An Absolute Scandal- Penny Vincenzi

This is a doozy of a book. Like a doozy that takes forever to read. Like a doozy that has a list of characters (with descriptions!) in the beginning that I constantly referred to. But it was good- good meaning that you easily can surround yourself with the characters and you really get to know them. Not all of the characters have extensive arcs or even satisfactory resolutions, but for the main 20 or so, you really get to know them. The plot is interesting, even if a little tough to swallow- big bank plummets there is some Madoff-ing, rich people suffer, wha wha wha. What makes the plot a little tough to swallow is that it’s really hard to care about rich people falling from grace when they got into this whole predicament in the 1st place because they were greedy. Despite this, I did sympathize with the widow who was forced to move in with her awful in-laws or the woman stuck in a loveless marriage for her children, among others. And it was nice to read a novel that so thoroughly immerses the reader into its world, sparing no detail. Plus, I tend to avoid books about finance and the current economic climate (even though the book happens in the late 80’s early 90’s, it’s still very relevant today) so I found the financial undercurrent refreshing.

3 ½ bookworms.