Straight to Hell’s major strength is the humor the writer infuses in the anecdotes even though the subject matter is inherently funny.
Fellow Humans, the spectacle of Wall Street lore is not the imagination of overzealous Hollywood scriptwriters, it is the reality we all silently feared. This is the insider account of the unjustifiable culture of excess that is central to investment banking, the blunt debauchery, and unapologetic profligate wealth that makes all of this possible. The anecdotal account of the writer’s experiences as a former investment banker is, to put it simply, epic.
The outrageous quality of their behavior and their extravagance is so astounding it becomes comical. You catch yourself laughing at the sinful good fortune of some whose lives can be captured aptly with the phase “let the good times roll”.
Ceaseless partying, virtually unlimited budgets, the blessing of youth and the risk orientation which makes for a potent mix that leads to unfettered fun and excitement and in this case ,an acutely funny book.
Not significantly different from the sub culture of college fraternities, Lefevre exposes an environment of pranks, juvenile pursuits, hazing and several other shared features. What becomes clear is that most of Wall Street practitioners enjoy a work/party balanced skewed towards the latter with no real consequences to performance. Insularity of being intensely rich allows them to lead irresponsible lifestyles without the risk of any moral comeuppance.
This book doesn’t strive to teach any big lessons, or provide any inspirational takeaways, just enables you to gawk in awestruck wonder at the disparity between Wall Street and the rest of us mere mortals.
A moralist would find trouble making this book without puking but the rest of us shouldn’t deny ourselves a bittersweet chuckle.
4.5/5
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Draman Victor - A happy member of the Dangala Bookclub at our last meeting
