Bank : A Novel

Every July, a fresh crop of college graduates clad in spiffy new suits fills the offices of investment banking firms, each newly minted analyst longing for big money while sacrificing anything that resembles a normal life. In this enormously entertaining first novel, a lovable, stressed-out guy nicknamed Mumbles tells the story of how he and his cohorts not only struggle to survive corporate purgatory, but also find satisfying ways to strike back at the system. Fueled by a constant flow of Starbucks coffee, Mumbles and his friends take on such tasks as secretly filming a despised colleague's boardroom romp with an assistant, creating footage they plan to broadcast at the company's holiday party. But true gratification comes only when they actually start standing up to the bank's evil minions, those who have no qualms about piling on a weekend's worth of work on a Friday afternoon. With sharp comedy, episodes of inspired hijinks, and its glimpse into a world of fleeting elevator romances and not-so-infrequent nervous breakdowns, BANK is a touching and lively novel that is, at its heart, about figuring out what really matters in life. In this entertaining debut novel, young investment bankers struggle to survive a world of sadistic bosses, nervous breakdowns and elevator romances. Every July, a fresh crop of college grads in spiffy new suits arrive at top investment banks—where their big money dreams collide with the realities of office life. In this entertaining debut novel, a stressed-out guy analyst nicknamed Mumbles recounts how he and his cohorts struggle to survive corporate purgatory while finding ways to strike back at the system—and maybe, just maybe, eek out some sort of personal life. Fueled by a constant flow of Starbucks coffee, Mumbles and his friends secretly film a despised colleague's boardroom romp with an assistant, creating footage they plan to broadcast at the company's holiday party. But true gratification comes only when they finally stand up to the bank's evil minions who routinely pile on a weekend's worth of work on a Friday afternoon.