An exquisite and witty portrayal of one man’s
quest to conquer the world of business.
Alex Lazarus admires the entrepreneurial spirit of his Zaide (the Yiddish term for grandfather) whose wealth has seen him through private education, and whose instinctive business drive has ingrained itself into Alex’s own DNA. As a reasonably successful advertising executive working for other people’s businesses, Alex has always harboured the idea of setting up his own business empire. And then, by chance he bumps into successful corporate lawyer, Julian while the two have deposited their respective children in a sandpit in the local park. While watching their offspring from a park bench, the two dream up the idea of leaving their respective jobs and setting up a parenting website to help young parents enhance their parenting skills. This seed of an idea quickly takes root as Alex and his new business partner pursue their dreams.
Adam Leigh’s highly entertaining and realistic tale of one man’s quest to achieve great things in business is populated with a cast of colourful, well-rounded characters and charts the trials and tribulations of succeeding in the mercurial and unpredictable world of the internet. Besides being very funny, it cleverly manages to deftly explore the very real dilemmas of balancing family life and business life and the inevitable sacrifice one has to make and its subsequent ramifications on family dynamics.
I can’t think of any other novel that so convincingly portrays the process of setting up a business while making the reader smile and laugh out loud. This is a very funny and compelling read with a heart, since our protagonist, though driven to succeed, never loses sight of the simple and profound truth that at the end of the day, there are more important things in life than business.
The Curious Rise of Alex Lazarus is a beautifully penned love letter to the world of entrepreneurship. It is also a compelling novel you simply won’t want to put down. That in itself makes it pretty unusual. I'd unflinchingly give it a very well deserved 11 out of 10.
Adam Leigh’s highly entertaining and realistic tale of one man’s quest to achieve great things in business is populated with a cast of colourful, well-rounded characters and charts the trials and tribulations of succeeding in the mercurial and unpredictable world of the internet. Besides being very funny, it cleverly manages to deftly explore the very real dilemmas of balancing family life and business life and the inevitable sacrifice one has to make and its subsequent ramifications on family dynamics.
I can’t think of any other novel that so convincingly portrays the process of setting up a business while making the reader smile and laugh out loud. This is a very funny and compelling read with a heart, since our protagonist, though driven to succeed, never loses sight of the simple and profound truth that at the end of the day, there are more important things in life than business.
The Curious Rise of Alex Lazarus is a beautifully penned love letter to the world of entrepreneurship. It is also a compelling novel you simply won’t want to put down. That in itself makes it pretty unusual. I'd unflinchingly give it a very well deserved 11 out of 10.
