This is an odd, transfixing book that follows the rise of a "charmed couple," Adam and Cynthia Morey, who forge their way up Manhattan's social ranks with their kids, April and Jonas, in tow. It is a tale of the very rich, people who made their money via insider trading, hid it offshore, and then form a prominent charity to do "good works", in essence laundering the money and cleansing their conscience, all with an eye to making a name for themselves.
The Moreys don't seem so bad at first. They care about their children, and about each other. This is not a tale of the rich get rich, and become bored, with life and each other. That is one thing money can do--but we know all about that--Dee is looking for deeper truths.
Aside from family, everyone can be used in the Morely's world. Dee is admirably relentless. Since Adam, Cynthia, and April are astoundingly selfish and limited people, the book feels appropriately constricted, colored as it is by the unsavory banality it depicts. Money contaminates the very language of the narrative, and all who reside in it. The outcomes for April and Jonas are most interesting--they grow up in privilege, but they are rootless. They have no idea what to do with themselves. They cannot find the ground beneath their feet to move forward into meaningful happy lives of their own. The proverbial golden handcuffs at work.
Dee allows each family member to tell their story, which allows for savage satire. The reader is forced to acknowledge that the family is on a path through the wilderness they thinks its a garden. Dee seems to sympathize with his characters, but at every moment is subtly undermining them. The book is subtle and brilliant, one that kept me thinking about it for days.
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