3 ms·

I read the book and was mostly disappointed. SBF comes across as a fundamentally uninteresting and uncultured person who is very proud of not having any intere

by pavlov 3y ago

I read the book and was mostly disappointed. SBF comes across as a fundamentally uninteresting and uncultured person who is very proud of not having any interests and not giving a shit about other people. Even his parents struggle to tell anything noteworthy or likable about him. Lewis seems to relish the massive challenge of turning him into a protagonist, but the reader doesn’t share in those rewards. Also, trading stocks for a living is apparently just as boring as it sounds like. The descriptions of what Jane Street does made me feel somehow sorry for these people who are stuck making undiscerning myopic bets for their own sake instead of using their intellect for something productive. In the end, Lewis tries a shock twist: what if the bankruptcy lawyers are the bad guys after all? It’s unsubstantiated by anything in the book and just comes across as desperation on his part to close the book with something more satisfactory than “it was all a tremendous waste of time and other people’s money.”

adamgordonbell 3y ago
It's true, about the bankruptcy stuff at the end feeling a bit much. That's one of the many points where I felt he was being too sympathetic. But I found the rest of it fascinating. It just wasn't about how SBF was bad. Even this review says the book is interesting and you'll read it one sitting. A lot of the crazy scenes from Wallstreet that made lewis famous, when he wrote Liars poker are in this one transformed into a different world and that is interesting. It's like look at absurdity and scale of what's happening here. But this time with nerds and gaming pcs, instead of Wallstreet and suits. If you don't like narrative nonfiction about finance, thats zoomed in on a specific main character, well, you shouldnt read a Micheal Lewis book. I must say I'm biased though, as I'm a fan of him as a writer.

by pavlov 3y ago

adamgordonbell 3y ago

It's true, about the bankruptcy stuff at the end feeling a bit much. That's one of the many points where I felt he was being too sympathetic. But I found the rest of it fascinating. It just wasn't about how SBF was bad. Even this review says the book is interesting and you'll read it one sitting. A lot of the crazy scenes from Wallstreet that made lewis famous, when he wrote Liars poker are in this one transformed into a different world and that is interesting. It's like look at absurdity and scale of what's happening here. But this time with nerds and gaming pcs, instead of Wallstreet and suits. If you don't like narrative nonfiction about finance, thats zoomed in on a specific main character, well, you shouldnt read a Micheal Lewis book. I must say I'm biased though, as I'm a fan of him as a writer.