The Financial Lives of the Poets by Jess WalterMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is the first time I've read anything by Jess Walter, and I really got a kick out of his self-deprecating, clever wit and ironic style. The main character's tragedy is played out like a comedy, and Walter captured the desperate financial times we now face. Our unemployed hero, Matt, heads out to a 7-11 one night to buy milk, but he makes one wrong turn in the throes of desperation. One wrong turn leads to another, and before he realizes what's happened, he is a fledgling, hapless drug-dealer in training. He's also lying to his wife about the fact that they are about to lose their house, and his wife is preoccupied with an internet/facebook/texting affair with a guy from her past.
Matt (of course) is caught by the authorities and forced into being a narc - a dreadfully unsuccessful narc. After losing just about everything, Matt has to recalibrate his life and what's left of his marriage. It sounds dismal, but there is something wildly cathartic about this novel. Matt's desperate spiral into denial, horrendous decisions and complete financial ruin parallel the current descent of the American economy. The recalibration of reality. The realization that at the end of the day, if you still have your own coat pockets to share with another pair of cold hands...maybe everything will be ok.
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