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The Recessionistas
It's the day after Labor Day, 2008, and the elite universe of New York's Upper East Side is about to unravel along with the economy. Socialite Grigsby Somerset is barely aware of her changing world, and has no idea her investment banker husband Blake is about to enter into a devil's bargain with hedge fund owner John Cutter. As autumn unfolds, Grigsby's fairytale life starts to unwind. Street-smart Renee Parker has been hired as John's executive assistant and is convinced that something is amiss with her new boss. Renee enlists her friend Sasha Silver, CEO of Silver Partners, to help her decipher what is happening. They soon discover that John is nearly ruined, except for the assets he is hiding in the Cayman Islands from his wife Mimi, and has concocted with Blake a scheme to redeem himself. This tale of expulsion from a modern-day Garden of Eden captures what happens when economic decline spells ruin for Manhattan's pampered elite.
336 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
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January 29, 2022So I read the first 100 or so pages of this book back in June, sitting in a used bookstore & coffee shop 30 minutes away. I enjoyed it because I love gossipy trashy books (sue me!) but ultimately decided not to buy it.
Fast forward to this week — I’m at the little free library for staff at my school — and I see this book there.
I pick it up. I look at the tag.
IT’S FROM THE SAME USED BOOKSTORE.
30 minutes away.
One of my coworkers went to the same shop, picked up the same book I had read, either read it or didn’t BUT either way got rid of it in the little free library that I regularly use.
It must be fate 🤷🏼♀️
——————
I have come to the very important conclusion that I had actually finished this book, in one sitting, back in June or whenever. I’ve now finished it again. We LOVE having a memory the scientists should study !!!
Read this book if you want ALL THE NEW YORK SOCIALITE drama, with a dose of the 2008 Recession as seen through the eyes of the top 1%!!! It’s a terrible book, honestly, but also … so much fun.
Fast forward to this week — I’m at the little free library for staff at my school — and I see this book there.
I pick it up. I look at the tag.
IT’S FROM THE SAME USED BOOKSTORE.
30 minutes away.
One of my coworkers went to the same shop, picked up the same book I had read, either read it or didn’t BUT either way got rid of it in the little free library that I regularly use.
It must be fate 🤷🏼♀️
——————
I have come to the very important conclusion that I had actually finished this book, in one sitting, back in June or whenever. I’ve now finished it again. We LOVE having a memory the scientists should study !!!
Read this book if you want ALL THE NEW YORK SOCIALITE drama, with a dose of the 2008 Recession as seen through the eyes of the top 1%!!! It’s a terrible book, honestly, but also … so much fun.
October 11, 2011
I really enjoyed this book. It combined lots of things that i like into one novel. I like fashion, New York City and intrigue. There were quite a few interesting sub-plots that held my attention.
The characters were not all that likable. It's hard to feel sorry for someone that has to cut their living expenses to $200,000 a year. Even harder to see it as tragic. That being said, the characters were well developed and quirky enough to be "real" to me.
I would recommend this book. It was our book club selection so I'm anxious to see how the other ladies felt about it.
The characters were not all that likable. It's hard to feel sorry for someone that has to cut their living expenses to $200,000 a year. Even harder to see it as tragic. That being said, the characters were well developed and quirky enough to be "real" to me.
I would recommend this book. It was our book club selection so I'm anxious to see how the other ladies felt about it.
August 25, 2010
I really liked the book and didn't know that I would when I initially started it. The main character, is of course Wall Street, but you don't notice it is the main character always as you are caught up in the story of the various characters and the things that happen to them as various things happen on Wall Street, either by their very own manipulationgs or by those around them. Of course the book has a lot of information on how Wall Street works and a couple of times it went into more than I really wanted to know, but it didn't last long and the story was up and running again so I just figured it was knowledge I probably should have known any way. The book is about the people who are the rich and famous affected by everything that happened on Wall Street the weekend after Labor Day when all came back from vacation and their kids needed to return to work etc. Some were going through divorces in the book, some were working on Wall Street, some were affected by what their husbands did or didn't do. These aren't the regular man, these are the ultra rich and how the loss of wealth affected their lives. It's an interesting book and I polished it off in 24 hours so I would say it was a good read. Here is the information from the back of the book:
It's the day after Labor Day, 2008, and the bottom is about the drop out of the economy. Hedge fund owner John Cutter is in the process of an ugly di ...more It's the day after Labor Day, 2008, and the bottom is about the drop out of the economy. Hedge fund owner John Cutter is in the process of an ugly divorce and nearly in financial ruin, except for the assets he is hiding from his wife Mimi in the Cayman Islands. When he concocts a scheme to redeem himself, he enlists Lehman Brothers investment banker Blake Somerset as an accomplice. Blake is ripe for recruitment given that he too is on the verge of being in dire financial straits given Lehman's decline and imminent bankruptcy. Blake's socialite wife Grigsby is barely aware of her changing world to begin with, and has no idea of the perilous situation her husband is about to enter into. As autumn unfolds, Grigsby's fairytale life starts to unwind. Meanwhile, John and Blake's scheme comes to light when street-smart Renee Parker begins her new position as John's executive assistant. Convinced something is amiss, she enlists her friend Sasha Silver, CEO of Silver Partners, to help her decipher what is happening. This story of expulsion from a modern-day Garden of Eden captures what happens when economic decline spells ruin for Manhattan's pampered elite.
