Back in a writing class years ago, we were asked to jot down on a piece of paper what our private obsession, not what we were writing about in class. I can't remember what I said, but I do remember what I wanted to say but didn't: money. I don't consider myself greedy or materialistic, but I like to have my money in order. I like to track how much interest I am paying on my mortgage. I save money so I don't need to borrow when it comes time to buy a new car or get a house repair. I make sure my extra money is well invested. Before we bought a house, I went to the library and checked out a handful of books on getting a mortgage. After we got a house, I read a dozen books on investing. Andrew Tobias is my favorite financial planning writer and I love his The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need. (He also wrote the memoir, The Best Little Boy in the World, about growing up gay. I read it in college, but then it was under Tobias' pseudonym, John Reid.)
I am reading novel Nest by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney. I read some great reviews about it, and since I am reading a ton lately, I though I'd get it. This is a book about money and family, and so far I love it. The four siblings were set to inherit a modest sum when the youngest turns forty. One daughter is banking on this money to fund her kids' college educations. Another hopes to use the windfall to spare his flailing business. A crisis arises and the money is in jeopardy. What are these people to do when then money they had been hoping for disappears?
Money is intimate. People don't talk about to their friends, neighbors, kids and other family members about how much money they make or the overall picture of their financial situation. I think some people would rather talk publicly about their sex life instead of announce the balance of their checking account.
Why hasn't anyone written a novel about money before? I am not talking about Jane Austen discussing Mr. Darcy or Mr. Bingley's fortune, nor the poverty of Oliver Twist in Dickens. What about the modern middle ground? This book seems to fit the gap. I am curious how it turns out.
This blog is about the little and big thoughts that pop into my head. I once read that when Flannery O'Connor walked into a bookstore, she would want to edit her published works with a red pen. In the digital world, we have the luxury of tweaking things up after we've hit the publish button. I can be a perfectionist/procrastinator, where waiting for the ideal means little gets done. Here I will share what is not--and likely will never be--perfect.
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