The Imposters

Tom Rachman surpasses the already astonishing achievements of The Italian Teacher. His satire is often brutally funny, but always rooted in a humane acceptance that our flaws are what make us us. This is a dizzying switchback tale of our vanities and vain ambitions but also a deft illustration of the consolations (and condolatory revenges) of fiction. Dora Frenhofer, the relentless, failing novelist who powers the book along, is a spiky, courageous creation who will win Rachman the readership he deserves. Very sad the ride is over!

I absolutely loved The Imposters. It's terrifying, and yet made me laugh so hard. Tom Rachman is a wonderfully knowing writer, at home in half a dozen societies other than his own; and yet, The Imposters is a severe (at times hilarious) indictment of shallow cosmopolitanism, of the cruelty and disregard that can underlie the veneer of fluency in a global world, of failing to truly see the myriad peoples we find ourselves thrown amongst.

The Imposters is Tom Rachman's fifth book in just over a decade. It is also his best - full of twists and surprises . . . Whether it's 1970s India, modern-day LA or Syria, Rachman has a good ear for place and time, and changes gear effortlessly. Each chapter is a short story in its own right, but when key characters turn up again elsewhere, the connection invariably is with Dora, until you start to wonder whether they might be the creations of this novelist, whose memory is perhaps not as bad as we thought . . . The Imposters is clever and full of tricks from start to finish. It is also very moving. - Spectator

A novel full of wit and observation . . . Rachman's vivid evocation of life and his literary compassion compel the reader to read on and admire. - Tablet

Rachman is observant and funny in his take on how parents and partners damage their loved ones. Yet, Dora - the failed mother, halfhearted romantic partner and unfulfilled author - remains an oddly likeable presence: "She specified herself to be Dutch, therefore allowed to be blunt." Ultimately, this is a beguiling book about the wear and tear of disappointments and the transformative value of storytelling. Failure and loss, Rachman notes, can also be material. As can a pandemic. - Financial Times