“At that time, it felt as though every deal were doomed to collapse before I’d had the chance to collect my commission. We had already weathered a few months of the economic crisi. Some people were putting a better face on it than others, but one way or another all our lives had changed – or were about to change.”

Behind the gates of the luxurious estates of Cascade Heights live successful businessmen and their wives and children. They have escaped the hustle of Buenos Aires to live in a place where the children can go to the top schools to learn English, the husbands can enjoy the golf course on the weekends and the wives can throw fancy parties.

It’s an ideal life that everyone wants but one that is becoming harder and harder to keep up with as the country is facing a financial crisis.

As the story opens three men lie at the botom of a swimming pool. To explain the tragedy, the story is told mainly through Virginia’s viewpoint. She also lives in Cascade Heights, has a real estate business and has her share of family struggles. Virginia recounts how some of the couples came to live in the Heights and we see that behind the facade of wealth and success every couple hides something. Problematic children, spouse abuse, infidelities, etc., and as the years go by problems deepen and more cracks begin to reveal the truth behind the mansions.

What is perhaps more jarring about the story is the lack of awareness the coules have not just about themselves and their community, but of those members of society who are not in their circle. The wives talk of having fundraisers for the underprivileged but they seem to completely ignore the surrounding community of less affluent people and don’t seem to think twice about what the lives of their maids, gardeners, and other service workers may be like away from their jobs.

A sharp narrative of what keeping up with the Joneses can do to people. The lengths they will go for appearance’s sake not even caring what it is doing to them or wondering if that even makes them happy. A very engaging story I really recommend.

The past couple of weeks I’ve been reading a lot but I noticed that I was just reading one book at a time. Odd for me as I’m used to juggling a few books. But, it looks like I’m getting back into my old habits again because all of a sudden I’ve got three books vying for my attention.

My first read, which is the one I’m almost done with, is Roseanna by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo. This is a Swedish mystery set in the late 60s and I’m getting a kick out of the mention of typewriters, telegrams and cigarette smoking in offices. How times have changed right? I really like how the pacing of this book is a bit more slow. It’s not focused on action but more on the methods used to get the killer. Can’t wait to see how this ends.

Next up is The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery. Everyone’s heard about this one right? This French bestseller features two heroines, one is a suicidal teen and the other a frumpy concierge. I thought I would love this book from the beginning and I hate to admit that so far I’m not loving it. Could this be a case of too high expectations? I guess I’ll just have to keep reading.

Finally the book I was supposed to start over the weekend but am just now starting is Vertigo by W.G. Sebald. I had my doubts about this one as I tried to read another Sebald book years ago and I think I may have a hard time with this one as well. I’ll persevere though because I’m hoping to join in on the book discussion with the Slaves but we’ll see.

So how many books do you have going on now?