If you are not interested in or find books that focus on the uber rich to be uninteresting, undeserving of your attention, or irritating, then you should go not further, this book is not for you. I went to college with quite a few people who would fit in nicely with this family, and while I am not fascinated by them, I do see some value in seeing what matters to them because it is them and their money who have a big say in how things happen. You don't have to look any further than the influence peddling on the Supreme Court to realize that it makes a difference for all of us.
And to be clear, I liked this book, because a lot of what follows may cloud the bottom line on that!
The book focuses on the Stockton family of Brooklyn, high net worth WASP buccaneers of New York real estate. They consist of the under intellectual matriarch Tilda, obsessed with tennis and tablescapes; her husband, the amiable Chip, who quietly manages the empire and thinks that literally everyone should understand what their place is without having to be told, and certainly without complaint; daughters Darley and Georgiana; and son Cord. Pampered, naïve Georgiana works for a charity and Darley and Cord have both “married out”. Darley has renounced her trust fund because she refused to present her husband to be with a prenuptial agreement to wed tender-hearted nerdy Malcolm, aviation whiz and a second-generation immigrant of color, while Cord, who works alongside his father, has just married Sasha, a graphic designer from a rough and ready blue-collar Rhode Island family. Sasha plays our culture guide, and is the one voice in the book who is at least figuratively saying WTF throughout the family shenanigans--she loves Cord but just doesn't get a lot of the rest of it. I saw a meme yesterday that said something to the effect that she met her dream guy and thank goodness he is from the same social caste. This book goes a long way to making the truth of that crystal clear.
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