Western Alliances
A Novel
by Wilton Barnhardt
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Pub Date Aug 01 2023 | Archive Date Aug 15 2023
Description
From the New York Times-bestselling author of Lookaway, Lookaway, Wilton Barnhardt’s Western Alliances is a vivid portrait of a wealthy family set against the backdrop of the 2008 financial crisis. This laugh-out-loud, darkly funny novel follows the Costa family—whose members are every bit as richly absurd as the characters in HBO’s Succession.
Salvador, the patriarch, runs one of Wall Street’s biggest banks the summer before everything collapses; Roberto and Rachel, his two children, have never worked a day in their lives; and Lena, his ex-wife, is a scheming hypochondriac. Part travelogue, part epic family drama, the novel follows Roberto and Rachel across Europe as the two dilettantes come to terms with their father’s choices and the repercussions of his actions.
Oozing with his signature satire and biting wit, Barnhardt invites readers on a literary romp from an elegant Paris apartment to a hilariously-inept London hotel, ancient churches and crypts to gleaming Mediterranean coasts, hot dog stands in Providence, RI to the best places in Manhattan, and terrifying encounters in the Serbian countryside to dangerous liaisons in Moscow, as two grown-up rich kids are forced to come of age at last. In Western Alliances Barnhardt he delivers an un-put-down-able saga examining privilege, loyalty, ambition, and what family members owe to one another.
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781250090003 |
| PRICE | $29.00 (USD) |
| PAGES | 400 |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Reviewer 378873
Western Alliances by new to me author W. Barnhardt, published by St. Martin's Press, is a full-length, stand-alone novel. A witty and fun read, that took me a minute to get acquainted with.
Roberto Costa and his travels, especially his travels through Europe had me in knots. Witty and fun, even when they're full of cliches, had me in knots at time. Like descriptions of food in Gemany -I know for a fact, they eat more food than weisswurst and drink more than beer- I enjoyed reading this book, 4,5 stars.
Jean P, Reviewer
A wild romp across Europe with playboy and “dilettante” Roberto Costa. Populated with colorful characters who will, at times, make you laugh out loud, like his scammer mother, his sister Rachel with whom he has a love/hate relationship and myriad lovers of both persuasions. Roberto’s carefree lifestyle is financed by his father, Sal, who has made his money as a bond trader, the boring stepchild of high finance through astute investing for his clients and an outrageous TV financial advice show. Without warning, the financial crisis of 2008 looms and the high flying lifestyle comes crashing down, along with other serious life experiences.
The long and detailed travelogue descriptions of Roberto’s jaunt through countries and cathedrals was a slog for me; however that said, this is a very well written book. Thank you St. Martin’s Press for this advanced copy.
Rubie C, Reviewer
Western Alliances by Wilton Barnhardt is a fun and compelling character-driven novel.
Barnhardt’s writing is engaging and very well done. I was immediately hooked and once I started I didn’t want to stop.
This one did not disappoint. The characters are so true to life that I could see them as clearly as if they were in the same room. The characters were winning and terribly flawed a that same time. Which made this story even more interesting. He has a way of making all of his characters compelling and memorable.
I really didn't want to do anything except read it, and then was so sorry when it ended.
This skillful writing, funny in places and very entertaining story is one that I’ll recommend to contemporary fiction readers. It was beyond entertaining.
And they weren’t kidding when they mentioned that these characters were just as richly absurd as the ones in HBO’s Succession tv show. I loved it.
"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."
Thank You NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!
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