by Tom Rachman
First published 2010
Lloyd works as a correspondent in Paris, but he cannot locate reliable sources for his stories. Technology confuses him. His family relationships strain under pressure. Arthur writes obituaries and avoids real work whenever possible. A personal tragedy jolts him back to ambition. Kathleen runs the newsroom with a sharp tongue and brings other people into her marriage as experiments. Abbey manages the newspaper's finances and watches her professional duties tangle with romantic complications. Oliver owns the publication and dreams of bigger things. His young mind holds the power to decide whether any of these people will keep their jobs. Each character struggles with work that no longer makes sense and personal lives that resist their control.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, contemporary, 21st-century
Vibes: character-driven, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: character-study, ensemble-cast
Setting: Paris
Period: 21st-century
304 pages · Paperback · Nieuw Amsterdam