Ghosts of Manhattan

by Douglas Brunt

  “Sir, excuse me.” I close the door behind me to shut out her protests.

  The opening and abrupt shutting of the door startles Dale. He looks up from his computer screen. An expression of panic travels across his face before dissolving to one of annoyance. A man in a suit who must be a Bear Stearns underling has interrupted his reading. There is a flicker of recognition, and probably an association with Freddie.

  “Can I help you?” He says this in a way to let me know that helping me has nothing to do with his question.

  The door opens behind me. “I’m sorry, Mr. Brown.” She snaps out her words and comes around to stand next to me, glaring and with the corners of her mouth pulled flat back toward the hinge of her jawbone.

  “I’m Nick Farmer. I quit.”

  His eyebrows rise in symmetrical arches of surprise. He seems to be trying to decide if this is something he should care about before he commits to a response.

  I don’t care to wait. I turn and let myself out and close the door behind me and shut them in. They’re left to stare at each other, each to confirm for the other that what they think just happened actually happened.

  I retrace my steps to the elevator and press Down for the lobby. I see the 7 button for the trading floor and I think of all the souls trapped in there. Not against their will, but against their knowledge. I wonder if corruption can reach levels to be self-defeating, or if Bear will always be here.

  I think of Freddie and his prognostications putting a date on the end of the world. A nerd-like Nostradamus predicting that Bear’s insane bets and manipulation of securities will create a black hole. Once critical mass is reached, the global economy will crumple in on itself in an instant. Bear will be compressed to the size of a grain of sand. I imagine people and banks throughout Europe and Asia ripped from their foundations and screaming across oceans, the way things are sucked with violent force toward a gash in an airplane at altitude. Everything colliding into Bear.

  Is a person like William the first to be destroyed, or does he show up in a post-Armageddon world like a cockroach? I’ll find a safe place far from here to rebuild, and if the rest of the world has to rebuild around me, so much the better. I answer my own question as I realize William will survive too, because there’s always a place for a soulless soldier.

  Traveling down in the empty elevator, I already sense a change, like a fever breaking, and I think I could like myself again. Enough to be alone, and I hope that’s the first step to not being alone.

  As the elevator drops, so does my strength and certainty, because I don’t know what’s coming next. I never get nervous when I know what I’m going to do, and I had known exactly how I was going to quit. It felt like an actor was playing the role of Nick Farmer and delivering the lines I had already written and I wasn’t there at all. But now I don’t know what’s going to happen. I can feel the nerves bunch up in my throat and my stomach feels light, as though I need to weigh it down, but I’m too nauseous to eat.

  The elevator doors open and I hope to see Julia waiting in the lobby with a reluctant smile, but I know right away she’s not there. In my periphery I can tell all the bodies are moving with purpose to destinations. No one is waiting for anyone. I circle the lobby to reaffirm what I already know. It’s 9:15 a.m. exactly.

  I walk outside to the cold air and the sounds of city traffic. The sidewalks are still thick with people though not with the crush of an hour earlier. I take a few more steps away from the building to look up and down the sidewalk, knowing I can pick out her movements from the crowd.

  She’s not there and I don’t blame her. I’ll wait until 11 a.m. for her, then go to the airport by myself and hope she just needs a couple weeks to herself before she’ll see me.

  I turn back around to move against the building so I’m not standing still in the middle of a stream of brisk walkers. My eyes stop on a woman seated on the backrest of a bench, at an angle so that I see her in profile. I recognize the posture and the tilt of her head.

  Seeing her is the kind of gift that changes everything. I am the luckiest. I don’t realize I’ve been holding my breath until I hear myself exhale. We have a chance.

  She hasn’t moved and doesn’t see me. She’s resting against the empty bench, her body facing into the wind like a seagull on a pylon.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  It feels funny to thank Megyn Kelly. She and I are so far beyond that. Not only is a “thanks” beneath the proportion of what she has given, it is also the least profound of the ways that we express what we mean to each other. But there are limits to the Acknowledgments piece of a novel.