It's the day after Labor Day, 2008, and the bottom is about the drop out of the economy. Hedge fund owner John Cutter is in the process of an ugly di ...more It's the day after Labor Day, 2008, and the bottom is about the drop out of the economy. Hedge fund owner John Cutter is in the process of an ugly divorce and nearly in financial ruin, except for the assets he is hiding from his wife Mimi in the Cayman Islands. When he concocts a scheme to redeem himself, he enlists Lehman Brothers investment banker Blake Somerset as an accomplice. Blake is ripe for recruitment given that he too is on the verge of being in dire financial straits given Lehman's decline and imminent bankruptcy. Blake's socialite wife Grigsby is barely aware of her changing world to begin with, and has no idea of the perilous situation her husband is about to enter into. As autumn unfolds, Grigsby's fairytale life starts to unwind. Meanwhile, John and Blake's scheme comes to light when street-smart Renee Parker begins her new position as John's executive assistant. Convinced something is amiss, she enlists her friend Sasha Silver, CEO of Silver Partners, to help her decipher what is happening. This story of expulsion from a modern-day Garden of Eden captures what happens when economic decline spells ruin for Manhattan's pampered elite.
November 28, 2011
Picked up this recently published book for $1 at the library. Read it this weekend, a wek after watching the documentary Inside Job, about the financial services meltdown a few years ago. This book is about the same subject. I enjoyed it, as I often do enjoy reading about wealthy New York(not sure why, but I do). Because of the documentary I already understood how the meltdown occurred. The author seemed to create situations to explain those details to the reader. A bit contrived. Helpful, even educational though, for the less-informed. And it's complicated, so even knowing the mess happened doesn't mean one understands how and why. Watch the documentary and/or read this book to learn. But beware, the f-word is tossed around liberally (as it probably is in that world anyway). And some of the characters are hard to stomach.
November 9, 2011
While the subject matter was interesting the writing style was very stilted and had very little flow to it. Especially in a lot of the dialogue between characters. The conversations and how the characters spoke seemed contrived instead of natural. Also there was too much technical jargon in a book that comes across as a light read. I'm not sure what the author's intention was with this book, whether it was supposed to be a beach book kind of read or something heavier. But the cover alone conveys a kind of flippancy in my opinion and so closer to the beach book side of the spectrum is where I expected this to lie. While the financial terms were often explained, it detracted from the book itself.
January 1, 2013
Only read this if you need a very simple explanation of the Financial Crisis and happen to be interested in New York life. Do not read for plot, dialogue, character development, or anything remotely related to quality literature. The author is an extremely well-respected woman in finance, so she knows her stuff. She doesn't know fiction. But it's fun!
August 22, 2018
Every so often, I have a craving for some quick and easy to read chick lit. This is very Gossip Girl-esque in nature, with an underlying narrative from the author, a female financial expert, about the financial crisis of 2008 and its effects on the socialites in NYC. I have to admit...I was filled with Schadenfreude throughout!
September 22, 2019
Even though this is more recent historical fiction, it was a pretty good book. Written from perspectives of families/wives affected by the 2008 market crash, the dialogue was funny at times, but I liked how the book showed how every single level of society was affected by the financial events of that year. I gave it three stars because there were two characters in it that acted out of their character toward the end and that just seemed unlikely to me. Overall, it was a good and cute audiobook!
December 26, 2019
Why all the mediocre ratings?! I thought it was a fun, fast read, written by someone who understood and could articulate a lot of the chaos of the big depression. I really enjoyed it!
