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Ways and Means
In Daniel Lefferts’s searing debut novel Ways and Means, a striving finance student confronts the line between ambition and greed, and the disordered politics of his era.
Alistair McCabe comes to New York with a plan. Young, handsome, intelligent, and gay, he hopes to escape his Rust Belt poverty and give his mother a better life by pursuing a career in high finance. But by the spring of 2016, Alistair’s plan has come undone: His fantasy banking job has eluded him and he’s mired in student debt. In his desperation, he’s gone to work for an enigmatic billionaire whose ambitions turn out to be far darker than any Alistair could have imagined. By the time Alistair uncovers his employer’s secret, his life is in danger and now he’s on the run.
Meanwhile, Alistair’s paramours, an older couple named Mark and Elijah, must face their own moral and financial dilemmas. Mark, nearing the end of his trust fund, takes a job with his father’s mobile-home empire, which forces him to confront the unsavory foundations of his family’s wealth, while Elijah, a failed painter, hitches his wagon to an artist-provocateur engaged on a project that makes the country’s political chaos into a thing of alluring, amoral beauty. As the nation hurtles toward a breaking point, Alistair, Mark, and Elijah must band together to save one another and themselves.
Propulsive, exuberant, and profoundly observed, Ways and Means is an indelible, deeply moving investigation of class and ambition, sex and art, and politics and power in 21st century America.
Alistair McCabe comes to New York with a plan. Young, handsome, intelligent, and gay, he hopes to escape his Rust Belt poverty and give his mother a better life by pursuing a career in high finance. But by the spring of 2016, Alistair’s plan has come undone: His fantasy banking job has eluded him and he’s mired in student debt. In his desperation, he’s gone to work for an enigmatic billionaire whose ambitions turn out to be far darker than any Alistair could have imagined. By the time Alistair uncovers his employer’s secret, his life is in danger and now he’s on the run.
Meanwhile, Alistair’s paramours, an older couple named Mark and Elijah, must face their own moral and financial dilemmas. Mark, nearing the end of his trust fund, takes a job with his father’s mobile-home empire, which forces him to confront the unsavory foundations of his family’s wealth, while Elijah, a failed painter, hitches his wagon to an artist-provocateur engaged on a project that makes the country’s political chaos into a thing of alluring, amoral beauty. As the nation hurtles toward a breaking point, Alistair, Mark, and Elijah must band together to save one another and themselves.
Propulsive, exuberant, and profoundly observed, Ways and Means is an indelible, deeply moving investigation of class and ambition, sex and art, and politics and power in 21st century America.
400 pages, Hardcover
First published February 6, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 155 reviews
April 23, 2024
What a messy, entertaining, yet sometimes quite deep book! I liked this novel about three white gay men more than I thought I would. Ways and Means follows Allistair McCabe, a young, conventionally attractive gay college student who’s goal is to get a lot of money. But when his ambitious plans for a high-rolling banking job don’t work out, he turns to shady work for an enigmatic billionaire who’s motivations are much darker than they may initially seem. Meanwhile, Allistair’s lovers, an older couple named Mark and Elijah, are facing troubles of their own – Mark is at the end of his trust fund and takes a job with his father’s immoral business, and Elijah turns to similarly unsavory work to keep himself afloat amidst his failing relationship with Mark. These three men’s lives twist and intertwine in searing, sexual, and fearsome ways that eventually come to a satisfying climax.
What I liked most about this book was its commentary about growing up poor and intergenerational financial trauma. I skimmed an interview from Daniel Lefferts awhile ago and it seems that he wrote Allistair’s perspective at least a bit from his own experience of not having much money growing up. I found Allistair’s obsession with money – especially in the context of his father’s death and witnessing his mother’s poverty – well-written and emotionally convincing. I also enjoyed how Allistair, Mark, and Elijah all grew as characters. Even though I did find Lefferts’s writing a bit intellectualized at times, to me each of these characters did have a well-earned and meaningful development arc.
