The Exchange-Rate Between Love and Money: A Novel

by Thomas Leveritt

Sarajevo, 2003. Frito and Bannerman, business partners and best friends, roll into town looking to soak up a dose of Reconstruction Money and make an easy killing. Easy until they realize that Clare Leischman, a prosecutor with the international war crimes tribunal, is the best girl either of them has ever met, and that they can't both have her as much as they would each, ideally, like.

Meanwhile the city is awash with UN programmes, black marketeers, lawyers, soldiers both salaried and self-employed, poker hustlers, Machiavellian intelligence officers and expat hedonists all high on Dayton money. And by the time Frito and Bannerman have started hunting men accused of war crimes, their own lives have taken on all the risk, craziness and emotional upheaval -- but very little of the money -- that they'd bargained for.

Warmhearted and wildly funny, The Exchange-Rate Between Love and Money tackles love and war and the brutal costs of both in all their madness, hilarity and hurt. It is an unforgettable first novel.

355 pages, Paperback

First published March 18, 2008

About the author

Thomas Leveritt is an award-winning portrait painter. He has also worked as a computer programmer, biodiesel manufacturer and beer distributor. Raised in Dallas, Texas, he was sent at age eight to boarding school in the United Kingdom, where he now lives. The Exchange-Rate between Love and Money was awarded a Betty Trask first novel award.

Reviews

[Sophia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I emerged from The Exchange-rate between Love and Money not entirely sure what I just read. The Frito-Bannerman-Clare love triangle wasn't as prominent as the blurb makes it out to be. Instead, the narrative seemed like a roving camera capturing raw footage of the expat scene in 2003 Sarajevo. That historical moment, with hints of mysticism at how the city survived the long siege, horror at what had happened during the Bosnian war, and a bit of the Wild West as an alphabet soup of international organizations tends to Dayton-funded reconstruction, seems like the actual protagonist. There were some brilliant turns of phrase, and real moral questions raised in almost absurd circumstances, but also a slight lack of cohesion. I started to find Leveritt's style in writing dialogue slightly grating. Some familiarity of the history of the former Republic of Yugoslavia and knowing there's a glossary to the abbreviations at the back will help. I think this debut novel would suit readers who enjoyed Gary Shteyngart's Absurdistan.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reminiscent of of books by Michael Chabon and Gary Shteyngart, mainly because of the topic and Baltic setting. A bit whacky and difficult to follow but drop dead hysterical in parts. My friend Greg had this to say about this book (and I concur):

"This is an amazing book, set in present day Bosnia. It's a first novel (always a good sign) by someone who is a highly regarded painter, and he somehow really does make you see all the things he's writing about. And the book is artistic not only in its descriptions, but also in its literary style. It deals with all the strange machinations in Bosnia (mainly in Sarajevo) involving peace-keepers (who have any number of agendas in addition to keeping the peace), the International War Crimes Tribunal staff, gangsters, mercenaries, diplomats, and various local kids, losers and mystics. Needless to say drugs also figure prominently , as does sex."

[Marjanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story got better as I read, but I almost put it down a couple of times. Mostly the story seemed a little chaotic at times. Fortunately things were all tied together eventually, but it didn't always make sense how things were related to each other. The other thing I didn't really like about the novel is that it feels like a 300+ page advertisement for the beer the author imports/sells/represents (or something). It was interesting to read a story set in Sarajevo, but it didn't really do a lot for me.

[Chris O'Brien · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me about seven months to get through this book. I started reading a few pages each night before bed. And then, a couple weeks ago, I finally started plowing through it. It's beautifully written, though the plot, about post-war Sarajevo, is tough to follow. Buy I stuck with it because the writing was poetic, and just didn't worry too much about following the plot or the characters. Yes, sounds odd. I highly recommend, and even re-read the first 20 pages after finishing, to try to better understand the narrative.

[Rachel · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was difficult for me to make it through this book. I thought there were too many characters, and I didn't like any of them. Leveritt assumed that the reader knew a lot about Sarajevo and privatized military (which I don't). It got a little more interesting in the last 50 pages, when the plot moved more quickly and some of the characters had captured a war criminal, but overall, I didn't enjoy the book.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well done book focusing on the political situation in Bosnia post the UN's intervention. Revolves around a man lured there by his best friend in pursuit of hitting in rich, but instead ends up pursuing a woman already there (love, money, exchange rate, this is pretty obvious from the title). There are also war criminals, who are always fun.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aid workers in former yugoslavia. good tale, and a taste of what expat life is like in place tettering on edge of law and order

[Jamie Malanowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

A daring and funny novel from a new writer

http://jamiemalanowski.com/blogwp/pro...

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting place and time to learn about, though story dragged several times. Too many narrators, or seen through their thoughts sections.