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Closing Costs
Seth Margolis has crafted a page-turner that does for today's real estate market what The Bonfire of the Vanities did for the stock market of the eighties. When Peggy Gimmel decides to sell the apartment she bought decades ago for a few thousand dollars, she's thrilled to discover that it's worth almost $2 million. But her sudden windfall triggers a cascade of unexpected events and plunges her into the dizzying orbit of Lucinda Wells, one of Manhattan's most successful and ruthless real estate agents. Peggy's not the only one at Lucinda's mercy. There's the technology entrepreneur struggling to salvage his sinking company while gut-renovating his home. The socialite exiled from Park Avenue to the pull-out sofa of her parents' West Side apartment. The illegal immigrant amassing a fortune printing money. The clueless widow trying to unload a world-class collection of fake artwork. These are just some of the characters whose lives intersect in unlikely ways, all of them nearly overwhelmed by the rocketing real estate market and the hard-charging broker who holds the keys to their futures.
As he interweaves these often suspenseful and frequently comical stories, Margolis captures the zeitgeist of a cultural moment, keeping us turning the pages with the rise and fall of his characters' fortunes.
As he interweaves these often suspenseful and frequently comical stories, Margolis captures the zeitgeist of a cultural moment, keeping us turning the pages with the rise and fall of his characters' fortunes.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published August 8, 2006
31 people are currently reading
46 people want to read
About the author
Seth Margolis
14 books42 followersSeth is a writer whose most recent novel, THE SEMPER SONNET, will be published on April 19. He is the author of six earlier novels, including LOSING ISAIAH, which was made into a film starring Halle Berry and Jessica Lange.
Seth lives with his wife, Carole, in New York City. They have two grown children, Maggie and Jack. Seth received a BA in English from the University of Rochester and an MBA in marketing from New York University’s Stern School of Business Administration. When not writing fiction, he is a branding consultant for a wide range of companies, primarily in the financial services, technology and pharmaceutical industries. He has written articles for the New York Times and other publications on travel and entertainment.
Seth lives with his wife, Carole, in New York City. They have two grown children, Maggie and Jack. Seth received a BA in English from the University of Rochester and an MBA in marketing from New York University’s Stern School of Business Administration. When not writing fiction, he is a branding consultant for a wide range of companies, primarily in the financial services, technology and pharmaceutical industries. He has written articles for the New York Times and other publications on travel and entertainment.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
May 15, 2019
This was an entertaining tale about the bizarre lives of wealthy New Yorkers (also the almost-wealthy, the formerly rich, and the on-the-outside-looking-in working class) affected by the New York real estate bubble/dot.com bust of the early 2000s. Written 13 years ago, within that era, Closing Costs was a flippant look at those heady times. With both wit and compassion, Seth Margolis artfully examined ruthless social-climbing, the shakiness of life "at the top," losing everything (dot.com heartbreak), courage to face a new day, and accepting yourself. I reveled in the edgy, fast-talking, and moneyed Manhattan culture stunned by 2000's economic woe. I enjoyed the intersecting of families of different social classes. I even enjoyed the stock market investment talk, despite not comprehending a word of it.
It's a shame I didn't know about this book way back in 2006, it's publishing year - a year within that famous decade. It would have been a fitting read.
It's a shame I didn't know about this book way back in 2006, it's publishing year - a year within that famous decade. It would have been a fitting read.
February 11, 2023
From flip phones to fax machines, this book will take you back to dot-com bubble mid-town Manhattan where real estate is king and the stock market rules. Lucinda Wells is the bold, savvy broker who seems to have bought and sold every New York City high rise apartment at least once. Within her orbit are clients who gain and lose fortunes as the story unfolds.
Barnett Grantham is arrested at a charity fund raising event by officers of the Securities and Exchange Commission. He is accused of pocketing $30M from a fund he manages. His mortified wife Lily is forced to move out of their plush apartment and move in with her parents, Peggy and Monroe, after Barnett flees the country.
Rosemary Pearson, an antiques appraiser, is mom to infant twin boys. Her husband Guy is facing intense scrutiny while stock in his internet-porn-supporting company, Positano Software, drops precipitously, wreaking havoc within their social and business circles.
Author Seth Margolis holds a Master of Business Administration degree and so he writes convincingly about the financial markets and their connections to the real estate market. The characters are well drawn; the author has an outrageous sense of humor describing their predicaments. Ancillary characters include attorneys, FBI agents, a taxi-driving counterfeiter, an irascible renovation contractor, and a longtime housekeeper who may provide answers to key questions.