I also found the plot and the writing rather thrilling (and even downright scary) in parts. I don’t really see anyone pegging this book as a thriller and I probably wouldn’t either, though there was a suspense element that kept me on my toes. Lefferts’s writing is high quality enough that I felt immersed in the story. I rolled my eyes a bit at the preponderance of messaging about fit, athletic, slim bodies, though I suppose that this messaging was realistic given the intense body dysmorphia and fatphobia in the gay male community.
Overall, I didn’t love this book, but I did enjoy it and think it has interesting themes related to class and queerness. I’m curious what my book club will think!
What I liked most about this book was its commentary about growing up poor and intergenerational financial trauma. I skimmed an interview from Daniel Lefferts awhile ago and it seems that he wrote Allistair’s perspective at least a bit from his own experience of not having much money growing up. I found Allistair’s obsession with money – especially in the context of his father’s death and witnessing his mother’s poverty – well-written and emotionally convincing. I also enjoyed how Allistair, Mark, and Elijah all grew as characters. Even though I did find Lefferts’s writing a bit intellectualized at times, to me each of these characters did have a well-earned and meaningful development arc.
I also found the plot and the writing rather thrilling (and even downright scary) in parts. I don’t really see anyone pegging this book as a thriller and I probably wouldn’t either, though there was a suspense element that kept me on my toes. Lefferts’s writing is high quality enough that I felt immersed in the story. I rolled my eyes a bit at the preponderance of messaging about fit, athletic, slim bodies, though I suppose that this messaging was realistic given the intense body dysmorphia and fatphobia in the gay male community.
Overall, I didn’t love this book, but I did enjoy it and think it has interesting themes related to class and queerness. I’m curious what my book club will think!
June 6, 2024
Alistair McCabe is pursuing a degree in New York to be followed by a career in finance in the hopes of a better life for himself and his mother.
Despite his plans, in 2016 Alistair finds himself deep in debt with no finance job offers. He meets a couple at a bar one night, Mark and Elijah, and begins hooking up with them. Mark and Elijah haven’t had to become adults in the traditional sense, but things are starting to catch up with them now.
Through the couple’s contacts, Alistair accepts a vague job working for a wealthy man. Alistair is chastised for questioning things related to the company’s operations but when he realizes the nature of the actual work, he’s in too far to escape unnoticed, setting off a dangerous chain of events impacting several people.
Ways and Means is a slow burn story exploring ambition, art, class, money, politics, and relationships. The writing was smart, though at times, slightly bordered on pretentious, but not enough to detract from my enjoyment of this story. I appreciated the imperfections of the characters, some more likable than others, yet all with a purpose. This was a great and interesting debut.
Despite his plans, in 2016 Alistair finds himself deep in debt with no finance job offers. He meets a couple at a bar one night, Mark and Elijah, and begins hooking up with them. Mark and Elijah haven’t had to become adults in the traditional sense, but things are starting to catch up with them now.
Through the couple’s contacts, Alistair accepts a vague job working for a wealthy man. Alistair is chastised for questioning things related to the company’s operations but when he realizes the nature of the actual work, he’s in too far to escape unnoticed, setting off a dangerous chain of events impacting several people.
Ways and Means is a slow burn story exploring ambition, art, class, money, politics, and relationships. The writing was smart, though at times, slightly bordered on pretentious, but not enough to detract from my enjoyment of this story. I appreciated the imperfections of the characters, some more likable than others, yet all with a purpose. This was a great and interesting debut.
February 12, 2024
I read for pleasure. I had to stop reading this at page 89, when it became abundantly clear that I was not enjoying the reading experience at all, and it all really started right from the beginning. I wanted to push through, but it just was not to be. Daniel Lefferts novel, needs to have a disclaimer to it and tell the reader to have a thesaurus on hand and at the ready while reading this 380 page novel. This gentleman threw every variation of simple words at the reader, causing multiple breaks to look up words that could have been conveyed in a way most people know.
Unfortunately, Lefferts decided to show his audience that while it is a debut novel, that he wanted to show how pretentious he is. Who was this novel exactly written for? Who was his target audience? If you are not outré, and carry a Masters/Doctorate in Literature, and attended an Ivy League school, you may find yourself deeming this writing out of your wheelhouse.
