Changes

I’ll start by admitting that, despite working in the City, and having a grandfather who has tried his best to explain the ins and outs of both the stock market and the salmon pink of the Financial Times, my knowledge of things such as IPO’s are severely limited – I had to read a Wikipedia article before I was able to understand exactly what this book was about. Thankfully, prior knowledge is not required here, and not all of the minutiae of the deal are integral to the plot, although those that are do receive an explanation when needed.

In truth, this is a book about people – how people can be damaged, bribed, and twisted, and how some people are able to rise above the grime and stay good people despite all of the temptations and corruptions on offer. The cast are is interesting, well written, and easily identifiable, despite the book changing character viewpoint every chapter. These are not necessarily likable likeable characters – three or four come across as decent, but others are completely reprehensible. Thankfully, they are great to read about – you may feel a bit grubby at times, but I was unable to stop reading.

The story may be often silly, and sometimes rather smutty (although the most gratuitous scene is done in such a clever way that the majority of the explicit details are coming from the reader themselves…). However the plot , in general , is strong – and I was genuinely delighted by the actions of one character in the final chapters, making this story both a combination of expose, a cautionary tale, murder mystery and celebration of the strength of the human spirit.

The murder mystery starts off as seeming only tangentially connected to the main plot, but is skilfully skillfully weaved in and ends up driving the whole book to a cracking climax. Managing to hit a tone that is somewhere between [[The Wolf of Wall Street by Jordan Belfort|The Wolf of Wall Street]] and [[The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger|The Devil Wears Prada]], this is an insight into a world completely far removed to everything I know, and a good study of what makes people tick – no matter how awful they are.