The Darlings

The Darlings (2012) by Cristina Alger. A view from the top as the Darlings, a wealthy New York clan, are affected by the 2008 crash. The crisis, for them, is precipitated by the apparent suicide of Morty Reis, a financier who has been running a Ponzi scheme and is about to be found out. His disappearance shocks the Darlings and their friends and business associates, and precipitates a series of actions which lead to the downfall of the Darlings' dynasty. I had a hard time figuring out why I should care about the Darlings. They weren't particularly likable, and they had certainly had it good for a long time. Perhaps this book was meant to arouse schadenfreude in the reader. The author certainly seems to show an intimate knowledge of her subject matter -- the Wall Street environment, high finance, etc. But it just wasn't very interesting to me. Grade: B-