‘The Privileges’ by Jonathan Dee

The Privileges is the story of one family that enjoys spectacular financial success. The book begins with the marriage of a very young and attractive couple shortly after college and follows them for approximately the next 25 years as they have a family and become gradually wealthier. There are many moments that made me feel as though I were standing on the edge of a cliff – how successful can people be without suffering some great disappointment? This may be the trick that kept me reading; a constant, paranoid feeling that things always go wrong. But maybe I’ve just read too many books.

I always expect books about money and wealth to end by reaffirming what all middle-class people are taught to believe – that money isn’t everything, money will be your undoing, love and friendship is far greater. Though the characters in this novel do place a good deal of importance on family, this isn’t the message that I took away from this book. Instead, when I finished this novel, I was left with the feeling that wealth should be comforting and endless. You’ll still get older, and you’ll still lose loved ones, but if you have enough money, you won’t have to suffer in the same ways that other people do. Having enough money means being attractive, being comfortable, and enjoying the ability to make people do whatever you want.