Familiar, J. Robert Lennon

This slim novel is a haunting tale of identity and memory, by an author new to me, J. Robert Lennon. Elisa Brown is driving home from her annual visit to her son's grave, as the story opens. She notices that a crack in her windshield has disappeared. By the time she returns home she has become aware of many other changes. The basic outlines of her life are the same, but important things have changed. She keeps this disturbing event a secret from her husband, and gingerly navigates her same/changed life: a different job, a marriage counselor that she did not have before, and two sons, who are now estranged, and both alive. She struggles with the fear that she has gone mad and in desperation visits the world of pop-physics to learn about parallel universes. But, she is inextricably living in this one, and slowly comes to terms with who she is and her old memories. We all are dealt surprises in our lives, some more dramatic than others. These can change our lives and who we are. If this has not happened to you, then continue to enjoy your good fortune! Familiar casts a troubling look at this phenomenon.

On the Floor, Aifric Campbell

I rarely read novels or non-fiction based on the world of finance & investments. I had enough of the real thing for 35 years, and I have other interests! But, this book was well reviewed and I gave it a shot. Aifric Campbell spent 15 years at Morgan Stanley and became the first woman managing director on their London trading floor. She left to earn a PhD in creative writing and now teaches. The novel is set in 1991 and is the story of a successful trader, Geri Molloy, and her journey to get there. It captures the frat house, mostly male, world of trading at that time, & what that meant for a smart woman who wanted to succeed.  She evokes this world with humor, and also leavens it with Molloy's judgments of the highly paid, heavy drinkers working the phones. Campbell also develops the trader's broken family, her years of hiding remarkable mathematical abilities, & the viciously serious manipulations of her biggest client. One weakness in the story was Molloy's destructive drinking after a heartbreak, which became cloying. The ending of the novel is a bit unlikely, but choices made on the last page redeem that. There are flashes of great writing, & I look forward to reading Campbell's next novel.