Explore our new BookBrowse Community Forum!

Book Summary and Reviews of Buying In by Laura Hemphill

Buying In by Laura Hemphill

Buying In

by Laura Hemphill

  • Critics' Consensus:
  • Readers' Rating:
  • Published:
  • Nov 2013, 304 pages
  • Rate this book

  • Buy This Book

About this book

Book Summary

It's October 2007, and twenty-two-year-old Sophie Landgraf is a small-town girl who hopes her new job as a Wall Street analyst will be her ticket to the American elite. She knew that giving her life over to the bank would be hard on her boyfriend, family, and friends, but she hadn't realized it would send her into a spiral of self-doubt. After four months in this fast-paced, male-dominated world, Sophie is floundering-and things are about to get worse.

Boom times can't last forever. With the crash looming and layoffs inevitable, Sophie's attractive but ruthless boss Ethan Pearce pulls her into a multibillion-dollar merger that could make or break their careers. The problem? Ethan, devoted family-man Vasu Kumar, and straight-talking Ohio executive Jake Hutchinson each have very different reasons for advancing the merger, and Sophie doesn't know who to trust. When the deal goes awry, she must decide how far she'll go to get what she wants.

Set inside the fortresses of high finance, Manhattan's after-hours clubs, and factories in the Midwest and India, this is the high-powered, heartfelt story of a young woman finding her footing on Wall Street as it crumbles underneath her. Written by an industry veteran, Buying In tackles what it means to be a woman in a man's world, and how to survive in big business without sacrificing who you are.

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Reviews

Media Reviews

"The world of high finance provides a thrilling setting for Hemphill's fine debut about survival in a cutthroat business where millions of dollars are at stake and the wrong comment can cost you your job." - Kirkus

"The author, who paid her own dues at Lehman Brothers and other firms, clearly knows her way around Wall Street, but, more importantly, can make us care about her characters' successes and failures, against a formidable backdrop rife with competition, backstabbing, and soul-searching." - Publishers Weekly

"I read Buying In in one sitting. It sucks you into an adrenaline vortex, obliterating everything but the deal." - Anne-Marie Slaughter, author of Why Women Still Can't Have It All, is the Bert G. Kerstetter '66 University Professor of Politics and International Affairs at Princeton University and the former Director of Policy Planning, United States Department of State

"With assured prose, a compulsively readable plot, and insider savvy, Buying In offers a front-row seat to the downfall of Wall Street, with a terrific young heroine who outmans the men without sacrificing her soul." - Ayelet Waldman, author of Red Hook Road, Love and Other Impossible Pursuits, Bad Mother and Daughter's Keeper

"Buying In is an absorbing and affecting study of high finance and the toll it takes on one's non-capitalistic identity, with much to say about gender in the workplace, from a bright new literary talent." - Teddy Wayne, author of  The Love Song of Jonny Valentine and Kapitoil

"Laura Hemphill deftly pulls off a hat trick, offering readers an insider's clear-eyed take on the subprime lending crisis, a chilling look at the lives of women in banking, and a briskly entertaining coming of age story." - Joanna Smith Rakoff, author of A Fortunate Age

"A stunning debut which is sure to catapult the author onto must-read lists." - Allison Amend, author of A Nearly Perfect Copy

This information about Buying In was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

Write your own reviewwrite your own review

Therese X. (Calera, AL)

Amazing insight into a powerful world
Sophie Landgraf, a brilliant Yale finance graduate from a small Midwestern town is hired into a high-powered New York Wall Street firm as an Analyst, a "spreadsheet intern" collating documents and trends of large companies who show promise for Sterling Company to enrich their reputation and their coffers.  Plunging herself into the job, Sophie pulls all-nighters, and stokes herself with coffee to keep her foot in the door, hoping the Managing Director will take her seriously. 

At the beginning of the novel, her intense 24 hour job feels claustrophobic as she sleeps in her cubicle just long enough to take a breather when no one else is around. Then, to have another go at analyzing data and coming up with ideas to present to her reserved, perfectionist Director, Ethan Pearce, a handsome fifty-ish widower who shows no emotion or charisma because it would distract from his raison d'être--work. Sophie's immediate boss, Vasu Mehta, struggles between the demands of the Company and the remonstrations of his wife  who keeps reminding him his mother in India could die any moment, as if he could pick up and go there any time. His only comfort is the occasional slip outside with his pack of Parliament cigarettes. 

Oblivious to her boss's troubles, Sophie, young and hopeful, is delighted to be in the job she's always wanted working in high banking.  She tries to balance her personal life with the job, but Sterling expects their people to be perpetually on call, and she has to disappoint those she cares for, especially her widowed father who is unaware his daughter is buying his art sculpture under an assumed name to keep him pursuing his craft. He doesn't understand that she actually likes her job despite the unreasonable demands because she feels she can eventually succeed in the corporation. Sophie's naiveté and common sense surprises everyone,  including their client, at a big teleconference with her idea for modeling a merger between two metal companies. The project has personal and global  effects, with an eye-opening view of how companies are run and how far people will go and what values they will discard for power and huge amounts of money.

"Buying In" is a fast-paced and engrossing account of  Wall Street and corporate America at the edge of the sub-prime fiasco. Sophie Landgraf is a young but determined character who keeps the story together and often tempers the greed and heartlessness of layoffs and betrayals. Fighting to stay true to herself,  uncluttered by the ego and paranoia of her male-dominated world, she reveals what women are capable of in big business and finance.

