Review: A Young Man's Guide to Late Capitalism

A Young Man's Guide to Late Capitalism by Peter Mountford

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In one chapter of my forthcoming biography of Robert Ripley, I recount the eccentric, world-traveling "Believe It or Not" cartoonist's months-long journey through South America in 1925, during which Ripley writes that Bolivia's sky-high capital, La Paz, looked as if someone had flung the city of Reno into the Grand Canyon. So when fellow Seattleite Peter Mountford, a friend of a former newspaper colleague, offered to send me an advance copy of his first novel, which takes place in La Paz in late 2005, I figured I'd skim the book and see what had become of the city Ripley called "the most startling sight I have ever seen!" What an unexpected treat, then, to discover that Mountford is a smart, gifted writer, and a real craftsman. He tells the story of a transformational month in the life of Gabriel de Boya, an eager but conflicted young researcher for a New York hedge fund posing as a freelance journalist and struggling with greed, love, lies, and desire. Mountford's writing is admirably restrained, visual and visceral, and the result is taut, poetic, sad, and at times quite moving. Though set in 2005, the story feels fresh and relevant, deftly capturing the deceitful, manipulative world of hedge funds and foreign investment. Gabriel's lover, Lenka Villarobles, the stunning press secretary to the newly elected president, emerges as the book's heroine, it's moral center. It's often painful to be inside Gabriel's head, rooting for him as he wrestles sloppily with his life's decision: love or money. He can't have it both ways, and the tension builds as Gabriel's deceptions mount and overlap. Mountford's empathy (and, at times, sympathy) for Bolivia and its people shines through, and his sometimes loving descriptions of the gritty, impoverished city are aching and poignant – even more beautiful than Ripley's.

Look for my upcoming interview with Peter at NealThompson.com.

In the meantime, trust me, buy this book.

Peter Mountford

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