Reviews for What Now, Cushie Butterfield?

The average rating for What Now, Cushie Butterfield? based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2015-08-26 00:00:00 Thomas P Timmons Jr What a beautiful little gem of a book this one turned out to be! Kate Jennings’ Moral Hazard is set in Wall Street during the 1990s and tells the story of an outsider — Cath, an Australian “bedrock feminist, unreconstructed left-winger” — who works at an investment bank by day and looks after her ill husband by night. Previously a freelance writer, she’s sold her soul to make big bucks as a speechwriter for the mid-level bank known as Niedecker Benecke. She needs the money to look after her husband Bailey, 25 years her senior, who is in the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s. She knows nothing about finance but she can craft a sentence, although she finds the sexist world — and the politics — of the investment bankers and the communications department a challenge. Her only “friend” in the firm is Mike, a fellow cigarette smoker, with whom she spends her breaks, sitting outside in the plaza sharing confidences. The story, which spans roughly six years, from Bailey’s diagnosis to his death, is told in forthright prose undercut with dark humour. It reads like an insider’s guide to investment banking — its risk-taking, its greed, its unwritten rules, protocols and unfettered belief in the market — based on the author’s own experience working for Merrill Lynch. But it’s also an honest look at the challenges facing those who must look after loved ones with chronic illnesses while juggling their own lives and careers. It’s not hard to see the parallels between both worlds. To read the rest of my review, please visit my blog.

Review # 2 was written on 2020-05-19 00:00:00 Wally Scheidler A strange book in some ways. I have found that protagonists that are touted as having a notably dry or irreverent wit that they employ to negotiate life's difficulties,often come across on page as being closed off, flat and two dimensional. It's like the author has accepted the characters need to protect themselves with humour and the author hasn't got the heart or fortitude to unlock the the character fully to reveal what is really going on underneath. I chose the book because I was looking forward to seeing Cath - the 'wisecracking Australian 'bedrock feminist, unreconstructed left winger' as she launched herself into enemy territory - Wall Street to become a speech writer for a bunch of soulless financial mercenary pigs. I thought this would be exciting and a good contrast to the difficulties of managing her personal tragedy of caring for an older husband who was rapidly succumbing to Alzheimers. Unfortunately there was zero development of the feminist left wing elements of this character as played out in the workplace. The work scenes tended to centre on the opaque asshats she had to work with, rather than revealing her depths as a character and the financial concepts and jargon were laid on so thick I felt like I needed to go away and study the finance market for six months so I could understand what fuck she was talking about. The general theme that emerged revealed Derivatives are the financial equivalent of the Rubik's cube combined Devil's spawn and the whole financial world was heading to hell in a handbasket because of them. Jarringly contrasted were the chapters that covered the pityingly inexorable demise of her elderly husband Bailey. We barely got to know Bailey before he started to slip away from us. It was hard to feel the depth of Cath's, s grief and loss because her relationship with Bailey wasn't brought fully to life before he started to vanish. While the paragraphs detailing Bailey's protracted degeneration were captured tellingly and her writing often quite beautiful with rich, authentic metaphor, Cath often came across as a mechanical narrator. If you have a head for world finance and investment then you might really enjoy this insight into the years leading up to GFC. The writing is clearly on the wall. For me though it felt like there were two unrelated novels thrown together. I just couldn't feel the connection between Cath the speech writer and Cath the wife. Who the fuck was Cath? Who were her friends? Family, when did she ever level once with anyone about the troubles in her life. What was she thinking during all the hell she was going through? Where was the conflicted agony?. I'll leave it there. Whilst not for me, again if you understand the finance world, I'd recommend giving it a go. For you it might be a 4 star. For me only 2.