Uncertain Tales

Engleby by Sebastian Faulks

Privileged and bright, Mike Engleby has no problem winning a place at a top university in the 1970s where he considers himself the voice of sanity in a bizarre and surreal environment. As his first-person, self-serving story develops the incongruities and unlikely flashes of foresight hint to the reader that this is a narrative that can't be entirely trusted. Colourful, but not entirely convincing secondary characters come and go and the reader is left entertained but not entirely satisfied

8/10. Compelling, if uncomfortably close to home. What if all Cambridge experiences were like this?

Liars's Poker by Michael Lewis

Privileged and bright, when Michael Lewis leaves his top university in the 1970s he has no problem lucking into a dream job at Salomons, where he considers himself a voice of sanity in a bizarre and surreal environment. As his first-person, self-serving story develops the incongruities and unlikely flashes of foresight hint to the reader that this is a narrative that cannot entirely be trusted. Colourful, but not entirely convincing secondary characters come and go and the reader is left entertained but not entirely satisfied. Or not all of them

7/10. I liked it, if a bit uncomfortably close to home. What if all investment banks were like this?

The odd thing is: I picked up this book hard on the heels of Engleby, thinking it would make a change.