Andrew Lipstein's 6 favorite books that combine wealth and humanity
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Andrew Lipstein works in the financial-services industry and is the author of the acclaimed 2022 novel "Last Resort." In his latest, "The Vegan," a hedge-fund manager with a troubled conscience develops a strong distaste for mindless consumption.
Assembly by Natasha Brown (2021)
This book made me want to play to the top of my intelligence in my own writing. Natasha Brown's debut glides on crystalline prose, her acuity like nothing I've seen before. Even while detailing boardroom tensions at a London bank, she doesn't waste a single word. At times I forgot to breathe. Buy it here.
Seize the Day by Saul Bellow (1956)
Bellow knew just when to dive deep, and when to wield a light touch. In this brilliant tale of a privileged layabout failure, movements in the commodities market let us know exactly where things stand in the larger story. In Bellow's hands, lard prices can feel like the score to a game much greater than we mortals can comprehend. Buy it here.
The Moviegoer by Walker Percy (1961)
The heady existentialism and vague yearning of this National Book Award winner make it a favorite among novelists. In stockbroker Jack "Binx" Bolling's quest for meaning, you'll feel like you're getting the mirror image of the stock market: a world where there are no "stakes," yet life itself seems to be on the line. Buy it here.
Trust by Hernan Diaz (2022)
Absolutely no one was surprised when Hernan Diaz's latest novel won a Pulitzer Prize earlier this year. Wildly ambitious in plot and form, "Trust" somehow manages to tell a gripping story about, of all things, American finance in the 20th century. Meanwhile, the humanity seeping out of its pages builds and builds, culminating in a breathtaking, provoking final chapter. Buy it here.
Hard Times by Charles Dickens (1854)
Dickens, as the ur-chronicler of wealth's effect on morality, should be read in historical context. The ethics of the characters in this relatively short Dickens novel may be somewhat unambiguous, but the story is brimming with conflict, stakes and drama. Buy it here.
The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe (1987)
You can't think of the modern finance novel without thinking of Wolfe's infamous "Master of the Universe" concept — a money-maker who can move oceans with the snap of a finger. But at the heart of "Bonfire" is the interplay between law and wealth. In the end, we're relieved to discover, money can't buy everything. Buy it here.
This article was first published in the latest issue of The Week magazine. If you want to read more like it, you can try six risk-free issues of the magazine here.
