As lawyers, we frequently deal with some pretty mundane areas of the law. For me, reading anything related to taxation makes the Vince Vaughn scenes in True Detective seem interesting by comparison. The fact that so much of what we do is so boring to the average person is a frequent challenge for novelists. Accordingly, in his new novel Foreclosure, attorney S.D. Thames attempts a Herculean task: make real estate (such as mortgages, escrow, and yes, foreclosure) actually interesting. Amazingly, Thames succeeds.
A period piece set all the way back in 2008 on the heels of the economic collapse (though, aside from mentioning events from that year, there is nothing especially “2008” about the book; none of the characters watch The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, listen to “Low” by Flo Rida on their iPods, or discuss David Tyree’s famous “helmet catch”), Foreclosure tells the story of David Friedman, an attorney at a Southwest Florida law firm who is champing at the bit to make partner. Motivated to develop his own book of business, David lands formidable client Frank O’Reilly, a shady and eccentric local real estate developer who is constantly in legal trouble. Due to the economic crisis, Frank has difficulty selling certain units, and therefore becomes entangled in a lawsuit with the bank that issued him a mortgage. As the case goes on, David realizes that he might be in over his head, as he is unaware of the identity of the potentially lethal “investors” behind Frank’s company or what they are capable of. David soon finds himself in physical danger, and he does not know whether or not Frank is a friend or foe.
Foreclosure is populated with a host of interesting characters. David in particular is a well-drawn but unlikeable protagonist; at one point he gives ephedrine to a junior associate, forces that associate to work through the night, and then callously shows no empathy when that associate is subsequently hospitalized. Nevertheless, the book repeatedly points out that the drive to make partner has changed David from an idealist to a competitor who cares only about money and winning at all costs.
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Frank is the epitome of the “difficult client;” he disappears more often than Don Draper, is loathe to return David’s phone calls, and even gives David false documents to produce in the lawsuit. His eccentricity occasionally comes across as over-the-top (at one point he forces David to smoke marijuana and then fight one of Frank’s associates), but for the most part Thames strikes the right balance in keeping the reader on his toes as to whether Frank is an evil genius or just an eccentric patsy.
Thames also does right by most of the supporting characters, turning them into real people instead of caricatures. My favorite was David’s highly competent and loyal secretary, who truly cares for David and laments his descent into avarice. I also appreciated Alton Holloway, the notorious managing partner at David’s firm, who in David’s words spends less time doing legal work and more time “plotting the downfall of western civilization.” Any lawyer at a firm will recognize senior lawyers they work with in some of Alton’s more despicable and petty characteristics. The only character that rang false for me is Mackenzie Alderman, another partner at David’s firm who happens to be having an affair with Alton. In one ridiculous scene, Mackenzie attempts to seduce David in his office; she is completely defined by her sexuality and does not come off as a real person.
Despite being largely about such enthralling subject matter as mortgages, foreclosure, insurance, and escrow, Foreclosure never bored me. And while my eyes occasionally glazed over at some of the more esoteric aspects of real estate law, I never had any real difficulty understanding any of the major concepts in the novel. However, while (as an attorney) I applaud Thames’s effort to cite to actual terminology and concepts, I worry that non-lawyer readers without real estate backgrounds might occasionally have trouble understanding certain plot points.
The book also contains some fat that could have been trimmed, such as a lengthy subplot involving the appeal of one of David’s cases that had gone to trial before the events of the book. While these scenes underscore David’s unsavoriness (for example, he flouts the judge’s orders and conspires with his client to hold back evidence), they are mostly an unnecessary detour; I found myself wishing that the narrative would return to David’s relationship with Frank.
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Ultimately, I think I am very safe in saying that Foreclosure is the most entertaining novel about mortgages that I have ever read. Though if Thames ever decides to write a sequel and sets it in 2009, I expect there to be numerous scenes in which the characters go to the movie theater to watch The Blind Side.
(Disclosure: I received a review copy of this book.)
Foreclosure [Amazon (affiliate link)]
Harry Graff is a litigation associate at a firm, but he spends days wishing that he was writing about film, television, literature, and pop culture instead of writing briefs. If there is a law-related movie, television show, book, or any other form of media that you would like Harry Graff to discuss, he can be reached at [email protected]. Be sure to follow Harry Graff on Twitter at @harrygraff19.