December 15, 2021
If you’re deeply sucked into the Wall Street world ... this block of repetitive pages that doesn’t quite constitute as a book, may be right up your alley. 🤷♀️
November 22, 2010
This book has been reviewed for author exposure and is available on my blog. http://acozyreaderscorner.blogspot.com
Synopsis from book:
“It’s the day after Labor Day, 2008, and the elite universe of New York’s Upper East Side is about to unravel along with the economy. Socialite Grigsby Somerset is barely aware of her changing world and has no idea her investment banker husband, Blake, is about to enter into a devil’s bargain with hedge fund owner John Cutter. As autumn unfolds, Grigsby’s fairytale life starts to unwind. Street-smart Renee Parker has been hired as John’s executive assistant and is convinced that something is amiss with her new boss. Renee enlists her friend Sasha Silver, CEO of Sliver Partners, to help her decipher what is happening. They soon discover that John in nearly ruined, except for the assets he is hiding in the Cayman Islands from his wife, Mimi, and has concocted with Blake a scheme to redeem himself. This tale of expulsion from a modern-day Garden of Eden captures what happens when economic decline spells ruin for Manhattan’s pampered elite.”
My Review:
If you’ve read the above synopsis you have pretty much read this book aside from horrible characters, wall street’s numbers, and mundane details. The Recessionistas chronicles four main characters debuting them by chapter. The start of each new chapter furthers the story of one of these four. While I am normally a fan of this set up, I did not enjoy this book or the authors writing style. I felt as if I was reading a power point presentation of facts rather than a story. I was unable to connect with the characters throughout the book. I actually preferred not to read about them. The novel states it is “A novel of the once rich and powerful” but truly it is a novel of spoiled rich women, a few honest hardworking people who are very rich and a couple of white collar crime millionaires who are greedy beyond belief.
One of the major problems I had with this book was its lack of appeal and intrigue. The most interesting part of the book takes place in the last seven chapters. This means I had to battle my way through twenty chapters only to find little alleviation and still work my way through seven more. While I understand the idea of the novel, I feel it is all wrong for today’s market. The agent who requested that Ms. Lebenthal write this book would have been better of asking her or someone else to write a book about real struggle in a recession. A book chronicling the lives of four women who are working and taking care of their children with fears and struggles that the average woman faces would have made a much better women’s fiction novel and made for a better story. Instead, I wanted to throw the book across the room as I read about a bunch of spoiled rich women with no sense of reality and how fortunate they are as they whined, complained and threw fits that they were no longer popular or rich. They were not enjoyable. The end of the novel did not equal the end of money or the end of status for the non-law breaking characters. Its as if the novel chronicles a few hard months for the rich, who find themselves still rich at the end.
I honestly had a hard time reading and reviewing this book. The process was painful. I found myself looking for excuses not to read which is highly unlike me. I rarely ever pick up a book without finishing it but I was tempted multiple times to do just that. I would not have finished this novel if it had not been for the commitment I made to review it. I enjoyed very few points in this novel. The most interesting part of the book for me was the titles of each chapter and the pretty fonts they were printed in. If you like the synopsis and want to give this book a try please do, just don’t spend 24.99 on it. Check your local library or borrow the title from a friend. I will not be recommending this book, nor will I attempt to read another novel by this author unless she decides to write a book on her own, for herself, without being asked to write a book. I believe a lot of a great book is due to the passion of an author. Ms. Lebenthal has many impressive aspects of her resume as CEO and President of her company, however I personally did not benefit from her book.
Synopsis from book:
“It’s the day after Labor Day, 2008, and the elite universe of New York’s Upper East Side is about to unravel along with the economy. Socialite Grigsby Somerset is barely aware of her changing world and has no idea her investment banker husband, Blake, is about to enter into a devil’s bargain with hedge fund owner John Cutter. As autumn unfolds, Grigsby’s fairytale life starts to unwind. Street-smart Renee Parker has been hired as John’s executive assistant and is convinced that something is amiss with her new boss. Renee enlists her friend Sasha Silver, CEO of Sliver Partners, to help her decipher what is happening. They soon discover that John in nearly ruined, except for the assets he is hiding in the Cayman Islands from his wife, Mimi, and has concocted with Blake a scheme to redeem himself. This tale of expulsion from a modern-day Garden of Eden captures what happens when economic decline spells ruin for Manhattan’s pampered elite.”
My Review:
If you’ve read the above synopsis you have pretty much read this book aside from horrible characters, wall street’s numbers, and mundane details. The Recessionistas chronicles four main characters debuting them by chapter. The start of each new chapter furthers the story of one of these four. While I am normally a fan of this set up, I did not enjoy this book or the authors writing style. I felt as if I was reading a power point presentation of facts rather than a story. I was unable to connect with the characters throughout the book. I actually preferred not to read about them. The novel states it is “A novel of the once rich and powerful” but truly it is a novel of spoiled rich women, a few honest hardworking people who are very rich and a couple of white collar crime millionaires who are greedy beyond belief.