  Megyn is my biggest supporter and fan, despite the fact that she gets the first read of the first draft (before even I read it) when the novel is in its crappiest state. Her ideas for plot and character development as well as editorial judgment are unsurpassed, and her influence shows up across this novel. Megyn, thank you. I’ll express more outside the confines of these pages.

  Thanks to my agents, Lane Zachary and Todd Shuster, for being early believers in the novel and helping to develop it. Also to Jane Rosenman and Jacklyn Brunt for their early feedback. Thanks to Peter and Linda Kirwan for their support. Thanks to Manly Yates Brunt Jr. for instilling in me a love of literature.

  At Touchstone, thanks to my brilliant, fun, and dynamic editor, Stacy Creamer. Her ideas and encouragement brought the novel to its final form. Thanks also to Meredith Vilarello and Megan Reid for educating me in the ways of the publishing world.

  Thanks to Yates and Yardley. Their presence has changed my life and inspired me to reach for things that make me happy—things like this book.

  Ghosts of Manhattan

  Douglas Brunt

  Reading Group Guide

  Introduction

  It’s 2005, and thirty five-year-old Wall Street trader Nick Farmer appears to have it all—a successful career at top firm Bear Stearns and a beautiful wife. But after more than a decade of soul-crushing work in a field dominated by greed, drugs, and hypocrisy, Nick is looking for a way out. Yet the prospect of a bigger and better bonus keeps him tied to the lifestyle he now loathes. As this high-powered world of excess and immorality faces an unimaginable crash, Nick struggles to save his career, his marriage, and himself.

  Topics & Questions for Discussion

  1. Discuss the ways in which Nick Farmer’s story echoes the classic Faustian motif of selling one’s soul to or making a pact with the Devil. Who or what is the “Devil” in this scenario?

  2. Nick describes many of his colleagues as soulless and seduced by money. Is Nick a hypocrite? How similar or different is he from those around him? Would you consider him an “outsider” or an “insider”? Is he a sympathetic character? Why or why not?

  3. Substance abuse is a normal part of daily life for many of the characters depicted in Ghosts of Manhattan. What role does alcohol and drugs play in Nick’s decision-making process? How does drinking affect his actions?

  4. Each part of the novel opens with a quote—ranging from Friedrich Nietzsche to Guns N’ Roses. How do these quotes foreshadow the events that follow in the narrative? How do they frame your reading of Ghosts of Manhattan?

  5. Many of the employees at Bear Stearns feel they are above the law. What actions contribute to this attitude? Do you consider Nick to be part of this group?

  6. “It occurs to me that in the same way a person can have a kindred spirit or soul mate that they seek out, a person can also have a nemesis that they would like to remove from their life, a person to conquer or be conquered by.” Do you agree with Nick? In what ways does Oliver provide a foil for Nick’s character?

  7. How has Nick’s tense relationship with his parents affected his choices as an adult? How would you characterize Nick’s upbringing?

  8. Were there any points in the novel that you found to be both humorous and unnerving? How would you describe Nick’s narrative voice? How did this writing style relate to or mirror the themes and plot of Ghosts of Manhattan?


  9. “Whatever the answer, I’m not sure I’m the type of person who can have a happy marriage anyway. I’m not that happy a guy and marriage isn’t a magic ingredient.” How would you describe Nick and Julia’s relationship in light of this passage? How does their relationship evolve over the course of the novel?

  10. When Nick quits his job, he doesn’t appear to worry that Bear Stearns may threaten him the way they did Freddie. In your opinion, should he have cause for concern? Why or why not?

  11.vDo you think Nick can ever fully escape Wall Street’s grasp? Consider the following quote in your response: “A happy career seems even more unlikely. Who the hell likes his job? Trying for more, thinking there could be more, is salt in the wound.” In an ideal world, what do you think he should do next with his life?