I did not get to know the characters, therefore, I did not care about them, because I was too preoccupied with looking up words to see what they meant instead of settling into the story.
Lefferts has promise as a writer, but he needs to bring himself down from the clouds and produce something most readers will enjoy, and not have to feel like they are inept because they don’t get his choice of vocabulary. Pretentiousness and arrogance are not good looks.
Some of the words I came across, and have never seen, let alone used in my 51 years on this earth include:
Afflatus
Lugubrious
Bolus
Idee Fixe
Mephitic
So, if you choose to read this, be warned, it is slow, overly verbose, from a debut author who (in my opinion) shut the door in the face of so many readers who may have wanted to read this, but decide to pass after being put through the thesaurus turn style of alphabet hell.
Unfortunately, Lefferts decided to show his audience that while it is a debut novel, that he wanted to show how pretentious he is. Who was this novel exactly written for? Who was his target audience? If you are not outré, and carry a Masters/Doctorate in Literature, and attended an Ivy League school, you may find yourself deeming this writing out of your wheelhouse.
I did not get to know the characters, therefore, I did not care about them, because I was too preoccupied with looking up words to see what they meant instead of settling into the story.
Lefferts has promise as a writer, but he needs to bring himself down from the clouds and produce something most readers will enjoy, and not have to feel like they are inept because they don’t get his choice of vocabulary. Pretentiousness and arrogance are not good looks.
Some of the words I came across, and have never seen, let alone used in my 51 years on this earth include:
Afflatus
Lugubrious
Bolus
Idee Fixe
Mephitic
So, if you choose to read this, be warned, it is slow, overly verbose, from a debut author who (in my opinion) shut the door in the face of so many readers who may have wanted to read this, but decide to pass after being put through the thesaurus turn style of alphabet hell.
February 3, 2024
With its cast of morally grey but profoundly likeable characters, this book skewers the worlds of finance and high-profile contemporary art while addressing themes of generational trauma and redemption.
Full review on BookBrowse: https://www.bookbrowse.com/mag/review...
Full review on BookBrowse: https://www.bookbrowse.com/mag/review...
September 15, 2025
Combines the suspenseful action of a thriller with the character studies and thought provoking themes of literary fiction while it skewers the worlds of finance, politics and art. Sexy, witty and gay too.
July 21, 2023
Thanks very much to NetGalley for the advance copy of this novel.
I wanted to like it. I wanted to like it a lot. I loved the idea of the LGBTQIA representation in this novel, but in a way that wasn't simply a "gay" novel. Love that it is literary fiction with LGBTQIA characters and themes, but meant for a larger audience. Unfortunately, though, I feel like it's simply about 40% too long. My goodness, the first third of the book felt impossible, I simply was ready for something to move forward, but chapter after chapter of back story, build up, description, family history, etc. etc., before moving the plot forward, was simply too much for me. So much felt like it could have been weaved in within the plot, not simply standalone chapter after standalone chapter. In may ways, it felt like a number of short stories pushed together, and then a longer story trying to weave it all together, but at the point that I had largely lost interest.
That being said, the writing demonstrates great talent with words. There is a great book here, and I expect one from this author, but this just didn't make the mark for me.
I wanted to like it. I wanted to like it a lot. I loved the idea of the LGBTQIA representation in this novel, but in a way that wasn't simply a "gay" novel. Love that it is literary fiction with LGBTQIA characters and themes, but meant for a larger audience. Unfortunately, though, I feel like it's simply about 40% too long. My goodness, the first third of the book felt impossible, I simply was ready for something to move forward, but chapter after chapter of back story, build up, description, family history, etc. etc., before moving the plot forward, was simply too much for me. So much felt like it could have been weaved in within the plot, not simply standalone chapter after standalone chapter. In may ways, it felt like a number of short stories pushed together, and then a longer story trying to weave it all together, but at the point that I had largely lost interest.
That being said, the writing demonstrates great talent with words. There is a great book here, and I expect one from this author, but this just didn't make the mark for me.
