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moirastone's review
3.0
Very fine contribution to any This is the Way We Live Now, post-September 11th reading list.
offbalance80's review
2.0
Tom Perrotta hasn't written a book in ages. I was so jonesing for a fix, that when I read the description of Union Atlantic I thought it would be a perfect thing to tide me over. I was wrong. While the plot setup of quiet suburban desperation set against bigger wheels in motion was very Perrotta-esque, it lacked the heart, humor and intelligence that made works like Little Children and Joe College so satisfying. Had Haslett lightened up just a little bit, maybe allowed a little more humor into the story, and not been so intent on making it A Very Serious Novel Of Important Things, it might have been more engaging, and less dry.
lisa_mc's review
2.0
Adam Haslett is nothing if not prescient. Inspired to write a novel after reading a book about the Federal Reserve 10 years ago, he finished “Union Atlantic” the week that Lehman Brothers collapsed.
His novel centers on a large — dare we say “too big to fail”? — investment bank, Union Atlantic, unbound from some regulations and barely legally skirting others, led into ruin by the greed-driven, high-risk dealings of a couple of rogue employees. The Fed is forced to deal with the teetering bank through hushed-up, closed-door deals to prevent a domino effect.
Meanwhile, one of the awful greedy bankers (he has no redeeming qualities at all) has torn up a forest to build a big, gaudy house; his old-timer neighbor sues over it; a high-school boy the neighbor is tutoring gets involved sexually with the banker; and the neighbor's brother, who happens to be chief of the NY Fed, has to deal with the bank fallout and his sister's possible dementia. And the banker's boss's son is friends with the high school boy, and they all live in the same little town. It's all quite cozy -- a little too coincidental.
The novel is well written and complex banking transactions are explained in a mostly straightforward way, with enough detail to make them comprehensible but not so much that the story bogs down.
However, good writing isn’t enough to overcome two major flaws with “Union Atlantic.”
One is that the main characters aren't likable -- the banker is soulless, the neighbor speaks in screeds, and I couldn't quite figure out what the boy was doing in all of this except serving as a way for the banker to spy on the neighbor.
The other is that the story is not all that gripping. Unlike many novels with plots that strain the imagination, this one is too believable: We’ve just lived through these events. As such, it’s hard to muster outrage for fictional greedy bankers who bring down venerable institutions and get off scot-free when we’ve already spent a lot of outrage on the real ones. Maybe it's just too soon.
His novel centers on a large — dare we say “too big to fail”? — investment bank, Union Atlantic, unbound from some regulations and barely legally skirting others, led into ruin by the greed-driven, high-risk dealings of a couple of rogue employees. The Fed is forced to deal with the teetering bank through hushed-up, closed-door deals to prevent a domino effect.
Meanwhile, one of the awful greedy bankers (he has no redeeming qualities at all) has torn up a forest to build a big, gaudy house; his old-timer neighbor sues over it; a high-school boy the neighbor is tutoring gets involved sexually with the banker; and the neighbor's brother, who happens to be chief of the NY Fed, has to deal with the bank fallout and his sister's possible dementia. And the banker's boss's son is friends with the high school boy, and they all live in the same little town. It's all quite cozy -- a little too coincidental.
The novel is well written and complex banking transactions are explained in a mostly straightforward way, with enough detail to make them comprehensible but not so much that the story bogs down.
However, good writing isn’t enough to overcome two major flaws with “Union Atlantic.”
One is that the main characters aren't likable -- the banker is soulless, the neighbor speaks in screeds, and I couldn't quite figure out what the boy was doing in all of this except serving as a way for the banker to spy on the neighbor.
The other is that the story is not all that gripping. Unlike many novels with plots that strain the imagination, this one is too believable: We’ve just lived through these events. As such, it’s hard to muster outrage for fictional greedy bankers who bring down venerable institutions and get off scot-free when we’ve already spent a lot of outrage on the real ones. Maybe it's just too soon.
mjanssen's review
3.0
I'm excited to read this after enjoying "You Are Not a Stranger Here," Haslett's debut collection of short stories. I've already encountered a couple of awkward examples of exposition, but much to like so far as well.
hannasaurus_rex's review
challenging
emotional
informative
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
nonna7's review
5.0
Union Atlantic opens with the protagonist, Doug Fanning who witnesses his commanding officer fire on an Iranian fishing boat during the Gulf War, then covers it up quickly and - somewhat - efficiently. This first chapter sets the stage for the Fanning we meet a few years later who has been on a meteoric rise with a financial institution known as Union Atlantic. This once solid commercial bank has been turned into a global financial services conglomerate with a core that is so rotten, it is festering. Surprisingly this is not 2007, but is actually set in the post 9/11 world, a time that was supposed to be a "bringing together" time.