One of the major problems I had with this book was its lack of appeal and intrigue. The most interesting part of the book takes place in the last seven chapters. This means I had to battle my way through twenty chapters only to find little alleviation and still work my way through seven more. While I understand the idea of the novel, I feel it is all wrong for today’s market. The agent who requested that Ms. Lebenthal write this book would have been better of asking her or someone else to write a book about real struggle in a recession. A book chronicling the lives of four women who are working and taking care of their children with fears and struggles that the average woman faces would have made a much better women’s fiction novel and made for a better story. Instead, I wanted to throw the book across the room as I read about a bunch of spoiled rich women with no sense of reality and how fortunate they are as they whined, complained and threw fits that they were no longer popular or rich. They were not enjoyable. The end of the novel did not equal the end of money or the end of status for the non-law breaking characters. Its as if the novel chronicles a few hard months for the rich, who find themselves still rich at the end.
I honestly had a hard time reading and reviewing this book. The process was painful. I found myself looking for excuses not to read which is highly unlike me. I rarely ever pick up a book without finishing it but I was tempted multiple times to do just that. I would not have finished this novel if it had not been for the commitment I made to review it. I enjoyed very few points in this novel. The most interesting part of the book for me was the titles of each chapter and the pretty fonts they were printed in. If you like the synopsis and want to give this book a try please do, just don’t spend 24.99 on it. Check your local library or borrow the title from a friend. I will not be recommending this book, nor will I attempt to read another novel by this author unless she decides to write a book on her own, for herself, without being asked to write a book. I believe a lot of a great book is due to the passion of an author. Ms. Lebenthal has many impressive aspects of her resume as CEO and President of her company, however I personally did not benefit from her book.
August 24, 2010
The Recessionistas can safely be characterized as chicklit set in the middle of the financial meltdown in New York City. While Lebenthal liberally creates unsympathetic characters like the wives of investment bankers, unscrupulous money managers, and backstabbing bosses, we meet:
* Grigsby Somerset- an Alpha for as long as she can remember. Surrounded by people who want to be like her, she her occupation is centered towards the right charities, clothes, and getting her daughter into the correct schools. Her staff includes her personal trainer, stylist, decorator, and she's angling for a personal assistant.
* Blake Somerset - Grigsby's husband and a banker at Lehman Brothers. A former classmate of John Cutter from Harvard Business School.
* Sasha Silver - CEO of SAMCO (Silver Asset Management Co) who is regretting having sold her company to the larger BridgeVest Financial. She's hardworking, glamorous, and savvy with the perfect husband. Sasha is having the most trouble dealing with Harry Mullaugh, BridgeVest's CEO and a showdown of sorts is inevitable.
* John Cutter - heads Flying Point Capital, a "hot, new fund" with aggressive bets in the subprime mortgage market. John is a notoriously difficult boss but a top producer.
* Mimi Cutter - married to John Cutter and recently a "Greenwich wife". She's has a art history degree from Harvard and has amassed an art collection that reflects her excellent taste and their unlmited funds.
* Renee Parker - a Spence and Princeton graduate, John Cutter's personal assistant, and despite her working class roots (her mother works as Grigsby and Blake Somerset's maid), Renee regularly appears in the society pages and as an active member of several of the "right charities."
* Amanda Belden - Renee Parker's nemesis at Spence and Director of Marketing at John Cutter's fund.
The book's strength is in Lebenthal's coverage of the recession as it slowly unfolds. She breaks down the events that caused the sudden collapse of the banking system while simultaneously painting a picture of how these events impact the daily lives of her memorable cast of characters.
ISBN-10: 0446563676 - Hardcover $24.99
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; 1 edition (August 9, 2010), 320 pages.
Review copy provided by the publisher.
* Grigsby Somerset- an Alpha for as long as she can remember. Surrounded by people who want to be like her, she her occupation is centered towards the right charities, clothes, and getting her daughter into the correct schools. Her staff includes her personal trainer, stylist, decorator, and she's angling for a personal assistant.
* Blake Somerset - Grigsby's husband and a banker at Lehman Brothers. A former classmate of John Cutter from Harvard Business School.
* Sasha Silver - CEO of SAMCO (Silver Asset Management Co) who is regretting having sold her company to the larger BridgeVest Financial. She's hardworking, glamorous, and savvy with the perfect husband. Sasha is having the most trouble dealing with Harry Mullaugh, BridgeVest's CEO and a showdown of sorts is inevitable.