August 17, 2025
i don't want to rate this low but it started off strong then i lost interest midway through
March 29, 2024
This writer definitely has talent; his characters were interesting and the story had a unique arc and themes. He definitely leans into exposition and a lot of explaining who feels what way and why. His dialogue felt contrived in many places. Also, this is an example of drowning in a wealth of adjectives.
I know I’m being nitpicky, though, and I’ll probably read what he writes next. I can see him putting out some really good stuff in the future. A strong debut, if perhaps not an amazing one.
I know I’m being nitpicky, though, and I’ll probably read what he writes next. I can see him putting out some really good stuff in the future. A strong debut, if perhaps not an amazing one.
December 25, 2024
I love messy gays. Jay, I’d follow you anywhere.
A fun, wild and erotic ride that had my heart racing at times while also still being deep and thought provoking. Incredible debut!
A fun, wild and erotic ride that had my heart racing at times while also still being deep and thought provoking. Incredible debut!
July 14, 2023
Thank you NetGalley and Abrams Books for sending this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
”As long as money remained the currency of human relations, and as long as it was able to pool in few hands and drain from many others, it would always implicate anyone who touched it in its cruelty.”
How on earth is this a debut novel? I found that Daniel Lefferts writes with a blistering erudition attributed to the most seasoned of authors. I absolutely loved this book! With his surprisingly witty commentary on capitalistic America, gay characters who had tangible depth, and dry (yet also laugh-out-loud) humor— Lefferts kept me hooked and gasping for the next page.
The halfway point in this book is where things really start to intensify. Eyes glued to the pages, jaw open and practically dragging on the floor, I needed to know what happens next. Ways and Means may start off a bit slow, but it snowballs into a clusterf*ck of political and economic derangement.
Lefferts manages to bring a magnifying lens to a variety of topics— socioeconomic status, class, radical politics, power, sex, queer love, art— and magnifies them tenfold so you’re able to discern every dark and dirty detail about them.
“Add up everything you’re willing to give, subtract what you might get back, and whatever’s left over is the measure of your soul.”
At its core, Ways and Means is expertly crafted and has unsurprisingly wormed its way onto my “Favorites” shelf. When physical copies are available, you can guarantee I will be purchasing one, perhaps even two so I can eagerly gift it to my friends or family! I will reread this.
”As long as money remained the currency of human relations, and as long as it was able to pool in few hands and drain from many others, it would always implicate anyone who touched it in its cruelty.”
How on earth is this a debut novel? I found that Daniel Lefferts writes with a blistering erudition attributed to the most seasoned of authors. I absolutely loved this book! With his surprisingly witty commentary on capitalistic America, gay characters who had tangible depth, and dry (yet also laugh-out-loud) humor— Lefferts kept me hooked and gasping for the next page.
The halfway point in this book is where things really start to intensify. Eyes glued to the pages, jaw open and practically dragging on the floor, I needed to know what happens next. Ways and Means may start off a bit slow, but it snowballs into a clusterf*ck of political and economic derangement.
Lefferts manages to bring a magnifying lens to a variety of topics— socioeconomic status, class, radical politics, power, sex, queer love, art— and magnifies them tenfold so you’re able to discern every dark and dirty detail about them.
“Add up everything you’re willing to give, subtract what you might get back, and whatever’s left over is the measure of your soul.”
At its core, Ways and Means is expertly crafted and has unsurprisingly wormed its way onto my “Favorites” shelf. When physical copies are available, you can guarantee I will be purchasing one, perhaps even two so I can eagerly gift it to my friends or family! I will reread this.
February 21, 2024
I loved this book - it hit on a lot of themes I like to sink my teeth into, including the very specific prices of living, debt, and money money money in our new guilded age. The sex is plentiful and outrè without ever really being sexy (which seems to be kind of the point). The twists are just twisty enough to not require too much suspension of disbelief. I liked the slow reveal of this being a novel very much concerned with 2016 and all the horrors that entails - that’s as much as I’ll say about that. Great dovetailing of the political and financial with the art world.
The thrills this gave me reminded me a lot of reading Bath Haus, which I also loved. The author even managed to land the plane with a solid ending - that’s feeling more rare to me in contemporary fiction. This was the rare lit fic that I could see generating a sequel, which I would happily snap up. Bonus points for nailing the good, bad and ugly of Binghamton! Would definitely recommend!
