Book Blurb:
Bea Abramovitz has a gift for math and numbers. With her father, she studies the burgeoning Wall Street market’s stocks and patterns in the financial pages. After college she’s determined to parlay her talent for the prediction game into personal and professional success. But in the 1920s, in a Lower East Side tenement, opportunities for women don’t just come knocking. Bea will have to create them. It’s easier for her golden-boy twin brother, Jake, who longs to reclaim all their parents lost after fleeing the pogroms in Russia to come to America. Well intentioned but undisciplined, Jake has a charm that can carry him only so far on Wall Street. So Bea devises a plan. They’ll be a secret team, and she’ll be the brains behind the broker. As Jake’s reputation, his heedless ego, and the family fortune soar, Bea foresees an impending crash that could destroy everything if she doesn’t finally take control.
My Review: 4.25 stars
The Trade Off by Samantha Greene Woodruff was not only an interesting and absorbing story about the 1929 stock market crash, but it was also an ode to feminism.
Unabashedly, I can share that I know very little about the stock market. I loved that I learned so much through this historical fiction novel and the many Instagram posts that the author shared to help educate the newbies, like me. Have I heard the terms bull and bear market? Absolutely, and yes, I know what they meant, but she taught me WHY they were called bull or bear markets.
Bea was a fabulous character whose smarts were unparalleled. She was brazen in her determination to be a stock broker and it was heartbreaking to see the blatant misogyny at play. Her blind loyalty to her brother showed that she was numbers smart but didn’t necessarily see the small stuff happening under her nose. Bea and Jake really relied on each other as they were under the strict watch and keep of their immigrant parents. Their brains worked quite differently as Bea was cautious and studious, while Jake was all charm and risk.
The friends Bea made along with their significant others made for a good and loyal group of friends. I loved the relationships between them all. Portraying Jewish characters from the “wrong” side of town was an important thread to explore in the novel. I loved Bea’s mother as she doted on Jake, while not knowing his get-rich-quick schemes would be their potential downfall.
I am certain there will be plenty of good fodder for book clubs to dig into with this one. Knowing that the story is based on a real person adds even more depth to the story. Note: I also really liked the author’s first novel, The Lobotomist’s Wife, another one in which I learned quite a lot. Check it out!
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