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3.45 AVERAGE
3.45 AVERAGE
This novel, set in the Rome headquarters of a paper "like" the International Herald Tribune, is, I think, funny, graceful, disturbing--and brilliant. I love how each chapter can stand on its own as a short story, but added together they amount to one of the best novels I've read in a long time.
I love me a shared narrative, and this one does it well. I'd argue that the newspaper industry was the protagonist, despite it not having a heartbeat. Either way, I'm happy when a story holds my interest as much as this did.
I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/13461032
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/13461032
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death
A touch uneven, thankfully the weaker pieces are back-loaded. Thoughts gather and scatter from Fleet Street. Nods abound to Waugh and Michael Frayn. It is a worthy screed. Notice is given for the present peril. I've bought this for several people I care about.
I was depressed at a Costco and needed to buy something from the book section to cheer myself up, so I picked this. It wasn't a regrettable choice.
This book follows characters involved with an international newspaper located in Rome. Each chapter is from the point of view of a different character, making the book read more like a series of vignettes than a novel. While the chapters do eventually converge, it is not in the unifying and compelling way that I had hoped. It was an entertaining read and had great potential, but just didn't pull together in the end.
****SPOILER ALERT*******
I would probably have given this book a 3 or 4 before the last 15 pages. It was quirky and odd, and maybe didn't make a whole lot of sense, but was entertaining. And you could see that there was a pretty solid story arc from beginning to end of a business. However, there was also blatant violence to animals. Senseless violence that does not particularly advance the plot and only serves as a shock to the reader. The character that the violence was directed at had no major change based on the violence and nothing became of it.
I would probably have given this book a 3 or 4 before the last 15 pages. It was quirky and odd, and maybe didn't make a whole lot of sense, but was entertaining. And you could see that there was a pretty solid story arc from beginning to end of a business. However, there was also blatant violence to animals. Senseless violence that does not particularly advance the plot and only serves as a shock to the reader. The character that the violence was directed at had no major change based on the violence and nothing became of it.
An enjoyable series of vignettes about the employees of an international newspaper in Rome during the paper's last months is existence, alongside a sobering look at the death of newspapers and journalism.