* John Cutter - heads Flying Point Capital, a "hot, new fund" with aggressive bets in the subprime mortgage market. John is a notoriously difficult boss but a top producer.
* Mimi Cutter - married to John Cutter and recently a "Greenwich wife". She's has a art history degree from Harvard and has amassed an art collection that reflects her excellent taste and their unlmited funds.
* Renee Parker - a Spence and Princeton graduate, John Cutter's personal assistant, and despite her working class roots (her mother works as Grigsby and Blake Somerset's maid), Renee regularly appears in the society pages and as an active member of several of the "right charities."
* Amanda Belden - Renee Parker's nemesis at Spence and Director of Marketing at John Cutter's fund.
The book's strength is in Lebenthal's coverage of the recession as it slowly unfolds. She breaks down the events that caused the sudden collapse of the banking system while simultaneously painting a picture of how these events impact the daily lives of her memorable cast of characters.
ISBN-10: 0446563676 - Hardcover $24.99
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; 1 edition (August 9, 2010), 320 pages.
Review copy provided by the publisher.
May 18, 2011
The Recessionistas
Author: Alexandra Lebenthal
Characters: 2 out of 5
Plot: 2 out of 5
Overall: 2 out of 5
Format: Hardcover
Source: Borrowed from my Library
Description: (Author's Website) It's the day after Labor Day, 2008, and the bottom is about to drop out of the economy. Hedge fund owner John Cutter is in the process of an ugly divorce and nearly in financial ruin, except for the assets he is hiding from his wife Mimi in the Cayman Islands. When he concocts a scheme to redeem himself, he enlists Lehman Brothers investment banker Blake Somerset as an accomplice. Blake is ripe for recruitment given that he, too, is on the verge of being in dire financial straits because of Lehman's decline and imminent bankruptcy. Blake's socialite wife Grigsby is barely aware of her changing world to begin with, and has no idea of the perilous situation her husband is about to enter. As autumn unfolds, Grigsby's fairytale life starts to unwind. Meanwhile, John and Blake's scheme comes to light when street-smart Renee Parker begins her new position as John's executive assistant. Convinced something is amiss, she enlists her friend Sasha Silver, CEO of Silver Partners, to help her decipher what is happening. This story of expulsion from a modern-day Garden of Eden captures what happens when economic decline spells ruin for Manhattan's pampered elite.
From My Point of View: I had pretty high hopes for this book going into it, however, twenty pages in and I was already checked out. While Lebenthal certainly knows her financial stuff, the rest of this book was lacking for me. I didn't find a single character I could connect with. She tended to over share information on the menial characters and under share on the main ones.
The dialogue, for me, felt very off kilter. It was almost awkward to read at times. I never felt any real emotion from the characters speech.
As far as the plot, it felt pretty piece-y to me. We spent most of the book focusing on the financial downfall, then all of a sudden there's a security fraud, a second divorce, attempted murder, and two main characters head off to jail. There was no consistent flow. It was almost like the main plot points at the end were thrown in as an afterthought.
Overall, this book was a big disappointment. It had a lot of potential, but in the end, just didn't cut it for me.
Author: Alexandra Lebenthal
Characters: 2 out of 5
Plot: 2 out of 5
Overall: 2 out of 5
Format: Hardcover
Source: Borrowed from my Library
Description: (Author's Website) It's the day after Labor Day, 2008, and the bottom is about to drop out of the economy. Hedge fund owner John Cutter is in the process of an ugly divorce and nearly in financial ruin, except for the assets he is hiding from his wife Mimi in the Cayman Islands. When he concocts a scheme to redeem himself, he enlists Lehman Brothers investment banker Blake Somerset as an accomplice. Blake is ripe for recruitment given that he, too, is on the verge of being in dire financial straits because of Lehman's decline and imminent bankruptcy. Blake's socialite wife Grigsby is barely aware of her changing world to begin with, and has no idea of the perilous situation her husband is about to enter. As autumn unfolds, Grigsby's fairytale life starts to unwind. Meanwhile, John and Blake's scheme comes to light when street-smart Renee Parker begins her new position as John's executive assistant. Convinced something is amiss, she enlists her friend Sasha Silver, CEO of Silver Partners, to help her decipher what is happening. This story of expulsion from a modern-day Garden of Eden captures what happens when economic decline spells ruin for Manhattan's pampered elite.
From My Point of View: I had pretty high hopes for this book going into it, however, twenty pages in and I was already checked out. While Lebenthal certainly knows her financial stuff, the rest of this book was lacking for me. I didn't find a single character I could connect with. She tended to over share information on the menial characters and under share on the main ones.