An entertaining read with a great sense of place. New York City residents and fans will feel right at home within it’s pages.
Barnett Grantham is arrested at a charity fund raising event by officers of the Securities and Exchange Commission. He is accused of pocketing $30M from a fund he manages. His mortified wife Lily is forced to move out of their plush apartment and move in with her parents, Peggy and Monroe, after Barnett flees the country.
Rosemary Pearson, an antiques appraiser, is mom to infant twin boys. Her husband Guy is facing intense scrutiny while stock in his internet-porn-supporting company, Positano Software, drops precipitously, wreaking havoc within their social and business circles.
Author Seth Margolis holds a Master of Business Administration degree and so he writes convincingly about the financial markets and their connections to the real estate market. The characters are well drawn; the author has an outrageous sense of humor describing their predicaments. Ancillary characters include attorneys, FBI agents, a taxi-driving counterfeiter, an irascible renovation contractor, and a longtime housekeeper who may provide answers to key questions.
An entertaining read with a great sense of place. New York City residents and fans will feel right at home within it’s pages.
April 25, 2012
Audiobook. Chicklit goes corporate. When the trials of insider trading and dot.com stock busts hit, only contractors and real-estate agents win. Entertaining enough, although the addition of a graphically portrayed internet pornographer was a bit odd in what would have otherwise been a story about socialites and their ups and downs. I don't think that the male author realized that his audience would be primarily female. Not an author I would seek out again, but I was happy enough to listen to the book.
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July 17, 2009Wall Street & the housing bubble set in NYC. Characters range from a real estate agent, a dot.com entrepreneur, a corner store, society pages, Au Pars, former lovers, new parents, a suspected embezzler, counterfeiters, a taxi driver, T-men, antique professionals, a stockbroker, investors, etc., all interwoven into a marvelous six-degrees-of-separation plot!
June 27, 2010
My primary issue with this book is that the vast majority of the characters are not likable. Therefore, it is difficult to wish for anything positive to happen to them. There's one exception - the older couple - but that wasn't enough to carry the book. The characters are also not so abhorrent that I could really wish ill for them - I mainly just felt slightly to moderately negative.
July 26, 2007
An enjoyable read, particularly for anyone who knows how competitive the NYC real estate market is.
Might also be of interest to anyone who enjoyed the short-lived "Six Degrees" that had aired last season as many of the characters' lives begin to intertwine as they buy/sell/trade up, etc.
Might also be of interest to anyone who enjoyed the short-lived "Six Degrees" that had aired last season as many of the characters' lives begin to intertwine as they buy/sell/trade up, etc.
January 12, 2009
This was a mildly interesting book about a random group of wealthy people in Manhattan whose lives interesct through real estate. How they end up is both interesting and a bit depressing in some cases. This could be classified as an anti-wealth book.
May 1, 2010
Several New York City couples lives' cross paths as they move around the city. Financial gaain, real estate highs and lows, and living as an elite are the primary focus. The story starts slow so give it a few chapters if you decide to check it out.
September 15, 2015
Perusing the shelves of my local satellite library and thought this, "well this could be entertaining and relatively mindless." But I was wrong. This book isn't relatively mindless - it is totally mindless. I'm a shelter magazine/blog junkie and reading addict but this book could cure both.
October 7, 2016
the characters are unsympathetic, for the most part. the plot is boring. and there is climax; no denoument. the story just ends. ny real estate intersecting with greedy, pushy real estate agents doesn't make for a good read.
August 8, 2007
A light and funny book if and only if you are intensely interested in the NYC real estate market - but who isn't?
September 13, 2010
Mother recommended this book. It was just OK to me. She loved it. Lots of fancy real estate in New York City.
January 12, 2013
Shallow people ala "Real Housewives."
April 4, 2013
Fun, fast, frivolous...but hey-that's okay once in a while, right????
January 27, 2014
Had a hard time holding my interest.
July 17, 2014
Totally surprised by how much I enjoyed this book.
October 30, 2014
Money can change a person's personality. I was so caught up with the changes in the characters that I couldn't put the book down!
October 27, 2014
reminds me why i will never live in nyc
March 25, 2016
Good enough to finish; fun read, nothing objectionable, wouldn't suggest to a friend.
January 22, 2017
Enjoyed this book...sometimes a bit too much "money market" investment type talk which I am not too familiar with but a good story line and easily linked all the individuals together
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews