This book was not on my radar until my book club decided to read it and I am so glad they chose it because a) it is amazing and so unique and b) I then saw it everywhere, including Obama’s book picks. This is one of those books where (and this is annoying as a prospective reader!) I can’t tell you very much about it because it will ruin it. I want to gush to you about the last few chapters but will keep my mouth shut. I will tell you that it could be described as a jigsaw puzzle of a novel. It’s about money, but also: intimacy and relationships. And it made me feel a lot: it made me angry!!! The book starts out in the roaring twenties of New York. Benjamin and Helen Rask are an infamous couple. He’s legendary on Wall Street, she’s the daughter of aristocrats. Together, they’re on top of a world that’s already excessive. Questions arise as to how they got this rich — and if Benjamin is responsible for the crash (and subsequent depression). This is all chronicled for the reader in Bonds, published in 1937. A book within a book! There are other versions of the story and we don’t know which one was true. All is revealed in the final section of the book. This is SUCH a good book. I listened to it in audio form as it was sold out when I tried to order. I loved it. So smart and just brilliantly put together!
Author: Hernan Diaz
