2002-12-05 8:25 a.m.
Snow! What a joyous thing, especially if you don't have to drive in it!
Since I haven't gotten a chance to get my next installment of Ian McEwan books from the library, I started reading another book that I'd taken out along with the others last week. It's by NJ homeboy Gary Krist, whose mild-mannered but witty short stories I've always liked. The central gimmick of this novel is that it takes place in two different centuries and cities, fin de siecle (1600's) London and (1900's) New York. The same characters populate both worlds, and they are all after one thing: quick bucks through speculation.
The two-centuries trick sounds hokier than it is--it works smoothly and illuminates the similarities between the two time periods. Krist is a sharp observer of human behavior, and he throws in a lot of interesting technical stuff about both the modern and ye olde stock exchanges
If this book has a flaw it's that the main character is a little too charmed and charming. Too many, "Hey, kid, I like you--why don't you come work for me" moments. But it's forgiveable since this is kind of a fairy tale.
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