Nowadays, if you pretend belonging to the middle class it is almost impossible to not count among your friends at least one start-up lawyer or a successful media star. The psychology and challenges of those people are an interesting topic to consider and in my efforts to better understand them, I pick up in the last weeks two related books.
May friendship privail
The Priviledged is a slow paced investigation into friendship, from teenage years to early adulthood. Three girl friends brought together by the random mysterious social accidents are getting back in touch when their excentric star and deeply unhappy part of the trio, Amanda, is going through deep troubles. They pretend now of being grown-ups, with a career behind, but mostly they all of them, at different levels victims of their own problematic relationship with their parents and emotional distress. Most of the story is going backwards, an investigation into the near past, with details that create suspense and mystery in understanding the last piece of the puzzle: How and where is Amanda? Even though the ending is far below the expectations of the suspense skillfully created, I enjoyed the writing and realistic overview into the world of high-end people more or less accidentally on the top of the ladder and their educational ambitions. With a life 'so much scrutinised, so little respected', personal drama are unfolding and the book outlines precisely those torments and pains.
Rating: 4 stars
The killer in the law office
Take one very high-stakes law firm with top notch clients in Silicon Valley and hard working lawyers with a billable record of more than 24 hours the days. And a young lawyer, with a serious academic credential and an ambitious family, but who secretly dreams about opening his restaurant while watching food shows of Julia Child. When one of the firm partner is mysteriously killed, the relatively mediocre Howard is starting his own investigation, also charmed by a bold lady investigator.
I loved the suspense and the build-up of the mystery, as well as the path to discover the killer. However, I've found that the personality of Howard is not as clearly portrayed as its role in the investigation would have requested. Also, the language is too pretentious and sometimes sounds like a short Dada-ist play, but probably this is how law-life sounds like sometimes.
As a summer, weekend read, it is good enough to keep you entertained.
Rating: 3 stars
Disclaimer: Books offered by the publishers via NetGalley.com
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