The dialogue, for me, felt very off kilter. It was almost awkward to read at times. I never felt any real emotion from the characters speech.
As far as the plot, it felt pretty piece-y to me. We spent most of the book focusing on the financial downfall, then all of a sudden there's a security fraud, a second divorce, attempted murder, and two main characters head off to jail. There was no consistent flow. It was almost like the main plot points at the end were thrown in as an afterthought.
Overall, this book was a big disappointment. It had a lot of potential, but in the end, just didn't cut it for me.
August 22, 2010
The Recessionistas is a chick lit satire of the wives of hedge fund managers who shop at the three B's Bergdorf, Barneys and Bendel and spend their day lunching. The book is both funny and sad. Imagine not being able to survive on $250,000 a year. The horror of it all. What is sad, is that because of greed and Wall Street this country is in the financial mess that it is in. To think that my investment in a fund helped support someone's addiction to Botox, liposuction or a life of really doing nothing is rather discouraging. But leaving that aside, the book is rather amusing.
Most of the wives are portrayed as shallow clueless women whose just like to shop and be seen. Now an argument can be made that their husbands are the ones that reinforced and encouraged this behavior.
Grigsby Somerset is preoccupied with having her husband fund a personal assistant for her to schedule her beauty appointments and other such matters. As the market is collapsing and her husband is worried about a margin call her preoccupation is getting her child into the right kindergarten at 30K a year.
Poor Mimi cannot face the fact that she is aging and will do anything for a photo op in New York's Society pages. We have all seen the photos of women wearing who knows what and wondering if they did not have a mirror in their home. That is Mimi, anything for a little attention.
Author Alexandra Lebenthal knows her stuff, both about how Wall Street Works and how the wealthy wives of NYC spend their time. This is a fun beach read that will either leave you cheering for the demise of these women or crying that you are a victim of this nation's greed.
My one complaint about the book is the excessive use of the "F" word. I am sure that many expletives were used as the market crashed in the fall of 2008. Do I really need to see the "F" word in print. As president and CEO of Lebenthal and Co, I am sure that Lebenthal has an extensive vocabulary in addition of the "F" word that could have been used instead.
Most of the wives are portrayed as shallow clueless women whose just like to shop and be seen. Now an argument can be made that their husbands are the ones that reinforced and encouraged this behavior.
Grigsby Somerset is preoccupied with having her husband fund a personal assistant for her to schedule her beauty appointments and other such matters. As the market is collapsing and her husband is worried about a margin call her preoccupation is getting her child into the right kindergarten at 30K a year.
Poor Mimi cannot face the fact that she is aging and will do anything for a photo op in New York's Society pages. We have all seen the photos of women wearing who knows what and wondering if they did not have a mirror in their home. That is Mimi, anything for a little attention.
Author Alexandra Lebenthal knows her stuff, both about how Wall Street Works and how the wealthy wives of NYC spend their time. This is a fun beach read that will either leave you cheering for the demise of these women or crying that you are a victim of this nation's greed.
My one complaint about the book is the excessive use of the "F" word. I am sure that many expletives were used as the market crashed in the fall of 2008. Do I really need to see the "F" word in print. As president and CEO of Lebenthal and Co, I am sure that Lebenthal has an extensive vocabulary in addition of the "F" word that could have been used instead.
December 16, 2010
Recessionistas by Alexandra Lebenthal (ARC)
Published by Grand Central Publishing
ISBN 978-0-446-56367-3
At the request of The Hachette Book Group, a TPB was sent, at no cost to me, for my honest opinion.
Synopsis (back of book): It's the day after Labor Day, 2008, and the elite universe of New York's Upper East Side is bout to unravel along with the economy. Socialite Grigsby Somerset is barely aware of her changing world and has no idea her investment banker husband, Blake, is about to enter into a devil's bargain with hedge fund owner John Cutter. As autumn unfolds, Grigsby's fairytale life starts to unwind. Street-smart Renee Parker has been hired as John's executive assistant and is convinced that something is amiss with her new boss. Renee enlists her friend that something is amiss with her new boss. Renee enlists her friends Sasha Silver, CEO of Silver Partners, to help her decipher what is happening. They soon discover that John is nearly ruined, except for the assets he is hiding in the Cayman Islands from his wife, Mimi, and has concocted with Blake a scheme to redeem himself, This tale of expulsion from a modern-day Garden of Eden captures what happens when economic decline spells ruin for Manhattan's pampered elite.
