimpse of both private and working life, and how the paper affects that person. The backstory of the creation, rise, and decline of the newspaper is told as well, in vignettes at the end of each chapter. The stories are tied together through the paper and through common characters, making it a cohesive whole, if not an actual novel.
Rachman creates intimate portraits of his characters, generally showing each at a most vulnerable point in life or career. The stories are not up-lifting or cheerful -- most are sad, even depressing -- and yet the prose is light, easy, flowing. This is not a particularly enjoyable book, but it is extremely readable, and, at times, compelling.
