For about the first half of this book it is not really clear where we are going, which did make it a little less “sticky” off the line. The Rask story as a standalone is not particularly special and its connect with the autobiographical draft is not immediately clear. Thankfully, the stage-setting does not wear out its welcome and when Ida’s perspective introduces the connection it feels like an earned twist. It quickly becomes a complex detective game with a satisfying reveal at the end.

Part of what makes the novel so successful is how reasonable it would be to believe any single account of the historical story of Andrew and Mildred Bevel. Each story successfully justifies its perspective on these characters. It is also interesting how all the stories are about capital and the wielding of capital. The Rask story is about a tycoon who wields wealth to make more wealth, even at substantial cost to the stability of the market. The autobiography is about Andrew applying wealth to impose his will on the world, erase public perceptions of his life that are not to his liking and fill in the gap with his own narrative. Ida’s memoir is about a being exposed to the world of wealth from the outside and juxtapositioning it against an anarchist anti-capitalist upbringing. Finally Mildred’s diary communicates her struggle with being the mastermind behind the plan, but due to her gender, being unable to be the face of the plan due to societal gender roles and norms.

The point being made here about wealth having an strong force over narrative and perception is not novel on its own, but what makes it work here is the tightness of the story telling and the tiny bits and pieces we are encouraged to reflect back on after being presented with new evidence and perspectives. The theme of trust at the center of the novel is as important as ever to reflect on. It shows how public perspective and narrative can be bought and the danger of trusting those stories without critical analysis. It is also not the last of an infinite series of self-important capitalist mongrels messing up the world for the rest of us while pitching themselves as the hero.