My Thoughts and Opinion: When I accepted this book, I thought it would be a classic chick lit read. However, it falls under more categories including: socialites, rich people, recessions, etc., and more, including attempted murder. The cast of characters varied widely from socialites to CEOs on Wall Street. Some likeable, some that left me shaking my head. The plot flowed but there was a lot of reference to the recent financial problems with hedge funds, which at times, I felt slowed down the story line. It was neither a fast paced nor profound read, which leaves it right in the middle as far as rating.
My Rating: 3
Published by Grand Central Publishing
ISBN 978-0-446-56367-3
At the request of The Hachette Book Group, a TPB was sent, at no cost to me, for my honest opinion.
Synopsis (back of book): It's the day after Labor Day, 2008, and the elite universe of New York's Upper East Side is bout to unravel along with the economy. Socialite Grigsby Somerset is barely aware of her changing world and has no idea her investment banker husband, Blake, is about to enter into a devil's bargain with hedge fund owner John Cutter. As autumn unfolds, Grigsby's fairytale life starts to unwind. Street-smart Renee Parker has been hired as John's executive assistant and is convinced that something is amiss with her new boss. Renee enlists her friend that something is amiss with her new boss. Renee enlists her friends Sasha Silver, CEO of Silver Partners, to help her decipher what is happening. They soon discover that John is nearly ruined, except for the assets he is hiding in the Cayman Islands from his wife, Mimi, and has concocted with Blake a scheme to redeem himself, This tale of expulsion from a modern-day Garden of Eden captures what happens when economic decline spells ruin for Manhattan's pampered elite.
My Thoughts and Opinion: When I accepted this book, I thought it would be a classic chick lit read. However, it falls under more categories including: socialites, rich people, recessions, etc., and more, including attempted murder. The cast of characters varied widely from socialites to CEOs on Wall Street. Some likeable, some that left me shaking my head. The plot flowed but there was a lot of reference to the recent financial problems with hedge funds, which at times, I felt slowed down the story line. It was neither a fast paced nor profound read, which leaves it right in the middle as far as rating.
My Rating: 3
November 30, 2010
I enjoyed The Recessionistas. There were five main characters, one of which was Wall Street itself which had a big effect on all the rest. Grigsby Somerset was amusing in her snobbishness and confidence in what is correct, her husband’s assistant thought of her as “Marie Antoinette”. Sasha Silver was a rising star of the business world but somehow didn’t have the political acumen that she needed. Mimi Cutter lived very expensively and was losing her confidence in her own ability of how to dress. Lastly, Renee Phillips is tall, sleek and very smart in how to stand up for herself and advance in employment. Although all of these women were very different from each other they were all
All of the characters were affected by the decline of the stock markets and the housing bubble burst even if a few couldn't understand why. If you enjoy satiric wit, you will enjoy this book. Oddly, when I compare these women to what I have heard on television news reports, the description is very accurate. This book does not tell the story of those outside of the Wall Street, that is a completely different story but it is inside a unique window into its deceit and trickery when it is bad. I highly recommend this book.
All of the characters were affected by the decline of the stock markets and the housing bubble burst even if a few couldn't understand why. If you enjoy satiric wit, you will enjoy this book. Oddly, when I compare these women to what I have heard on television news reports, the description is very accurate. This book does not tell the story of those outside of the Wall Street, that is a completely different story but it is inside a unique window into its deceit and trickery when it is bad. I highly recommend this book.
August 17, 2010
I absolutely loved this book. I was immediately drawn in by both the characters and the story. Alexandra has a way of making you really understand the characters as if you truly knew them. I personally felt a special kinship to Sasha even though she and I come from two completely different worlds, I like how she thinks. I'm a political junky so I kept up with what was, and still is, going on with the financial crisis and recession. Along with many others in the country I learned of CDOs and derivatives but Alexandra makes it all make a little more sense. The Recessionitas is a really quick read as it's hard to put down. I highly recommend this book.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Hachette Book Group as part of their book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Hachette Book Group as part of their book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
November 4, 2014
I did not think I would like this book and I ended up loving it!
The economic recession of 2008 kicked my butt, and it was interesting to see how the collapse of hedge funds and financial institutions like Lehman Bros. affected the upper-middle class -- specifically the stockbrokers making millions of dollars a year -- whose entire lifestyle depended on the money to flowing forever.
I found the characters in the book were written realistically, at the same time wondering "how the hell do people really act like that." Not my kind of people, but real people nonetheless. The women in this book were a mess!
Sex, Scandal, Murder, and Economic Collapse . . . what more could you possibly want?
P. S. One of the things I like about this book is I felt as if I was learning a little about economics while being entertained.
