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Rachman has a gift for creating intriguing characters, even when he only gives himself a small space to sketch them out. Definitely not plot-driven in theme, but the pace feels that way.
This book is about an English language international newspaper based in Rome. Each chapter is about a different person, mostly people who work for the paper in some capacity. There is small overlap in the stories, but each chapter can stand alone. Overall, found the characters and the writing to be not that exciting.
The one chapter I loved was from the perspective of a devoted reader of the paper. She read every issue of the daily paper from cover to cover, and she was about fifteen years behin ...more
The one chapter I loved was from the perspective of a devoted reader of the paper. She read every issue of the daily paper from cover to cover, and she was about fifteen years behin ...more
I really enjoyed this book. Hard to describe, but with a backdrop of an English-language newspaper based in Rome, this book reminds me a bit of Winesburg, Ohio. Without being one seamless story, but a collection of peeks into the lives of the people of the newspaper, this is a good read, for sure.
I give this book 3.5 stars.
I enjoyed this story about a group of people (who for the most part) work at a newspaper office in Rome. However, "story" is really a loose term since there isn't much going on by way of plot. Instead, this book focuses on character development. Rachman does a nice job with developing the characters and interweaving their stories among a number of decades. My favorite character though was "Schneider" - that guy was hilarious, but what wasn't funny was that we all proba ...more
I enjoyed this story about a group of people (who for the most part) work at a newspaper office in Rome. However, "story" is really a loose term since there isn't much going on by way of plot. Instead, this book focuses on character development. Rachman does a nice job with developing the characters and interweaving their stories among a number of decades. My favorite character though was "Schneider" - that guy was hilarious, but what wasn't funny was that we all proba ...more
Love this book. Tom Rachman is my new man! This book tells stories about an English newspaper office in Rome. Each chapter tells a story about one of the staff. Glimpses of current/historical events, crazy days working in fast paced journalistic world, even private lives of the employees, were captured perfectly in Rachman's fluid, effortless writing. Definitely will look for his next books!
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So heavy to be an expat! So heavy to be in journalism!
Great food, intriguing architecture, strained work environments, dying relationships...It all feels too believable in a very depressing sort of way. And yet, it was a fast read. 3.5 stars. Not advisable for those moving abroad soon.
Great food, intriguing architecture, strained work environments, dying relationships...It all feels too believable in a very depressing sort of way. And yet, it was a fast read. 3.5 stars. Not advisable for those moving abroad soon.
May 29, 2011
Deedee
marked it as to-read
May 05, 2012
Ra
marked it as to-read
Sep 07, 2012
Ching-In
marked it as to-read
May 22, 2013
Cheryl Scaccio
marked it as to-read
Dec 22, 2013
Vesra (When She Reads)
marked it as to-read
Shelves:
short-stories,
e-book,
i,
author-r,
fiction,
tbr-2011,
pc-200-299,
book-club,
c-black,
country-india
Jun 18, 2014
Rachel
marked it as to-read
Mar 29, 2015
Jocelyn
marked it as to-read
Dec 11, 2017
Elizabeth
marked it as to-read
