The 
​Italian Teacher

[Four stars out of four]
“Reading Rachman is simply de rigueur if you appreciate literary fiction’s brightest, newest voices.”
USA Today

“Engaging and subtle ... Rachman appears in perfect control of his material. ... The Italian Teacher is a psychologically nuanced pleasure.”
The New York Times

[Five stars out of five]
“Wickedly funny ... and also deeply touching ... I confess this was the first of Rachman’s novels I’d read but I was so swept away by it that I raced out to buy the other three.”
The Daily Telegraph

“Exhilarating,” says The Guardian. “Rachman has terrific fun skewering the hyperbole and hypocrisies of the art world. ... He brings a shrewd eye and a knack for aphorism that lend his observations a satisfyingly sharp edge.”

​“Rachman’s fiction is a distinctive blend of narrative zest and emotional subtlety. ... This new novel, The Italian Teacher, may well be his most impressive yet.”
The Financial Times

​“Rachman has succeeded in painting a vivid portrait of a man of such magnetic charisma that everyone he meets winds up orbiting him. ... It’s an incredible feat of writing.”
The Chicago Tribune

“One of Mr Rachman’s gifts is his ability to evoke a time and place in a few deft strokes. … Pinch [the main character] is gifted with wisdom, as is the author of this sad, funny and moving novel.”
The Economist

“The Italian Teacher confirms Rachman’s reputation as a shepherd of lost souls. ... His comedy is tempered by a kind of gentleness that’s a salve in these mean times.”
The Washington Post

“This is Rachman’s best novel yet. No mean achievement. . . [Bear] is one of the great creations of contemporary literature. . . Rachman is fast becoming one of the most interesting literary talents around.”
The Jewish Chronicle

“The Italian Teacher is one to stir a normally austere reviewer to gush ... A subtle, tender, profound, beautiful, funny, perfection of a book that kept me so absorbed, I read it in two (bed) sittings.”
The Australian

“Tom Rachman is a relentlessly entertaining writer, mixing high-wire ideas with effervescent prose.”
The Daily Mail

​“The Italian Teacher is a marvel—an entertaining, heartbreaking novel about art, family, loyalty, and authenticity. Tom Rachman is an enormously talented writer—this book is alive, from the first page to the last.”
​Tom Perrotta, author of
The Leftovers

​“Rachman is brilliant in the way he conveys this painful and distinctly human situation. His latest work can be filed under 'must-reads' this year.”
Travel + Leisure

“Rachman’s ensemble of art-world characters here is luminescent; their dialogue is intelligent and so entertaining. And while I had fears that I could see how everything would play out, Rachman manages a truly dazzling ending.”
Minnesota Star Tribune

“Rachman wrestles with … age-old questions: What is the purpose of art? How do we judge excellence? Does fame matter?... The Italian Teacher  delivers in spades.”
San Francisco Chronicle

“The Italian Teacher finds a lovely and unexpected grace note, a left-field redemption made even sweeter by its long and winding path.”
Entertainment Weekly

“This rich novel is both an intriguing examination of authenticity in art and the moving story of misplaced filial love, with an immensely satisfying denouement.”
Mail on Sunday

People magazine picks The Italian Teacher as one of its “Best New Books,” praising it as a masterful drama.

One of the “Best Books of 2018," according to Glamour, describing The Italian Teacher as “a funny and painfully honest look at fame, family, and the male ego.”

“If there was ever an author who had the ability to paint a picture with his prose it’s Tom Rachman.”
The AU Review

“Tense” and “heart-rending,” says The Times Literary Supplement. His “eye for the absurdities of the art world is ... cutting and funny”.

“Rachman excels at deftly shifting his tone from light to dark, from somber to witty. ... [He] ingeniously fashions an audacious conclusion that is both deeply moving and redemptive.”
Seattle Times

“A tight, propulsive narrative ... In the annals of warped father-son relationships, Rachman’s novel deserves a special place for its ingenious form of filial retaliation.”
The Barnes & Noble Review

An “artful page-turner,” says Publishers Weekly, in a Starred Review. “A fine fictionalization of how crafting an identity independent of one’s parents can be a lifelong, worthwhile project.”

“A momentous drama of a volatile relationship and the fundamental will to survive.”
Booklist, Starred Review​

“Readers may finish The Italian Teacher feeling wistful and nostalgic, a high mark for any book, and that is proof of Rachman’s talent ... This book is a wonderful, heartbreaking read.”
Shelf Awareness,
Starred Review​

“The Italian Teacher is as engrossing as his debut. ... A gifted storyteller, Rachman richly paints this sad tale of the ordinary son of a man perceived to be extraordinary.”
The Colorado Springs Gazette

“A joy and a breeze to read ... Its present tense gets us into scenes quickly, delivering delicious sensory impressions.”
Commonweal Magazine

“Rachman’s novel can be heart-wrenching,” says The Arkansas Traveler. “He subtly weaves a thread of hopefulness and discovery throughout a life.”