The thrills this gave me reminded me a lot of reading Bath Haus, which I also loved. The author even managed to land the plane with a solid ending - that’s feeling more rare to me in contemporary fiction. This was the rare lit fic that I could see generating a sequel, which I would happily snap up. Bonus points for nailing the good, bad and ugly of Binghamton! Would definitely recommend!
February 24, 2024
“Indecipherable din of cars”?? The sounds of cars can be deciphered? Henry James he is not. Good example of the decline of American fiction. The writing is overwrought; the thesaurus seems to have been consulted for every sentence. It’s a pompous debut.
January 17, 2025
One of the worst books I've read to completion in a while, although it had some good bits. Would've been better as fan fiction or a showtime miniseries [derogatory]. I really feel like he had something here that he just never grasped with both hands
The entire plot is just two white boys continuously refusing to realize the obvious truth of where wealth comes from, then play it off as shocking revelation that "capitalism bad". It could be a satire, if it didn't seem so obvious that the author (I'm sorry!!! I do think you have talent!!) wanted to fuck his main character.
Also all the Binghamton hate, and the mother as this saintly victim was so cringe. Maybe it's the current political moment, but the "orange man bad" was soo annoying. Which might've been the point? But?? It didn't work for me at all. Every character was incoherent, and nonsensical. And not in a human way, in an incoherent writing way.
I never felt the need to put the book down, because it did propel you forward and was readable, but my gosh it was so frustrating and full of eye rolls. Two stars because it was readable.
Edit: and to clarify, I would give this 1.5 stars but I rounded up to 2. I really detested the special chosen boy-ness for Alistair. I wonder if that's self hatred/internalized homophobia!!! But ok! He sucks!
The entire plot is just two white boys continuously refusing to realize the obvious truth of where wealth comes from, then play it off as shocking revelation that "capitalism bad". It could be a satire, if it didn't seem so obvious that the author (I'm sorry!!! I do think you have talent!!) wanted to fuck his main character.
Also all the Binghamton hate, and the mother as this saintly victim was so cringe. Maybe it's the current political moment, but the "orange man bad" was soo annoying. Which might've been the point? But?? It didn't work for me at all. Every character was incoherent, and nonsensical. And not in a human way, in an incoherent writing way.
I never felt the need to put the book down, because it did propel you forward and was readable, but my gosh it was so frustrating and full of eye rolls. Two stars because it was readable.
Edit: and to clarify, I would give this 1.5 stars but I rounded up to 2. I really detested the special chosen boy-ness for Alistair. I wonder if that's self hatred/internalized homophobia!!! But ok! He sucks!
June 14, 2024
I had to part ways with Ways and Means. As many reviewers have pointed out, Daniel Lefferts has undeniable skill and talent. Yet he needs to hone his storytelling abilities. The components of a good novel are here but the execution fails. Lefferts is trying to make important statements about money and class among gay men at the dawn of the Trump era, yet the book is as vapid as its characters, all of whom lack a solid core and are interchangeable.
I struggled to pick up this book and read it. Lefferts loves high diction, and those pretty SAT words sometimes get in the way of the reader's experience. Also, there isn't much plot or action in the novel. Mostly, Ways and Means relies on stream of consciousness, which can serve a novel well, but in this case it doesn't. Close third-person narration offers readers access to the characters' thoughts and reflections but little more than that propels the action of the book. Aesthetically, this book has a lot going for it but aesthetics alone don't make a good novel.
I struggled to pick up this book and read it. Lefferts loves high diction, and those pretty SAT words sometimes get in the way of the reader's experience. Also, there isn't much plot or action in the novel. Mostly, Ways and Means relies on stream of consciousness, which can serve a novel well, but in this case it doesn't. Close third-person narration offers readers access to the characters' thoughts and reflections but little more than that propels the action of the book. Aesthetically, this book has a lot going for it but aesthetics alone don't make a good novel.
