All I Could Get: A Novel

by Scott Lasser

Barry Schwartz has two healthy young children, a strong marriage, a house in the Colorado mountains, and a job that lets him ski a hundred days in a good year. But at thirty, still paying off student loans and struggling to make the rent, he begins to think it isn’t enough.All I Could Get is the story of the ultimately harrowing journey into the heart of New York’s financial world that Barry and his family take on the way to discovering what exactly is “enough.” With the voice of a born storyteller and an intimate knowledge of the business of high finance, Lasser gives us stunning scenes that capture the wry banter of the morning commute, the hardball diction of Wall Street, and the rhythms of a good marriage as it hits the skids. A novel of fierce momentum, studded with instances of piercing tenderness and clarity, All I Could Get is an indelible portrait of a family driven to a reckoning, of a man poised on the brink of terrible power and unspeakable loss, of the crushing effects of envy, and of the devastating force of the American dream.

Genres: Fiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Scott Lasser is the author of four novels: Battle Creek, All I Could Get, The Year That Follows, and Say Nice Things About Detroit. His non-fiction has appeared in magazines ranging from Dealmaker (for which he wrote a regular book column) to the New Yorker. He splits his time between Los Angeles and Colorado.

Reviews

[Edward · Rating 3 out of 5]

Horace Greeley said, “Go West, Young Man,” Lasser’s novel reverses this advice showing a young man going east – to a Wall Street brokerage firm where it’s possible to make big money. Barry is the young man, age 30, already living in the west (Colorado) which has its advantages, such as skiing and outdoor living but with nagging financial worries that aren’t going to get better, he’s convinced he needs to make a change.

He gets a job in a New York brokerage firm, relocates his wife and two children to a suburb 40 miles north of the city, and does indeed begin to make money, well into six figures. But it’s tough demanding work and means long hours as well as two long commutes every day. When he’s at home in the evenings and on weekends he’s exhausted.

The novel concentrates on his work activities, the author obviously knowing details of this high-pressure environment. Any understanding of the trading transactions went over my head, but it’s not that important to understand them, only to get the feeling of what’s it like to be buying and selling millions of market shares. It means constant attention and decisions about what’s in front of you on the computer screen, so no wonder Barry is exhausted at the end of the day.

It's a relatively short novel, somewhat predictable in its outcome Barry, along with everyone else who works at his firm, doesn’t feel he’s making enough money, resents others who make more, and is caught up in office intrigues to better his position. In the midst of this there is an attractive woman with whom he has an affair, all the while feeling guilty about cheating on his wife.

His wife is dissatisfied, being left alone to deal with their children and begins to ask if this lifestyle is worth it. His response: “Rachel, I don’t know what you want from me. I went to business school, got this job, am making the money. I just don’t know how I could have done better.”

A significant part of the novel occurs when he has a conversation with an old friend and Steinbeck’s GRAPES OF WRATH comes up. His friend comments, “Good book but it misses the point. The point is not that we’re all Tom Joad. The point is not to be Tom Joad.” And yet in a variation, that’s what Barry ends up being. Tom Joad tried to escape the poverty of the l930’s Oklahoma Dust Bowl by heading west to the golden state of California and finds that the promised land is elusive. In the same way, Barry heads for the gold of Wall Street and finds finds failure as well. Not financial, but moral and spiritual failure.

In an epilogue-like ending, Barry attempts to return to his former life, but like Tom Joad he finds himself on the road with no certain end in sight.

[Anita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Barry Schwartz, bright guy, family man, ski bum, gets tired of living hand-to-mouth. Gets his MBA and drags family to NY and is quickly swallowed up by the "All I can get" ethos. Ultimately betrays his friends & family and even his own values in pursuit of "enough", an elusive target, hard to define. This book felt a little too pat. Wife is strong character yet doesn't seem to feel any need to help out financially so while the main objective was satisfied, I found aspects unsettling. My favorite character was Gretchen. She seemed to have the clearest motives and understanding of her own life and the choices she made. This book is pretty good, not great, but it kept me turning the pages.