“Rachman’s narrative is alive with sharp dialogue and shrewd insights. His plot twists are clever and his collection of endearing, oddball characters will stay with you for a long time.”
Coastal Illustrated

Basket of Deplorables

“Essential reading as we get to grips with a bizarre new era. ... Masterful,”
The Guardian

“The same deft characterisation, buoyant wit and imaginative richness of Rachman’s lauded novels The Imperfectionists and The Rise and Fall of Great Powers. ... Basket of Deplorables feels prescient and clever and it is a quick and delightful read.”
The Evening Standard

“Irresistible, something like a blend of Roald Dahl’s short fiction, Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror series and David Foster Wallace’s Brief Interviews with Hideous Men ... Once today’s news has become tomorrow’s online archive, this will be the one still worth reading.”
Times Literary Supplement

“Rachman’s deft cultural references and his acute skewering of American culture make for uncomfortably precise satire.”
The Atlantic 

“Rachman is a clever and compelling writer with a terrific turn of phrase and his finger on the pulse of our fast-changing world. ... These stories are a pleasure to read from start to finish.” 
The Jewish Chronicle

“Diverting and satisfying tales, laced with just the right amount of caustic wit.”
The Sunday Herald

“This book is hilariously funny and blackly despairing, often at the same time.”
Sydney Morning Herald

“You'll love this. ... Clever wit, sharp observation, and a thread linking them all.”
Sunday Sport

“With the daily news becoming more fantastical with every broadcast, these stories fly closer to the truth than is comfortable, and hit the mark dead centre.”
The Irish Times

Basket of Deplorables was named a “Best Book of 2017” by The Evening Standard

The Imperfectionists

“This first novel by Tom Rachman, a London-born journalist who has lived and worked all over the world, is so good I had to read it twice simply to figure out how he pulled it off.”
​Christopher Buckley, in The New York Times Book Review

“There are no wasted words in this book, every scene and detail move the characters and story forward. The Imperfectionists will make you laugh and cry. It’s the rare novel that can shift emotional tone effortlessly. … The Imperfectionists is magnificent.”
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

“This book is filled with gorgeous writing, jolts of insight and narrative surprises that feel both unexpected and inevitable. ... Rachman makes a near-flawless debut.”
The Globe and Mail

“It’s my favorite novel of the year, and one of the most promising debuts I’ve read in some time.”
John Grisham

“[A] beguiling first novel … Rachman is a fine observer and a funny writer — and a writer who knows how to be funny in character.”
The Washington Post

“He writes perfectly and with a warm, twinkling-eyed generosity toward human behavior that does not get in the way of his pitiless observation of it.”
​Lorrie Moore

“The Imperfectionists must be one of the most straightforwardly entertaining reads of the year. … It’s a book that’s all the better for its old-fashioned, slightly Waugh-ish feel.”
The Observer - “Best Summer Books”

“Each chapter is so finely wrought that it could stand alone as a memorable short story… a funny, poignant, occasionally breathtaking novel.”
The Financial Times

“Loaded with charm and insight, the novel brings human tenderness to an inky business.”
The Daily Mail

“Without doubt one of the best books I have read in a long time. … The Imperfectionists is less ‘im’ than perfection.”
​The Weekend Press

​The Rise & Fall
​of Great Powers

“Some novels are such good company that you don’t want them to end; Tom Rachman knows this, and has pulled off the feat of writing one.” 
The Sunday Telegraph

​“Ingenious,” writes The New York Times. “As in The Imperfectionists, Mr. Rachman needs only a few well-drawn characters to fill a large canvas and an impressive swath of history.”

“If you’re in the market for an accomplished and satisfying novel, one that will take hold of you immediately from page one…just stop reading at the end of this paragraph and wander over to your favourite bookstore and buy a copy of Tom Rachman’s exquisite new book.”
The Globe and Mail

“This book is mesmerizing: a thorough workout for the head and heart.” 
The Times of London

“It’s a bookshop-lover’s book, and beautiful prose-lover’s book, and read-it-all-in-one-weekend book.” 
​The New Republic

“Tom Rachman has done it again…The Rise and Fall of Great Powers has everything that classic novels have — a cast of intriguing and unique characters, a compelling storyline and laser-sharp insights into humanity.”
The Vancouver Sun

​The Rise & Fall of Great Powers “has it all,” said BBC broadcaster and author John Humphrys. “It’s clever, funny and I guarantee you will keep turning the pages.” 

Rise & Fall was a “Best Book of 2014,” as cited by The Daily Mail, NPR, The Globe and Mail, Kirkus Reviews, The Vancouver Sun, The Seattle Times