Doug Fanning sees it differently: 9/11 has just sped things along faster, getting us ready for that even worse - if possible time - of 2008 as the financial world teetered and nearly fell crashing to the ground. The New York Times Book Review had a different take on the Fanning character than I did though. The review describes him as an essentially immoral character who tired of taking care of his alcoholic mother. Doug Fanning is worse than immoral.
Many people - especially those from the conservative point of view - see the world in terms of good vs. evil, God vs. Satan. For me there's an alternative that is, in many ways worse: amorality. Fanning is essentially an amoral person. He doesn't believe in good nor does he believe in evil. His world revolves around himself and his needs.
Leaving the navy, he takes the financial world by storm, and in a very short time amasses enough money to buy an expensive tract of land in his home town. He proceeds to build an incredibly ugly and architecturally monstrous mansion in which he barely lives. The rooms remain the sterile builder white, and the only rooms that are furnished are the family room and the master bedroom.
The land on which he has built the monstrosity is next door to an eccentric but brilliant retired history teacher named Charlotte Graves. She is brilliant, but may also be more than a little mad. Her house is falling down around her. She has two dogs who speak to her in the voices of Cotton Mather and Malcom X - an interesting duo!
Her father had donated the land to the town to be used as open space. However, he apparently neglected to include a prohibition of future sale, so the town sells it to Doug who builds his mansion as much to spite those in the town who saw him as worthless because of his alcoholic mother as well as to flaunt his wealth and build up his own self worth. However, he hasn't reckoned with Charlotte who takes him to court to get the land back.
During that period she is tutoring Nate, a bewildered and sad young man, whose mother is hoping that he can pass his AP History class and get into college. Nate has given up on that idea pretty quickly, but he still goes to visit Charlotte every day. Her take on history is both wide and deep although none of what he needs to pass his test is included in her tutoring. Nate's problems also run both wide and deep. He found his father in the woods where he had hung himself after yet another failed business venture. He is also wrestling with the growing realization that he is gay, something that he despises about himself.
This is one of the best written books I've read this year along with "Beautiful Ruins." It's such a genuine pleasure to read a book that is so beautifully written. There is irony, humor and some stern justice meted out. Don't miss it! It's wonderful.
Doug Fanning sees it differently: 9/11 has just sped things along faster, getting us ready for that even worse - if possible time - of 2008 as the financial world teetered and nearly fell crashing to the ground. The New York Times Book Review had a different take on the Fanning character than I did though. The review describes him as an essentially immoral character who tired of taking care of his alcoholic mother. Doug Fanning is worse than immoral.
Many people - especially those from the conservative point of view - see the world in terms of good vs. evil, God vs. Satan. For me there's an alternative that is, in many ways worse: amorality. Fanning is essentially an amoral person. He doesn't believe in good nor does he believe in evil. His world revolves around himself and his needs.
Leaving the navy, he takes the financial world by storm, and in a very short time amasses enough money to buy an expensive tract of land in his home town. He proceeds to build an incredibly ugly and architecturally monstrous mansion in which he barely lives. The rooms remain the sterile builder white, and the only rooms that are furnished are the family room and the master bedroom.
The land on which he has built the monstrosity is next door to an eccentric but brilliant retired history teacher named Charlotte Graves. She is brilliant, but may also be more than a little mad. Her house is falling down around her. She has two dogs who speak to her in the voices of Cotton Mather and Malcom X - an interesting duo!
Her father had donated the land to the town to be used as open space. However, he apparently neglected to include a prohibition of future sale, so the town sells it to Doug who builds his mansion as much to spite those in the town who saw him as worthless because of his alcoholic mother as well as to flaunt his wealth and build up his own self worth. However, he hasn't reckoned with Charlotte who takes him to court to get the land back.
During that period she is tutoring Nate, a bewildered and sad young man, whose mother is hoping that he can pass his AP History class and get into college. Nate has given up on that idea pretty quickly, but he still goes to visit Charlotte every day. Her take on history is both wide and deep although none of what he needs to pass his test is included in her tutoring. Nate's problems also run both wide and deep. He found his father in the woods where he had hung himself after yet another failed business venture. He is also wrestling with the growing realization that he is gay, something that he despises about himself.
This is one of the best written books I've read this year along with "Beautiful Ruins." It's such a genuine pleasure to read a book that is so beautifully written. There is irony, humor and some stern justice meted out. Don't miss it! It's wonderful.
gagne's review
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, War, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Alcoholism and Classism