tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6367682155970735252.post5261992995590921229..comments2024-01-30T20:59:06.397-08:00Comments on Man Book Club: Roy's SuccessUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6367682155970735252.post-56832780027382480882019-06-20T11:39:01.397-07:002019-06-20T11:39:01.397-07:00Just what I was talking about in my post! Your dis...Just what I was talking about in my post! Your dislike of the main character for his many shortcomings becomes an indictment of the novel. Well, I agree Shteyngart is no Tom Wolfe, but if you're right (i.e., that Shteyngart's principal failing is that he wrote for and about a Tri-State milieu) then let's declare The New Yorker just as provincial as Lake Success! andrewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12017834763548542404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6367682155970735252.post-61269515900541548802019-06-11T17:21:49.714-07:002019-06-11T17:21:49.714-07:00The book Lake Success was an “inside baseball” loo...The book Lake Success was an “inside baseball” look at the life of a New York City hedge fund manager. It that sense, it tried to be the Great Gatsby meets Bonfire of the Vanities, but seemed not up to either one. Unlike the two aforementioned modern classics, this book was long on esoteric details and short on the development of a real protagonist I could “invest” in. While I appreciate the author’s detailed knowledge of high end watches, I still don’t understand how his fund(s) made or lost money other than the need to hire quants who know spreadsheets.<br /><br />The book ended being a description of the twelve step program for the failings of the rich -- starting with a (plausible) deniability phase, moving on to a blame anyone else phase, then to a you can pay to skip the intervening ten steps phase and get right to the last “mea-culpa/redemption” phase. While this analysis may seem trite, one only need look at the 30 parents indicted in the Varsity Blues college admissions sandal, Mark Stevens – Warriors minority owner (and USC grad, Varsity Blues fans), Michael (the Fixer) Cohen and (Is my daddy) R. Kelly, to see this program in action. Note -- I gave Mark Zuckerberg a pass here since he did take my daughter off MY payroll.<br /><br />In the end I don’t see Lake Success appealing to an audience outside of the NYC Tri-state area (and those heavily invested in reading every issue of the New Yorker) due to its constant use of vernacular phrases and product placements. The book’s take away is “Its never too early to lawyer up”. Andrew – can we talk about your retainer fee?<br />LAndowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08861050665459979202noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6367682155970735252.post-37184779944917107312019-06-03T23:32:30.810-07:002019-06-03T23:32:30.810-07:00Paul, I don’t like your insincerity, but I will ta...Paul, I don’t like your insincerity, but I will take the trophy. <br /><br />As for the novel, Shteyngart clearly didn’t populate his book with Dale Carnegie grads. Instead, he picked the usual archetypes (the rich and powerful and their hangers on) and showed us their failings. As I pointed out during our dinner, it seemed every character was a failure in search of redemption. How they go about it is Shteyngart’s story. I enjoyed the book, as I also noted, but I get why a dreadful main character can be so off putting that it sours one on the experience of reading. andrewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12017834763548542404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6367682155970735252.post-6849934201477934392019-06-03T19:52:51.643-07:002019-06-03T19:52:51.643-07:00Andrew, your prose continues to be elegant, eloque...Andrew, your prose continues to be elegant, eloquent, and entertaining. I hope that is enough of the positive reinforcement you demand, but as you at times are channeling your inner millennial, maybe we'll buy you a trophy as well.<br /><br />Roy's dinner as you comment was of course incredible. We are always guaranteed a culinary treat and unusual alcohol. I was not disappointed.<br /><br />The book however left me feeling less satisfied. While I love a good "on the road" story about escape, redemption, and finding America, I couldn't connect with any of the main characters in this book. While a book needn't be filled with happy likable people and unicorns, the reader looks for someone to like and there were precious few (and only minor characters) in this one. I mostly wanted to yell at the frustrating characters. I prefer either a more genuine motive and journey (Travels With Charlie, On The Road), or even the absurd (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas).<br /><br />I also felt like this was a riff on Bonfire of the Vanities in that once again we are treated to materialistic Manhattan financial services wealthy people with big egos and big paychecks. Maybe it's the California boy in me, I dunno, though I felt Bonfire was more a straight and witty indictment while Lake Success asks you to believe in the last 20 pages that some form of redemption or conclusion has happened. I think some of the author's other work has been better, as evidenced by the 7.5 we gave to Super Sad True Love Story.The Terminatorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08066236686596709415noreply@blogger.com