January 15, 2011
I actually enjoyed this book. I didn't expect a lot from it, which perhaps made it more enjoyable. For what it is, it is good. It reads more like a series of bullet points, snippets, or fleeting images, sometimes going back and forward in time, which I feel actually aides in the progression of the story. I enjoyed the details about the crash, the people who were involved and what went wrong or right with them. I felt the fragmented story line was more effective in dealing with these characters and the collapse of this world than could have been accomplished otherwise, serving as a glimpse into a broken mirror. It wasn't great literature but it was fun and it was a good escape for me over the course of a rather stressful weekend.
May 11, 2012
When Wall Street took a tumultuous turn in the Fall of 2008, it effected the elite Upper East Siders in different ways. Socialite Grigsby isn’t concerned about how her investment banker husband Blake will fare; she only cares about how she can continue with her current lifestyle. Meanwhile, Blake is willing to do anything to avoid the trouble he knows is heading toward. Young, street-smart Renee gets a position with Blake’s hedge fund owner and quickly learns things are even worse than they seem. While there’s no fairy-tale ending, the book is entertaining and explains the demise of Wall Street in the process.
February 8, 2011
I tried to make it through this book, but the wooden dialogue: "Gosh, what do you think is going to happen?" and the Mary Sue characterizations: They also encouraged her to focus on her own strengths: her brain and winning personality. It also was worth noting that she was beautiful... made it impossible. I'm sure there is interesting insider information about the country's financial meltdown in this book but I just couldn't wade through the clunky writing to find it. It's Bonfire of the Vanities meets fan fiction. DNF
September 26, 2010
I wanted to give this more stars because it's a fun story and who doesn't love a little schadenfreude and comeuppance? But the writing was quite bad, and it had way too much information on collateralized debt obligations and tranches, etc. (Not too complicated to understand but too dull to read about in a novel.)
Still, it was a mostly fun read. Who knew that people could spend so much money on clothing?
Still, it was a mostly fun read. Who knew that people could spend so much money on clothing?
August 17, 2011
Chick lit takes on the financial meltdown... or the Recession for Dummies. I felt like this book was suppose to both entertain and educate me, and winded up just frustrating me with its flimsy characters, predictable male leads, and "surprise" handouts (a million for her for reading tabloids, 10 million for her for standing up for herself).
I read this book to the end, but it really was just ok.
I read this book to the end, but it really was just ok.
December 16, 2010
This book is so much fun. It is like Us Weekly meets Wall Street - bigger than life personalities coupled with outrageous lifestyles all told through the lens of hedge fund trophy wives. It will make you laugh out loud but also teach you a few things about the economic meltdown of 2008. Written by one of the top women on Wall Street, it is as smart as it is engrossing. Put it on your list of to-read books in the new year!
March 13, 2012
This book follows the lives of several NY women (and their husbands) during the fall of 2008 as the financial markets were falling. All of the women are associated with the financial markets either directly through their jobs or indirectly through their husbands.
I had to force my way through this book. I really couldn't connect with any of the characters and I think that was because of the writing style. Everything felt a little contrived. Interesting enough. Not a bad read.
I had to force my way through this book. I really couldn't connect with any of the characters and I think that was because of the writing style. Everything felt a little contrived. Interesting enough. Not a bad read.
October 9, 2011
Definitely chicklit, however it was really good! The story follows different women in NYC during the financial meltdown, and how (if) they change, adapt and really get through it. one pf my favorite/ hated characters was the woman who just didn't understand and demanded to maintain her standard of living even though her husband lost his job.
Good beach, airplane, or bottle of wine read.
Good beach, airplane, or bottle of wine read.
October 11, 2010
ZI HIGHLY recommend this book. The author is a noted financial wizard in NYC, and rather than writing a droll book on the Lehman crisis, she chose to write it from the perspective of society ladies and its impact on them. It is a biting commentary on the pre-2008 lifestyles of such women sprinkled with a lot of VERY ACCURATE financial markets information. This book is a MUST READ.
October 19, 2010
Eh. Started out fairly entertaining, but got bogged down in trying to explain the financial crisis. The author was also trying to juggle too many stories and just kind of dropped some of them, or rushed them to a conclusion that didn't necessarily make sense. I also found several typos, and I hate sloppy copy editing!
January 16, 2011
Chick lit about the financial meltdown, but with more intelligence than anticipated. I think the title does this book a disservice as there is some decent writing, but when you pick it up you think it will be very "shopaholic". An interesting look from an author who clearly had an inside track on some of the NYC society/financial issues that plagued Wall Street.
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