Human Capital

Human Capital

by StephenAmidon (Author)

Synopsis

It's the spring of 2001, the Connecticut suburbs are looking fresh and opulent. Everyone is driving great cars, building beautiful houses, living the American Dream. But Drew Hagel has spent the last decade watching things slip away - his first marriage, his real estate brokerage, and his beloved daughter, Shannon, now a distant and mysterious high school senior. He is in danger of losing his place in the affluent suburbs once ruled by his father, when an unexpected friendship with Quint Manning opens Drew's eyes to vast wealth. What Drew doesn't know is that Manning has problems of his own - his midas touch is abandoning him, his restless wife, Carrie is growing disillusioned with all the money, and his hard-drinking son, Jamie, Shannon's classmate, is careering out of control. As the fortunes of three families - parents and teenagers - collide, a terrible accident involving Jamie and Shannon gives Drew the leverage he needs to stay in the game. But what are the consequences of speculating with human lives rather than money? In this astonishing, compelling novel, Stephen Amidon chronicles the American suburban dream with devastating accuracy.

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 384
Publisher: Penguin
Published: 05 Jan 2006

ISBN 10: 0141018291
ISBN 13: 9780141018294

Media Reviews
Amidon nails it. . . . Human Capital is terrific. -- The Washington Post Book World A splendid novel with the satiric bite of Bonfire of the Vanities . . . terribly well-realized. -- The Seattle Times Amidon's novel is a wonderfully wicked satire on a twenty- first Century gilded age. . . . His book is more than just one family's story. It's a portrait of a whole society caught in the dead end that everyone insists will lead somewhere after all. -- Chicago Tribune A gripping, troubling, and incisive portrait of the way we live now . . . has the ambitious sweep and narrative power of a nineteenth-century novel. --Tom Perrotta, author of Little Children
Author Bio
Stephen Amidon has written five previous books, including The New City. He worked in London for twelve years before returning to the United States, where he lives with his wife and children.