You don’t have to be a finance bro to enjoy the investment of your time in Leverage, a dark and droll tale about money and power with the focus on what some people are willing to do to attain them…and just how far people will go to protect both. Amran Gowani crushes this debut novel with a deep dive into Wall Street depravity and ill-gotten gains, the corrupting influence of wealth, and the lucrative trafficking of illicit information.
Ali “Al” Jafar is a star at infamous hedge fund Prism Capital, when he loses $300M on one investment in a single day. Instead of firing him, the firm’s founder decides to back Al into a corner with a ridiculous scenario – either Al makes back the $300M in 3 months or he will frame him for insider-trading and have him sent to prison. Battling depression and desperation, Al gets involved with a shadowy figure named Simon, who is willing to sell the type of information that Al needs to make big moves in the market and save his own ass. But when Al realizes that even succeeding at this insane game won’t truly set him free, he decides there’s only one thing he can do…turn the tables on his rich and powerful boss.
Gowani does a brilliant job of exploring the finance culture and its cutthroat nature while maintaining the humanity of some characters and highlighting how others sold their soul a long time ago. Leverage entertains with stories of misconduct, debauchery and megalomaniacs, but balances those out with an examination of being the “other”, mental health challenges, and the dynamics of the different types of relationships in people’s lives. Resulting in a story with depth that is equal parts crazy intense and quite profound. Leaving a lasting impact, you’ll be ruminating on for days to come.
Additionally, while this book is a work of fiction, it will have you thinking more skeptically about wild swings in stock prices and if anyone is behind the scenes pulling the strings. Doing what great novels do – blurring the lines between make-believe and the real world.
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