The acclaimed and bestselling author Tom Rachman discusses his new novel The Italian Teacher (Doubleday, 2018), fame, sons and fathers, and more, with Joseph Planta.

The Italian Teacher by Tom Rachman (Doubleday, 2018). Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: The Italian Teacher

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, at TheCommentary.ca.

Tom Rachman joins me again. Upon the publication of his third novel, The Italian Teacher, he has been described as among this generation’s most exciting literary voices. The book begins in Rome, 1955, where Bear Bavinski, a larger than life artist, has a family with Natalie, his wife and muse, and their five year old son, Pinch. Soon the family comes apart, but not the worship that Pinch has for him. The shadow that the father has on a son’s life is a theme explored in this book, and I’ll get Mr. Rachman to tell us about Bear, Pinch and the relationship that they contend with through the book. I’ll ask him about artistry and fame, two other themes in the book. Tom Rachman was born in London, England, where he lives today. He was raised here in Vancouver, and he attended the University of Toronto, and Columbia Journalism School before working as a journalist for the Associated Press in New York and Rome, and the International Herald Tribune in Paris. He was last on this program when his first novel The Imperfectionists was published, and since he’s written The Rise and Fall of Great Powers, and the short story collection Basket of Deplorables. This new book is published by Doubleday. Please welcome back to the Planta: On the Line program, Tom Rachman; Mr. Rachman, good morning.

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