[Amy S. Griffith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well it seems fitting that then final book to complete my 2023 52 Book Club Reading Challenge ends like this. I enjoyed this novel as it addresses the Wall Street greed, work/life and marriage balance, and what it truly means to be happy. Bit of unanswered ending though, which is disappointing given the detailed story throughout this novel.

[Sarah Becker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Went to the library without a list and basically just randomly yanked this off the shelf because the kids were squawking to go to the children's area. Was a little flat and predictable but a good read.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome read! Picked it up on a whim at the dollar store and read it in one day.

[Liam Wady · Rating 3 out of 5]

Predictable but entertaining. You will never see me working at Wall Street, that’s for dang sure.

[M C · Rating 5 out of 5]

About his experiences at Lehman. All his books are very good but Battle Creek might be the best.

[David Kessler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wonder how much of story is how Scott Lasser actually lived his life. Sounds so real.
A fine, short novel about Barry and Rachel and their two children and the difficult family choices that all families must make.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have wanted to read Scott Lasser for a while. This book was really good and interesting. I didn't understand much that was happening "on the desk" but I really didn't have to. You could feel the energy and speed and activity that happens on Wall Street just from Lasser's storytelling. But I also really enjoyed the time outside of the job, with his family. Without spoiling anything, it made some of the events hard to read because the main character, Barry, is actually really likeable and you tend to feel sorry for him, all while seeing how evil money on Wall Street is and what it does to people.

[Dave · Rating 2 out of 5]

Im sure this book would be more interesting if you knew (or cared) about the ins and outs of bond trading. Man moves his family from Colorado to New York to get a job on Wall Street. Works long hours, has an affair, decides the only way to get ahead is to screw people over in his office. Makes enemies...can you see it coming....wife leaves him and takes family back to Colorado. Man quits job and moves back to Colorado in an attempt to reconciliate. Would have been better if he would have killed himself at the end.

[Stephanie Dahlberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book because it was given to me by a good friend whom I respected. After quite a few pages, I called her to verify that, indeed, I would enjoy this book. So much of the story was the convoluted passages through the financial world. Having NO brain for this arena and NO interest in it, I was having a hard time wading through the pages of All I Can Get. We all know that balancing work and family is very tough. Lasser handles it realistically but I don't want to read that kind of downer...but I did...and wouldn't again.

[Mom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Didn't understand all the intricacies of stock market trading but the book held my interest. It's really a love story......the love of a man for a woman and a man for his job.........In the end the woman wins.
As it should.....of course.

[Vicky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though you knew where this had to be going it still sucked you in. I loved the writing, and I don't say that lightly. Also I was moved to tears when things start--let's say changing--in his life.

[Naama · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was personally a very slow read for me, but Lasser definitely shows Barry as an individual who immerses himself in his job, and ends up neglecting what's important in his bland life- his family. The message sent was clear, but I wasn't executed excitingly.

[CLM · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slightly above average suspense which avoided some cliches.

[Louvaine · Rating 2 out of 5]

A slightly disgusting cautionary tale about greed--and it's effects. Very Wall St. I read this years ago, but given the economic circumstances, it's very current.

[Jodie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Depressing and a loathsome main character.

[Jackie Simons]

Read 2/03

[Becky · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my favorite by this author.

[Vincent Lam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the peek into the bond trader world.

[Phyllis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the information about Wall Street. Man has to choose between a high pressure job where he never spends time with his family or losing them entirely .
Power plays on trading floor and office maneuvers make for interesting reading. What goes around comes around.
Will look for Battle Creek as I hourly enjoyed Lasser.

[Emlikescake · Rating 2 out of 5]

I felt this whole thing - the characters, the story - was just so... meh. Bland. I finished it only because I hate not finishing books, but I did not care in the least what happened, or who it happened to.