  12. Freddie confides his suspicions to Nick, whom he enlists as an ally. Did you find Nick to be a particularly trustworthy character? Were you surprised by Nick’s reaction to Freddie’s discoveries?

  13. Discuss the role money plays in Ghosts of Manhattan. How are the haves and have-nots defined? What does money equate and what power does it hold over those seeking it?

  14. What did you think of the novel’s conclusion? Did you have any lingering questions? Were you satisfied with the ending?

  Enhance Your Book Club

  1. For another perspective on the financial crisis watch the HBO film Too Big to Fail (2011) or read William Cohan’s House of Cards: A Tale of Hubris and Wretched Excess on Wall Street. How did these nonfiction accounts influence or complement your reading of Ghosts of Manhattan?

  2. Discuss an area of your life in which you have felt trapped, similar to how Nick feels trapped in his job. What changes, whether small or large, could you make today to improve the situation?

  3. Read through the headlines of a current publication like The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, or The Economist. How has the economy changed since 2005? In what ways does today’s economic climate echo the events in Ghosts of Manhattan? Discuss with fellow members of your book club.

  A Conversation with Douglas Brunt

  You are the former CEO of a private venture-backed Internet security company. What inspired you to start writing?

  I’ve always loved literature. I was very shy as a kid and for shy people, literature is a great thing. It’s a safe place to go. I’m a bit less shy now, but still love to lose myself in both reading and writing. The writing has generally been something I did as a hobby. During a fairly stressful career as a CEO, sometimes in order to relax—usually on an airplane or on the weekend—I would choose to write rather than read. That’s how this novel began.

  This is your debut novel. Can you describe this experience? What was the most challenging part of the process? The most rewarding?

  I had a clear idea for the big picture of the novel from the beginning. Writing the first draft was a pleasure, and as I mentioned, became a way to relax. The hard stages were the many iterations of edits and refinements when I hadn’t yet made writing a career and didn’t have a clear path to anyone other than family ever reading it. The most rewarding part was seeing how much better the novel became after those many iterations.

  Ghosts of Manhattan centers around the now-defunct Bear Stearns. What kind of research did you do before writing Ghosts of Manhattan ? Why did you choose to base Nick’s story in the year 2005?

  I read a number of books about the financial crisis, including Too Big to Fail by Andrew Ross Sorkin and The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis, to name two. I worked as a money markets broker for two years in my first job out of college. I also have many friends and acquaintances who work in sales and trading in New York. Many of my friends sat with me to help create a credible backdrop for the novel.

  I picked 2005 because the ensuing financial crisis allowed me to address the themes of greed and hypocrisy that I was so interested in. It also let me examine the ignorance of and disregard for the catastrophes that people with little apparent power can create.

  How did you come to the title Ghosts of Manhattan ? Were there any other titles you considered?

  It came to me while I was sitting on an airplane writing the second chapter, though at that time I had a vision for the complete novel. So, I knew the message I wanted to convey with the title. It was the only title I considered.

  How closely are characters—like Jerry Cavanagh, Dale Brown, and Jack Wilson—modeled or inspired by people you’ve encountered in the financial world?

  The characters are amalgamations of people I know, have read about, or have heard stories about from friends. Fortunately, or by subconscious design, none of my friends is a match for these characters, though every sales and trading floor has them.

  The novel ends before the financial meltdown that Freddie predicts actually occurs. What do you think Nick’s reaction would have been?

  When Bear collapsed, he may have briefly considered that Karma exists.

  You evoke New York City vividly in this novel, and the particular time in which this book is set. How did writing about such a controversial, hot button current event influence your writing? Was it difficult to develop this fictional story within that accurate historical context?

  Living in New York is a great advantage for a writer. For a person who naturally makes observations, there is no richer place. The financial crisis is also a great source of material to work with. Taken together, I had plenty of places to go.

