Ghosts of Manhattan
A Novel
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3.9 • 151 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
This instant New York Times bestseller offers a withering view of life on Wall Street from the perspective of an unhappy insider who is too hooked on the money to find a way out, even as his career is ruining his marriage and corroding his soul.
It’s 2005. Nick Farmer is a thirty-five-year-old bond trader with Bear Stearns clearing seven figures a year. The novelty of a work-related nightlife centering on liquor, hookers, and cocaine has long since worn thin, though Nick remains keenly addicted to his annual bonus. But the lifestyle is taking a toll on his marriage—and on him.
When a nerdy analyst approaches him with apocalyptic prognostications of where Bear’s high-flying mortgage-backed securities trading may lead, Nick is presented with the kind of ethical dilemma he’s spent a lifetime avoiding. Throw in a hot financial journalist who seems to be more interested in him than in the percolating financial Armageddon and the prospect that his own wife may have found a new romantic interest of her own, and you have the recipe for Nick’s personal and professional implosion.
By turns hilarious and harrowing, Ghosts of Manhattan follows a winning but flawed protagonist as he struggles to find the right path in a complicated urban heart of darkness
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Former Internet exec Brunt offers up a savage, jaded, and comical depiction of freewheeling Wall Street bond traders during their precollapse heyday in this engaging debut. Nick Farmer, a 35-year-old trader at the powerful Bear Stearns financial firm, is unhappily married and growing increasingly disillusioned with his job. The pervasive after-work party culture at Bear is fueled by drugs, prostitutes, and booze, all of which have wreaked havoc on Nick's foundering marriage. At home, his wife, Julia, is ready for kids, but Nick balks at the daunting prospect of fatherhood, thinking he'll be a "complete bust." Similarly on the brink is Wall Street itself, whose sobering prospects are brought to Nick's attention by geeky analyst Fred Cook just a short while before Fred delivers the bad news to Bear's top brass. To top it all off, Nick's suspicion that Julia is having an affair with a sleazy colleague threatens to overwhelm him. As Nick's life, his marriage, and the U.S. economy edge closer to meltdown, Brunt brings all the pieces together for a satisfying climax to this compulsively readable novel.
Customer Reviews
Very Good Novel
I enjoyed this novel. Gave a good insight of the going ons in this profession.
I would of liked to see the ending with more detail concerning Nicks marriage. Maybe a sequel one day.
Ghosts of Manhattan
This book was SoOOOO BAD! Wrist slitter!
Ghosts of Manhattan
Very disappointing after the hype. It is a fast read because it is like a bad reality show. No substance!