Ratings66
Average rating3.9
I am not a “no spoilers!” person. It's one of the reasons I don't read a lot of mystery: I find too much plot tension more irritating than exciting. But some books really are better if you don't know that much going in, and this is one of those. Trust me (see what I did there?). Here's what I think is safe to share: this book is four books in one: a novella, a rough draft of an autobiography, a short memoir, and a series of journal entries. It's concerned with New York City in the 1920s: up to and very much including Black Tuesday and its aftermath. It's about finance, and marriage, and the bonds between people. It's about stories, both the ones we tell to ourselves and the ones we tell to others. It's about who lies, and why. Given that it recently won the Pulitzer Prize, it feels very cliche to say it's very good but it is. I found it very compelling and tore through its 400 pages in about three days. I don't know that it will be something everyone will enjoy, necessarily, but it's worth a shot.