About the Book
Andrea Hoffman is an overeducated, underemployed, and unmotivated recent college graduate—until an unexpected robbery blasts her out of her funk and into a job in the finance world of early-1980s Chicago. At first, it seems like a bad fit. But the world of finance has its own weird charm, and she grows increasingly fascinated by the strange language of trading, the complexity of the stock market, and her colleagues, who navigate it all with a ruthless confidence. Even though she has two strikes against her—Jewish and female—Andrea’s quick wit and strong work ethic propel her into an actual sales job and her career takes off. But this is the Wall Street of the eighties, and along with making a lot more money, Andrea adopts a new, fast life of cocktails, cocaine, and casual sex. Drunk on her achievements, she gradually realizes that at some point, she’s going to have to decide what success really means to her.
My Review
I wasn’t really sure what to expect from a novel that follows a woman in finance in the 1980s, but I was intrigued enough to say yes to the review request. And I am so glad I did. Andrea Hoffman Goes All In had a breath of fresh air amongst the usual books in my to-read pile. What stuck out to me is that I really felt I was just following Andrea along in her life, without a ton of drama, a huge romantic angle, or like I was waiting for a catastrophe to drop to see how she would adapt. It felt more like an authentic behind the scenes look of a woman determined to make it in a male-dominated world, and shared her day to day of balancing her career, office charades, men and family. I loved getting taken to a time and an industry I don’t know a lot about, and it was cool (for lack of a better word) to see what exactly the finance world looked like in the 80s – I had a few chuckles now and again, especially in terms of technology. I can honestly say I didn’t expect to love this book, even after being a few chapters in, but toward the end, I wish it would have kept going because it was just enjoyable to be along the ride with Andrea. I would give this a read!
5 stars