March 5, 2024
4.7/ Loved this - the writing and story are equal in their strength. It's part literary exploration of class in modern American and part intrigue thriller set against a backdrop of 2016 Manhattan and Upstate New York. I thought the voices of each POV character were especially strong. I had a lot of fun reading and was sad to come to the end, but happy that the ending majorly landed the plane for me.
Lefferts is about my age and from nearby Binghamton, he taps into the strangeness of the Southern Tier in a great way and all the details of place are so well observed. The novel explores a lot of themes -- class, politics, finance, gay relationships and sexual dynamics, greed, power, and connection in the modern age. Kind of stunned this is a debut and look forward to more from Lefferts.
Lefferts is about my age and from nearby Binghamton, he taps into the strangeness of the Southern Tier in a great way and all the details of place are so well observed. The novel explores a lot of themes -- class, politics, finance, gay relationships and sexual dynamics, greed, power, and connection in the modern age. Kind of stunned this is a debut and look forward to more from Lefferts.
dnf
March 4, 2024Me: "I must be at least at 15% of this book, I read so much of it last night"
Kindle: you are on page 12
This premise sounded interesting but I found this overwritten.
Kindle: you are on page 12
This premise sounded interesting but I found this overwritten.
March 18, 2025
I loved this book! The plot is absolutely koo koo bananas and it takes some wildly ambitious swings. But it works because it totally succeeds as a character study of three deeply flawed little gay guys and their toxic relationships to money. It was a little overwrought at times and may not be for everyone, but I was excited to read it every time I picked it up.
March 4, 2024
In an impressive debut, Lefferts adeptly translates his penetrating (no pun intended), fresh insights on the largely hashed-out tripartite of high finance, gay romance, and the Trump era into a fluid, page-turning narrative. He assembles a cast of emotionally deep and generally likable characters that all converge over the course of the this ambitious thriller.
A little past the book's halfway point, Lefferts takes an unexpected and arguably uncalled for shot at John Grisham's The Firm, deriding its prose as bloated and its plot as crude. I'm by no means a Grisham fanboy - and Ways and Means is written with much more elegance and au courant than Grisham's signature work - but Lefferts could learn a thing or two about plot development from the prolific Southern novelist; this book has just as many unbelievable twists and turns as an average Grisham with a just a pitiful fraction of the suspense. It's just a tad ironic that both books end with [SPOILER] their protagonist covertly enjoying a faraway beach sunset with their lover after completing risky escapes.
Punctuated by entertaining but at times prosaically dry stretches of dialogue, the novel is perhaps understandably not as tight as the author's recent Paris Review essay that inspired my purchase, but the highs are just as vertiginous. Here's to hoping that Lefferts doesn't retire to the beach too soon - I'd be excited to read more from him.
A little past the book's halfway point, Lefferts takes an unexpected and arguably uncalled for shot at John Grisham's The Firm, deriding its prose as bloated and its plot as crude. I'm by no means a Grisham fanboy - and Ways and Means is written with much more elegance and au courant than Grisham's signature work - but Lefferts could learn a thing or two about plot development from the prolific Southern novelist; this book has just as many unbelievable twists and turns as an average Grisham with a just a pitiful fraction of the suspense. It's just a tad ironic that both books end with [SPOILER] their protagonist covertly enjoying a faraway beach sunset with their lover after completing risky escapes.
Punctuated by entertaining but at times prosaically dry stretches of dialogue, the novel is perhaps understandably not as tight as the author's recent Paris Review essay that inspired my purchase, but the highs are just as vertiginous. Here's to hoping that Lefferts doesn't retire to the beach too soon - I'd be excited to read more from him.
