welcome to elaney!

1.  Mergers and Acquisitions, Dana Vachon.  Vachon, a 2002 Duke grad and former employee of JP Morgan, writes an account of a male protagonist’s first year out in the world of NYC investment banking.  What the novel lacks in plot (the story doesn’t develop with the appropriate robust), it almost makes up with vivid scenes into a greedy subculture.  The dinners at Cipriani, the galas at Moma, and the summers on the shore vividly offer hilarious, poignant, and often sad insights.  Bottomline:  A mediocre version ofThe Bonfire of the Vanities with a cup of The Devil Wears Prada.

2.  Remember Me?  Sophie Kinsella.  This book makes the official decrowing of the former Queen of the Beach Read.  After Shopaholic and Sister, we didn’t think things could get much worse.  And they don’t.  But they don’t get any better with this strange tale of a 28 year old city savvy exec that got amnesia and can’t remember getting her teeth done.  It is painfully predictable, and we suggest rather than reading the book, just read the back cover.  Nothing much else interesting happens.