A Town Where Money Changes Nothing
Volume 49, Issue 4
By Charlotte Prywes

“Human Capital” by Stephen Amidon

Totten Crossing, Connecticut, the fictional suburban enclave around which “Human Capital” revolves, is a place where materialism runs rampant and life is complex. We’ve heard this story before, but Stephen Amidon’s take on the American dream is unique, thanks to his compelling plot and insightful probing.

The novel opens in the late nineties, with Drew Hagel dealing with his floundering real-estate business and creditors breathing down his neck. He lives with his second wife, Ronnie, pregnant with twins, and his seventeen-year-old daughter, Shannon. Struggling to pay his daughter’s private school tuition and realizing her acceptance at Oberlin means even more debt, Drew is desperate to hold on while everything seems to be crumbling around him. “All he wanted was enough. But enough wasn’t what it used to be.”

When Shannon begins dating Jamie, the son of the wealthiest man in Totten Crossing, Drew sees this as an opportunity to regain his footing. Jamie’s father, Quint Manning, is the manager of a secretive hedge fund. If Shannon and Jamie pave the way, Drew believes his financial problems will be solved. He pushes to become part of Quint’s inner circle. He persuades Quint to allow him a share in a hedge fund that supposedly will yield a 44 percent return. Participants in the fund must sign papers attesting to a personal worth of several million dollars. Drew has no problem lying on the application. He will contribute the minimum amount of $250,000 by taking a second mortgage on the home his father left him and emptying his daughter’s college fund. He’s sure it will all be replaced in a short time. He’s not aware that Quint is having his own financial problems.

Jamie’s mother, Carrie, serves as the conscience of this tale about greed, money, power and hypocrisy. Uncomfortable with their extreme wealth and living behind massive gates that set them apart from everyone else, she longs to create meaning in her life. Most of her time, however, is spent shielding Jamie from his exacting father. Although Jamie is a sweet, intelligent boy, his alcoholic binges have turned his friends away and caused Shannon to leave him.

Meanwhile, Shannon has met Ian Warfield, an intelligent, but troubled boy from the wrong side of the tracks. As part of a deal not to go to jail on a drug charge, Ian must consent to therapy. Because Shannon’s mother left her when she was a child, something Shannon never recovered from, Shannon feels an immediate connection with this boy whose mother died when he was thirteen. They spend all their time together, telling no one, and Shannon believes her love will solve all his problems.

Ian’s mother left a small house and a large insurance policy. His Uncle David, his guardian for the past five years, means well and tries to do right by him. With his own shortcomings and lack of job skills, David sees no prospects for either of them. However, Ian will inherit a lot of money when he turns eighteen. David believes that using the insurance money to buy a bar in North Carolina will secure a future for them both and he won’t let anything or anybody stand in his way.

All these lives collide on one summer day when a confluence of events plunges their world into chaos. This is when the book becomes a page-turner. Through Amidon’s skillful character development, we are privy to the inner turmoil of his characters. He is brutal when hammering home the dark side of a superficial, materialistic society. It’s an absorbing journey filled with psychological insights and tension-provoking events.

While “Human Capital” doesn’t quite live up to its ambitions, it does make us sit up and take notice.