March 4, 2025
read 2: same as before. a bit slower because i listened to it on tape. still feels like an interesting experiment in collapsing and colliding history in one book, especially because most of the protagonists come off as incredibly empty. they're waiting to be filled (sexually and non-sexually!) by history itself.
read 1:
hate to always be so superlative but probably going to go down as one of my favorite books ever. maybe the great american novel, or one of the great american novels. was expecting some kind of farce about Stern investment banking twinks and instead we get an incredibly meaningful thriller (!) about how money shapes and reshapes identity and social relations. what starts as a sort of throuple day in the life/slice of life examination instead becomes a whole ass book about how billionaire fracking barons are utilizing speculative real estate capital to plot a white supremacist takeover of america! and the only people who can stop them? our three little gays.
so fun and what a plot! i love a plot. gay people never get good genre plots. we get autofiction and historical fiction and maybe some postmodern queer stuff or maybbeeeee some kind of genre piece that's obsessed with subverting expectations.
sometimes stressful to read in just how much emphasis is placed on money throughout, to the point that it can really exhausting and all-encompassing. i found myself overwhelmed by the first half. lots of he bought this, he's in debt for this much, etc etc. if you're in debt and poor, kind of tough!
also, i thought his approach to the trump stuff was really well done and never blown out of proportion in the epoch-ending way some liberal writers tend to do (especially just following Martyr's heinous approach to the same subject). lefferts is a clear materialist who uses Ways and Means to trace the rise of Trump as a historical-continuation of unending extraction, the growth of FIRE sectors, etc. etc.
lastly, some of the most beautiful sex writing ever (another superlative oops). and specific sex-writing. need to think lots more about it but lefferts is really honest about how queerness and related sexual dynamics are tied to capitalist social dynamics. some really honest stuff. there's a paragraph about how gay sex is innately historical, and thus dialectical, that i read five or six times.
what a writer. what a book. lefferts does it all. such a blast and so incredibly intelligent. can't believe this got written. looooooved!
read 1:
hate to always be so superlative but probably going to go down as one of my favorite books ever. maybe the great american novel, or one of the great american novels. was expecting some kind of farce about Stern investment banking twinks and instead we get an incredibly meaningful thriller (!) about how money shapes and reshapes identity and social relations. what starts as a sort of throuple day in the life/slice of life examination instead becomes a whole ass book about how billionaire fracking barons are utilizing speculative real estate capital to plot a white supremacist takeover of america! and the only people who can stop them? our three little gays.
so fun and what a plot! i love a plot. gay people never get good genre plots. we get autofiction and historical fiction and maybe some postmodern queer stuff or maybbeeeee some kind of genre piece that's obsessed with subverting expectations.
sometimes stressful to read in just how much emphasis is placed on money throughout, to the point that it can really exhausting and all-encompassing. i found myself overwhelmed by the first half. lots of he bought this, he's in debt for this much, etc etc. if you're in debt and poor, kind of tough!
also, i thought his approach to the trump stuff was really well done and never blown out of proportion in the epoch-ending way some liberal writers tend to do (especially just following Martyr's heinous approach to the same subject). lefferts is a clear materialist who uses Ways and Means to trace the rise of Trump as a historical-continuation of unending extraction, the growth of FIRE sectors, etc. etc.
lastly, some of the most beautiful sex writing ever (another superlative oops). and specific sex-writing. need to think lots more about it but lefferts is really honest about how queerness and related sexual dynamics are tied to capitalist social dynamics. some really honest stuff. there's a paragraph about how gay sex is innately historical, and thus dialectical, that i read five or six times.
what a writer. what a book. lefferts does it all. such a blast and so incredibly intelligent. can't believe this got written. looooooved!
November 1, 2024
Ways and Means was a brilliant novel. The themes were so relevant, the storyline was so intricate, and my favorite part was the complexity and development of the characters. The author made the characters so personable - at moments I felt like I could relate to each one, if not met them at a gay bar on a night out.
"It's like how people don't marry outside their class. I don't think they go to war with people outside their class either."
"But not everyone can live out that desire, especially not in this country, and the next best thing is to participate in someone else's domination, even if it means being on the receiving end of it."
"It's like how people don't marry outside their class. I don't think they go to war with people outside their class either."
"But not everyone can live out that desire, especially not in this country, and the next best thing is to participate in someone else's domination, even if it means being on the receiving end of it."
July 18, 2024
The title is clever, the premise is clever, but the execution is a failure of ambition. The author's central characters make sense, but every supporting character is some unrealistic caricature. The action is cartoonish and filled with logical holes. There is an excessive amount of lewdness that doesn't advance the plot.
