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There are currently 20 member reviews
for Buying In
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MN Reader
learning the ropes
A young, ambitious woman lands her first post-college job as an analyst with a New York investment bank in 2007. She learns quickly that trust in anyone is a dangerous thing and that in order to succeed one must pretty much give up one's humanity (one must buy in before one can sell out). The irony, of course, is that the book ends just before the banking world implodes, so the reader knows some things about her future that the character does not. The book could use some good editing, but it is well-written enough to keep the reader's interest.
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Karen M. (Great Falls, VA)
A familiar tale with a twist
Laura Hemphill's debut novel, Buying In, does not following in the tradition of the Nanny Diaries, The Devil Wears Prada or Bridget Jones. It is not chick lit. But it does share some of the elements of these books in its character; a bright, ambitious twenty-two year old from a small west Massachusetts town comes to the big city to make money in a prestigious New York investment bank. The year is 2007, right before the banks collapse. Sophie, the main character, plays haunting tapes in her head of lectures by her disapproving parents, best friend and hipster boyfriend. The latter has no interest in her obsession pursuit of the vapid glitz and glamour she craves surrounding her new job and workmates. The question presented is will she "Buy In" to this world, and abandon everyone else? Even after experiencing the profession's ugly underbelly?
The author follows the old adage "write what you know." Like Sophie, Ms. Hemphill graduated from Yale and spent seven years in the N.Y. banking world. If you are not familiar with this life, this book will provide plenty of fast-paced action and investment banking background to acquaint you with this profession and it's ego, greed, dishonesty, risks and sacrifices. And it shares the rush that comes from the deal. Her story rings true to me. Even her addiction to copius amounts of Starbucks to work 23 hours per day, seven days per week, for months, in order to make the deal happen. The book ends as the first investment bank, Lehman Brothers, fails.
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Janet P. (Spokane, WA)
I didn't entirely buy in
Laura Hemphill tells a great story. If I had more than just one category with which to rate this book I would have given Ms. Hemphill a 5 for story, a 4 for quality writing and a 2 because of use of details that are quite hard to follow for a non-wall-street-wise reader. I struggled through overuse of long sections telling of subprime lending, along with a plethora of terms that are more than likely easily understood by stockbrokers and bankers but definitely not understood by me. The father/daughter relationship was believable and familiar to me as a mother of daughters who struggle to be different than their parents. However again, I had to spend too much time plodding through the wall-street terminology to understand the whole picture. The ending didn't improve my take on the book.
I won't ruin it for readers, but the ending was disappointing yet believable to me. All in all, I did keep reading but there were definitely parts that I really wanted to skip through, so an average rating seems realistic.
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Angela L. (Gypsum, CO)
You Have to Buy in Before You Can Sell Out
"You have to buy in before you can sell out" is a quote from Sophie, the protagonist of Buying In, who has just begun her career as an analyst in a Wall Street investment bank. It's an attempt to explain her devotion an often unrewarding, life-consuming job. Sadly, the reader has a much harder time buying in to Sophie's story: how did she get this job and why should we care whether she keeps it?
As a former woman in banking, I really wanted to like this book. And being set in the months leading up to the financial crash of 2008 gives others a glimpse into the failure of a system that shook lives globally. I would have loved to see the setting developed more fully. The author's prose is clear and often sparse, which sometimes left me feeling as if I was reading only the outline of the story.
I did enjoy how the book presented a diverse cross-section of characters in addition to Sophie. Overall, an average read.
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Joan P. (Owego, NY)
Buying In
Buying In gives the reader a not very pretty picture of the people involved in our banking system. Sophie, the ambitious girl from a small town, finds that it takes dedication and sacrifice to succeed in big business. As the story progresses, we meet Ethan her hard driving boss, Vasu and his family from India, Sophie's father ,her friend from home, Kim. The story takes us through the ups and downs of a merger that the bank is managing and financing. Loyalties are challenged, jobs are lost, lessons are learned, and lives are changed. Or are they? The story was interesting but it was hard to find a sympathetic character I the whole book.
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Elizabeth G. (Cincinnati, OH)
Buying in Clueless
I have been interested in finance and economics all of my life and was very excited to read this novel (and was a Literature major). Unfortunately it was horrible. There is one protagonist, but the story is told from the POV of a few main characters. The characters are two-dimensional at best. The obnoxious stereotype of one immigrant is particularly disgusting. The protagonist's fetish would be impossible in any office. Anyone would know this right away. I understand it's a novel, but are we to suspend disbelief completely? As far as financial details: Excel spreadsheets, a model, and due diligence. Wow! Way too hard to believe she is so naive after four years at Yale (did she not have any internships?), so insecure, and so clueless. No friends from college except the boyfriend? I get she's from the "small town," but it's the 21st Century! It's not cute or sweet or heartwarming that she's so lost. It's insane. Route 71? I live in Cincinnati. It's Interstate 71--hope your editor gets to that; and they wouldn't be driving out of downtown to go to lunch. As for all the tangential relationships, they add nothing. I don't think writing is this author's passion or talent. Definitely change the genre to fantasy or Young Adult. It reads more like a soap opera or a slight thriller with some sensationalism. And really mostly, I was just insulted. And the ending is icing on that cake--I wanted to throw it out the window. Really? There? Really, that is hilarious. So maybe it's a comedy.
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