Closing Costs

By: Seth Margolis

Narrated by: Susan Denaker

When Peggy Gimmel decides to sell the apartment she bought decades ago for a few thousand dollars, she’s thrilled to discover that it’s worth almost $2 million. But her sudden windfall triggers a cascade of unexpected events and plunges her into the dizzying orbit of Lucinda Wells, one of Manhattan’s most successful and ruthless real-estate agents. Peggy’s not the only one at Lucinda’s mercy. There’s also the technology entrepreneur struggling to salvage his sinking company while gut-renovating his home. The socialite exiled from Park Avenue to the pullout sofa of her parents’ West Side apartment. The illegal immigrant amassing a fortune printing money. The clueless widow trying to unload a world-class collection of fake artwork. These are just some of the characters whose lives intersect in unlikely ways, all of them nearly overwhelmed by the rocketing real-estate market and the hard-charging broker who holds the key to their futures.

As he interweaves these often suspenseful and frequently comical stories, Margolis captures the zeitgeist of a cultural moment, keeping us listening with the rise and fall of his characters’ fortunes.

Good, Not Great.

While I wouldn't call "Closing Costs" a work of literary genius, it was enjoyable and easy. The perfect commute book. The narration was also done very well. My chief complaint would be the long, detailed, and frequent descriptions of pornographic sex. I'm no prude by any means, but in this book, with these characters, it simply feels largely gratuitous. For example, to say a certain character is into online porn of a kinky variety is developing that character, while launching into a laundry list of *very* graphically titled sites, I feel is unnecessary.

FABULOUS BOOK!!!

"Closing Costs" is one of those books that you simply can't shut off. It's one of the best written, most perfectly narrated, cleverly plotted, funny, sad, uplifting, enlightening, PERFECT books I have ever read. If this extraordinary novel isn't snapped up by a movie studio, I'm going to build one and produce it myself ;-))). It's a slam dunk for a blockbuster. READ IT! You won't be disappointed.

Nice !

I enjoyed the narrator as well as the story line. I agree it will be a great movie. I thought this book was well worth the time. ENJOY it!