Lake Success

Hm. Das ist jetzt echt schwer zu sagen. Ich mag eigentlich Road Trip-Stories sehr gern, und der Road-Trip Teil, bei dem Barry im Bus skurile Typen wie blondierte schwarze Schönheiten oder einäugige Mexikaner trifft, hat mir auch mit am besten gefallen.

Der Teil, der in der New Yorker Hedgefond und "Intelektuellen"-Szene spielt, war aber sehr fern von allem, was ich so kenne - und ehrlich gesagt, kam mir die ganze Szene extrem blasiert vor. Vielleicht ist das ja bewußt satirisch überspitzt - kann ich aber nicht beurteilen.

Und die Beziehnungsgeschichte von Barry zu Frau, Kind und Exfreundin war jetzt auch eher nicht so, dass sie mich wirklich hätte fesseln können.

Will sagen: Das gedruckte Buch hätte ich vermutlich abgebrochen, ist zu wenig Roadtrip und zuviel überkandieltes Hedgefond-Gelaber für meinen Geschmack - dafür gibt es also maximal 2 von 5 Punkten.

AAAABER: Ich hatte ja die Hörbuch-Version, und Shenja Lacher als Sprecher liest einfach nur GRANDIOS! Er verleiht jedem Charakter die Stimme, mit der er meiner Ansicht nach sprechen würde, ohne dass es aufgesetzt wirkt oder gekünstelt - das gibt glatte 5 von 5 Sternen für den Vorleser!

Macht also insgeamt doch gute 3 von 5 Sternen - und jetzt geh ich mal suchen, was Herr Lacher sonst noch so gelesen hat!

Wow. Lake sucesses has much to say. The central character is Barry, a hedge fund manager with bad problems-- legal, marital, and emotional. His son has been diagnosed with severe autism, which has put stress on his home life, and his business dealings might get him in serious trouble. So.... Barry is running away. By Greyhound, without a cell phone or credit cards. He envisions this as an On the Road type of adventure (he also fancies himself to be the literary sort). And he does have an adventure. Through his eyes, the author manages to depict life outside Barry's bubble in both sympathetic and satirical ways.

Meanwhile, his wife Seema is having her own crises and adventures. Seema's surroundings might be opulent, but her life revolves around her son's needs and therapies. And yes, it's lucky that she can afford this. She's conflicted about this wealth, not so secretly despising her husband's profession, and mourning the youthful decision she made to give up a law career for marriage and motherhood.

The important backdrop behind this story is the Trump campaign of 2016. After the election late that year, many mourned, many were shocked and scared, but for those whose day to day life is a struggle, the political world has nothing to do with them. Barry meets some of those people on the bus, people whose lives are not going to be changed by any tax cuts. Does this change Barry? That question is ripe for discussion.

This is a thought provoking story with an intricate plot and well-developed characters and back stories. I recommend it highly.

Amusing, and elicits the occasional wry chuckle. The characters felt two-dimensional and underdeveloped which, I suspect, is intentional -- this is a satire, after all. Still, I never bought into any of it, and that made it rather un-compelling. I'll likely won't remember reading this book a couple of months from now.