Customer Reviews

Love and Money

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

In Love & Money Michael Thomas seems to emerge from a soulscape somewhere in between Harold Robbins and Dominick Dunne. Or is it Antony Trollope and James Grant (of his beloved `Interest Rate Observer')? In profiles appearing in New York Magazine, the New York Observer, and other mostly local press, a portrait emerges of a Michael Thomas born in New York City to a life of opportunity and privilege who made the most of it...a thoroughbred with no tolerance for the come-latelys who defiled his great city with their money-grubbing opportunism in the latter part of the last century. Over the years he has spoken out on behaviors that many found distasteful, but were hesitant to decry; in Love & Money, he echoes some favorite themes: Of what value is a `social life' if you have to pay for it? Is the pursuit of money what society has become? Whither love and family? Michael Thomas followed the comings and goings of the `haves' of New York incisively and viciously through the eighties and nineties in his Midas Watch column in the now [seriously]-defunct New York Observer. Who could forget his "Four Horsemen of the Hamptons Apocalypse" (if I recall correctly, Ron Perelman, Martha Stewart, Peggy Siegal, and that bullet-headed restaurateur)? He managed to capture the essence of the era, and that is why his column was followed so voraciously by so many. Another writer emerged from the Observer a superstar, but look what she has wrought? Michael Thomas, a cherished treasure to long-time readers, has outdone himself with his latest New York story, a book that will please long-time and new readers alike.

The protagonist of Love & Money, Clifford Grange, might be Michael Thomas' alter-ego, the creator of a grand, artistic film derided as racist by critics...echoes of Mr. Thomas' experience with his mega-novel, Hanover Place? But then, keep reading and it appears as though Grange, aged in his early fifties in the early-2000s, is rather an idealized version of Mr. Thomas (or maybe one of his children?)...someone who espouses many of the same views about class, money, marriage, fidelity, and somehow manages to remain faithful to them against all temptation. Mr. Thomas also takes on the delicate topic of fault versus no-fault divorce and describes the nuances masterfully. His portrait of the Supreme Court is prescient given the recent appointment of Sotomayor, and his profile of a bull-dog divorce lawyer with a hidden intellectual side is brilliant. He is surprisingly easy on another main character, Belle Villers, the female scion of a Southern grocery conglomerate; could he have based her on the Wal-Mart heiress who snatched Asher Durand's 'Kindred Spirits' out from under New Yorkers' noses to Mr. Thomas' vocal and undending dismay? Well, there is an implication of murder, so he's not that easy on her. There is a rich climactic scene in the U.S. Supreme Court with cameo appearances by some of media's leading lights, after which the reader will savor a surprise ending. So buy this book now, and then demand that Mr. Thomas write a memoir, and that a compendium of his Observer columns be published immediately!

Intriguing, behind-the-scenes account of movers and shakers in high places, warts and all, as they maneuver for profit and power: This rattling-good story brings the reader into a high-stakes situation where the rich and famous game one another with moves and counter-moves--and kept me turning pages as the plot unfolded in surprising twists and odd turns. Michael M. Thomas, a smart cookie who knows the worlds of high finance, art and divorce law, tells an entertaining, fast-moving tale of sex, scandal and suspense with wit, a few morality lessons and sharp comments along the way.

From the hot beginning (whew!) all the way to the Supreme Court, this book was a helluva ride -- really entertaining but brainy in a way that stuck with me. I gave it to my husband -- something for us to talk about!!!!

Do yourself a favor, and buy this terrific book with One-Click or express delivery, so that you can do what I did: which is to devour it in one long gulp of a read. Yes, it's a page-turner, and excellent at that, but "Love and Money" is also beautifully written, clearly told, and elegant throughout. To read it I took a break from a William Dean Howells novel, and I think Michael Thomas compares well to that master. He understands a vast number of subjects, from the media and law, to merger and acquisition finance, and the magic of this book is that the excursions into the Supreme Court or state politics detract not at all from the racy narrative at the core of the novel. I love the informed voice of the lawyer, Arthur Jekyll, the Marlow of divorce lawyers. Indeed the names of the all the characters, from Constance Grange to Belle Villers, echo those that you might find in Hardy or Dickens. Here's a novel that should be required reading in our law, business, and finishing schools. I promise: this is a book that you will recommend to your friends. And with any luck it will soon be a movie.

If you're a big fan BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES or SEX AND THE CITY, you'll love LOVE AND MONEY.

Smart, a great read, insightful social commentary on the craziness of New York City, and a juicy plot. I read it in one day.

I really enjoy Michael M Thomas' work but this book was a dud. It didn't live up to the promise of the premise. While it gave a good portrayal of male and female business friendships, it could have done a better job exploring marriage, empty nest syndrome, marital laws, infidelity and forgiveness. I finished the book feeling disappointed about what it could've been. I'd expected more financial intrigue but the author summed the book up nicely at the end with no big twist, as he usually does. And there were too many pop culture references, which mean that this book will be ineffective in 3 years.

I ordered Michael Thomas' Love and Money along with Pat Conroy's South of Broad in the same package. I read Mr. Thomas' book first. Both books are packed with dense and delicious prose - the kind that you don't want to read quickly or skim over. The sentences just roll around in your memory; the descriptions keep resounding in your mind for the second and third enjoyment. Here is an example of a character description: "hardly a reptilian glitter one would expect; the mouth's a plus, too: perfectly average, without that snapping turtle downturn that lips tend to curve into after a few decades of biting off other men's nuts."

I won't give away the plot of Mr. Thomas' book; however it a sweet commentary on modern culture that is ironic, wry, funny, and substantive all at the same time. the characters are particularly well developed and the plot moves briskly. The author is obviously well versed in many areas: law, finance, marriage and divorce, art history, and politics. If you want a great read, get this book.

With a stack of much-anticipated books already at my bedside, the early reviews of "Love and Money" immediately sent this one to the top of the pile. While not anticipating 'great literature,' I was at least hoping for a compelling well-written "society" yarn that blended plot and characters into a page-turning climax. Sadly, I have received none of those. Thomas's overworked effort is neither Wolfe nor Dunne; it's a labored attempt to stuff 300 pages with a never-ending supply of irrelevant celebrities, tony brand-names and the titles of artworks no doubt grabbed from the Internet. Worse, the "triumphant" Supreme Court scene is a specious, over-worked premise that carries no weight, no interest and no conclusion. Apparently Thomas cuddled up to a few lawyer buddies in the interest of "research" and produced a legal arguement that is so flat, so rambling, that it's hard not to take the advice of an earlier reviewer and simply skim it. The 'one star' ranking is my reward for this time-wasting plod from an author that simply has no compelling voice.

I expected this to be like a Dominick Dunne book. It started out like that- but eventually became a treatise on divorce and constitutional law, and oh yeah, there's some part about the Catholic church in all that. I hate courtroom scenes, and this book culminates in a Supreme Court argument. The blurbs and jacket copy on the book lead one to expect a well-written, fun Hollywood novel, and it's not one. Mr. Thomas writes well and the characters are well developed, but it was a really strange plot that I didn't care about.