Neil W. (Tavares, FL)

First Rate in Many Resprcts
I found "Buying In" to be a first rate novel in many respects. Debut author, Laura Hemphill, demonstrates rare and wonderful accomplishments in her writing: a compelling plot, well-organized prose and character development that actually helps us understand the individual and group psychology behind current affairs. And yes, it's a "page turner" too. I feel the issues raised in "Buying In" can be generalized far beyond Wall Street, USA and the international banking industry. For those of us who continually wonder how our social institutions and political processes could have reached their current state, a careful read of this book can help us think about better ways to proceed. Hurray for Laura Hemphill and please read and pass-along "Buying In."

Evonne L. (Lakeport, CA)

Buying In
I enjoyed reading this novel from beginning to end. With a very engaging story line, well defined characters, realistic motives, and some worthwhile truisms tucked in, the author tells a modern tale that is relevant, informational and entertaining all at once! The heroine in the book, Sophie Landgraf, struggles to fit in being true to herself in a corporate world full of deceit, questionable strategies and smoke and mirrors. Although I have experience in the mortgage industry, the book provides a great basic understanding of investment banking without going over the head of the reader; although it will be especially appealing to those employed in a financial career, anyone should be able to read and enjoy the book without getting lost in the setting of her world of work.

I love the personal details of Sophie's relationship with her father, her boyfriend, Will, and her best friend. All of these relationships provide insight into her character and endear her to the reader. I love the way her honesty and genuine instincts in dealing with a client earns her the respect deserving of good behavior. It is very interesting the way the author weaves Sophie's boss, Ethan, into the story as a possible love interest and then writes an appropriate and satisfying conclusion.

There were also a few great truisms in the book that made it an insightful pleasure to read. I liked, "pretend like you can handle it until you can actually handle it." A reference to "believing in the goodness of human nature" was also a great line in keeping with the theme of the book.

Writing from the perspective of different characters was done exceptionally well and kept the reader engaged and informed without getting confused.

I really enjoyed this book and definitely look forward to more from Laura Hemphill.

Rebecca K. (Chicagoland, IL)

Exhilarating ride on Wall Street
Debut novelist Laura Hemphill's "Buying In" is a compelling look behind the (fictional) scenes of the crisis on Wall Street. Both timely and intriguing, the novel is not only for readers with background knowledge of the banking industry. Told through alternating viewpoints of a recent college grad working as an analyst, a midlevel banker of foreign descent, a managing director of an industrial group, and the CEO of a struggling company, the story is fast-paced and surprisingly relatable. "Buying In" is a great read, and Hemphill is a promising author to watch.

Arden A. (Longboat Key, FL)

Buying In
Full disclosure: I have never worked on Wall Street nor in the investment industry. But I am aware that the best and the brightest are hired out of the top schools for large salaries, and then asked to devote themselves night and day to the firm.

Laura Hemphill's first novel leads us through the day to day trials and tribulations at one of those New York investment firms through first person accounts by three employees: Sophie, the naïve 22 year old new hire, Vasu, her boss, and Ethan, her boss's boss. I thought the characters were well developed, and the story line mostly feasible. It's a ruthless business, and ruthlessness contributed to the eventual demise of the the fictional firm. Sophie's naivete does not last long in this world she has chosen. The college boyfriend falls by the wayside, but the relationship was not meant to be in the new reality of Sophie's life. And the ending proves that Sophie learned her lessons well. Great book, good read.

Carol B. (Orland Park, IL)

Cut Throat Business A Great Read
I am not one who finds business very interesting topic, but this book was a wonderful read. I found it hard to put down. The characters were very well developed and I found I had different likes and dislikes for the characters. This book really showed how business is "every man for himself" and there is really no such thing as a friend in the business. You had to watch your back. I especially enjoyed watching Sophie develop from a green newbie into a business person who learned how to get what she wanted without sacrificing her feelings for other people. Definitely would recommend this book to others and my book club.

...14 more reader reviews

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

More Information

After graduating from Yale, Laura Hemphill spent seven years on Wall Street, where she worked at Lehman Brothers, Credit Suisse, and Dune Capital. Visit her at buyinginthebook.com from where you can also connect with her on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

More Author Information

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

More Recommendations

Readers Also Browsed . . .

more literary fiction...

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Top Picks

  • Book Jacket: Graveyard Shift
    Graveyard Shift
    by M. L. Rio
    Following the success of her debut novel, If We Were Villains, M. L. Rio's latest book is the quasi-...
  • Book Jacket: The Sisters K
    The Sisters K
    by Maureen Sun
    The Kim sisters—Minah, Sarah, and Esther—have just learned their father is dying of ...
  • Book Jacket: Linguaphile
    Linguaphile
    by Julie Sedivy
    From an infant's first attempts to connect with the world around them to the final words shared with...
  • Book Jacket
    The Rest of You
    by Maame Blue
    At the start of Maame Blue's The Rest of You, Whitney Appiah, a Ghanaian Londoner, is ringing in her...

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket

    Pony Confidential
    by Christina Lynch

    In this whimsical mystery, a grumpy pony must clear his beloved human's name from a murder accusation.

Who Said...

Don't join the book burners. Don't think you are going to conceal faults by concealing evidence that they ever ...

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

F the M

and be entered to win..

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.