  Do you see any part of yourself in Nick’s character?

  Had I continued to work in sales and trading as a career, I may have resembled Nick in some way. That’s all I’ll admit to.

  What kind of conversations do you hope Ghosts of Manhattanwill spark?

  Primarily, I hope it will spark a conversation about the choices we make with our lives. Happiness is one of those choices. Understanding what makes us happy, or unhappy, requires significant self-reflection.

  What are you working on now? Do you think you’ll write more about the volatile world of Wall Street?

  I’m working on a novel that is set in the world of politics. I may return to Wall Street some day.

  Turn the page for a look at Douglas Brunt's next novel

  THE MEANS

  Available from Touchstone

  1

  “There’s been a plane crash.”

  Samantha had expected the receptionist to ask her to wait a moment or to offer her coffee. People are running in all directions around them but the receptionist sits in place, redirecting phone calls.

  “Where?” Samantha asks.

  “In the ocean, just beyond Staten Island. About five minutes ago.”

  “Passenger jet?”

  “Yes, I think it was one of the big kind. International.”

  “Oh, no.”

  “I’m sorry, but Mr. Mueller is not going to be able to conduct your interview today. He’s heading to the newsroom now. I can try to reschedule you.”

  “Of course, I’ll just call you later. I’m sure you’re all busy,” says Samantha.

  “Erica, cancel everything for the rest of the day.” A man has come around the corner from behind the receptionist at the speed of an Olympic power walker. He looks about fifty and has extra weight around his middle and face. He has a cell phone and his jacket is flapping behind him from the other hand. His tie is on but loose with the top button of his shirt undone and his hair is brown and full and looks like it hasn’t been cut for some time.

  “Yes, Mr. Mueller.”

  “Make sure Paul Becker gets in Control Four and tell him no commercial breaks until he hears from me. Send only emergency calls for me to Control Four.”

  “Yes, sir,” says the receptionist.

  David Mueller stops next to them but his manner keeps a hurried pace. “You Samantha Davis?” Gorgeous brunette with green eyes. He remembers hearing the deep voice with gravitas. He sees in person that she has kind of a big head with a little body and he knows from experience t
hat translates well to TV.

  “Yes.”

  He looks at her for two seconds, making a decision. “Come with me.”

  He moves from reception to the elevators without looking at her or thinking about her again, like she’s something he tucked into his pocket for later. Samantha follows behind.

  Mueller continues yelling into his phone. “Is Ken Grant in the studio yet? Good. I want Jeffries and a crew out on Staten Island now. How far offshore did this thing go down? No? See if you can get any of our guys on a police or rescue craft. And charter our own boat. Divert our traffic helicopters out to the scene and get some visuals on it. Get a crew to South Street Seaport, and put a crew on Ellis Island. We can get some coverage of the rescue boats coming and going. I’m stepping into the elevator, I’m going to lose you. Reach me in Control Four.”

  Mueller lowers the phone and they step inside the elevator. He pushes 1 and looks at Samantha. “You’re going to see a newsroom in high gear. Stay next to me and observe.”

  “This is the best interview I’ve ever had.” She worries this sounds insensitive but sees that Mueller, for the moment, is not as concerned with what happened as he is with covering what happened.

  “Ken Grant is great on breaking news. He’s also a pilot for Chrissake. He’s perfect for this.” Mueller is a general content with his battle plan. “It’s Rolling Thunder now. News rundowns are in the trash and it’s breaking news, live as it comes. This is what reporters live for. It’s going to be nuts in there.”

  Samantha nods. They step out of the elevator and walk thirty paces to an escalator that takes them a level below ground. The security guards recognize Mueller and he and Samantha pass by into the newsroom.

  The room is the size of a football field. The ceiling is about ten feet, which feels low in a room that stretches so far. Plain, square columns that are drywall around load-bearing beams look skeletal. They mark the perimeter of different pods of news teams.