There are times when the writing is good, but it feels really immature and perhaps that's something the author figures out in later books but this was just a frustrating read for me that I should have given up on.
There are times when the writing is good, but it feels really immature and perhaps that's something the author figures out in later books but this was just a frustrating read for me that I should have given up on.
October 30, 2023
Special thanks to NetGalley and ABRAMS for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I did enjoy this book, the descriptions were beautiful and I appreciate the effort that was put into creating the book's characters. I wish that the plot had been more cohesive throughout the story and that the pacing had been more consistent. At times this book really felt as if it was lagging.
I did enjoy this book, the descriptions were beautiful and I appreciate the effort that was put into creating the book's characters. I wish that the plot had been more cohesive throughout the story and that the pacing had been more consistent. At times this book really felt as if it was lagging.
March 3, 2024
Highly pretentious! Stopped reading the book at page 70 which is disappointing because I’ll give any book or movie a chance. I consider myself pretty knowledgeable of the English language but if I’m required to look up words on every other page that’s ridiculous.
April 21, 2024
an incohesive mess, it’s as if a child wrote a book based on their limited observations and understandings.
heteronormative and whitewashed despite its self righteousness — oh no, a lower middle class, pretty white boy ran away because life was too hard for him? boohoo
heteronormative and whitewashed despite its self righteousness — oh no, a lower middle class, pretty white boy ran away because life was too hard for him? boohoo
February 5, 2024
The characters were developed beautifully and I grew to care about many of them, but it was a very slow burn.
September 17, 2024
DNF. Couldn’t get a handle on it. Might be. Generational thing. Seems to be a lot of wanting but not much doing.
Read
December 20, 2025Obsessed! Well crafted, incisive, and as timely as ever (😩😤🤬). Sure, tad overwritten in the first half, but ultimately so much fun and satisfying. Impressive impressive debut!
Read
October 20, 2024I listened to this as an audiobook (unusual for me), and it was an excellent companion on some long drives.
The best things about the story are Lefferts' wit, his gift for characterization, his willingness to tell the story through direct exposition. I enjoyed his use of the words "carnal" and "carnality" and general arch tone about gay life.
The middle is saggy, and there's a lot that could be cut. At times, the world of this book seems possibly *too* fully imagined???...Could benefit from some jumps in time and place, giving us momentum. The dastardly plot happening in the background never quite comes to life, the essential drama here is the three main characters' shifting relationships with each other.
One thing that occurs to me here is that all three principals, Alastair, Mark and Elijah, are in one way or another purposeless drifters. Guys for whom the world of work, of enterprise, has lost its meaning (if it ever had any.) They are all fighting a general ennui while being young and hot. I think that's a little bit of a problem — the differences could be more sharply drawn.
The best things about the story are Lefferts' wit, his gift for characterization, his willingness to tell the story through direct exposition. I enjoyed his use of the words "carnal" and "carnality" and general arch tone about gay life.
The middle is saggy, and there's a lot that could be cut. At times, the world of this book seems possibly *too* fully imagined???...Could benefit from some jumps in time and place, giving us momentum. The dastardly plot happening in the background never quite comes to life, the essential drama here is the three main characters' shifting relationships with each other.
One thing that occurs to me here is that all three principals, Alastair, Mark and Elijah, are in one way or another purposeless drifters. Guys for whom the world of work, of enterprise, has lost its meaning (if it ever had any.) They are all fighting a general ennui while being young and hot. I think that's a little bit of a problem — the differences could be more sharply drawn.
March 11, 2024
A funny, sexy, and terrifying look at the political/financial landscape of 2016 that cuts very close to the bone. I loved the different ways Lefferts showed his characters through their creative processes, the ease (or lack thereof) with which they pursued their passions. He makes such specific observations that shows us exactly who they are, how class and financial privilege define them or motivate them.
July 21, 2024
An assured, strong debut about money, what it means to try and make the “right” moves in order to “get ahead in life”, messy gays, New York City, sexual politics and an evil billionaire. For fans of Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton, Bret Easton Ellis novels, with a sprinkling of Talented Mr Ripley vibes. Really excited to see what Daniel Lefferts does next. 4.5/5
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