Perfect Imperfectionism

I read Tom Rachman's debut novel, The Imperfectionists, after reading an effervescent review in the New York Times Book Review. As promised, the novel is absolutely gorgeous. All of the stock descriptions work for this book: humorous, heartbreaking, honest, compassionate, original -- I could continue but don't want to make it sound too trite. The novel, set mostly in Rome, narrates the lives of several individuals working for a historically proud but swiftly deteriorating English-language newspaper. Each character is given his or her own chapter, in which imperfect choices and behaviors are dramatically illustrated, and then, after their brief time in the limelight, they recede into bit parts where we witness them flitting to and fro in the background of the chapters like phantoms. The chapters are both disparate and unified, much like the web of employees at the paper, and I came away with an illumined perspective on the tragedy of the human condition: that we can work with one another daily, at a job in Rome or in Spokane, and, despite our assumptions, never truly know or understand the infinite experiences of our colleagues. What a beautiful book. Highly recommend to anyone who enjoys a commanding literary read. Would also be an excellent choice for a book club.