by Tom Rachman
First published 2010
Kathleen runs an English language newspaper in Rome, but her staff cares more about their personal lives than breaking stories. The imperious editor in chief nurses wounds from her husband's betrayal while Arthur, who writes obituaries, faces his own tragedy that changes everything. Abby handles the paper's finances and discovers her budget cuts connect to her romantic entanglements in ways she never expected. In Paris, a freelancer takes desperate measures to land his next story. In Cairo, a new correspondent falls under the spell of a manipulative war reporter with an enormous ego. Meanwhile, the young publisher ignores his family's struggling business, preferring to focus on Schopenhauer, his beloved basset hound. As the internet threatens print journalism and the staff stumbles toward an uncertain future, the newspaper's fifty-year history unfolds, revealing the true story behind its enigmatic millionaire founder and his original vision for the publication.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, contemporary, 21st-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: ensemble-cast, found-family
Setting: Cairo, Paris, Rome
Period: 21st-century
272 pages · Hardcover · The Dial Press