cover image Yuppie Scum

Yuppie Scum

Sean Breckenridge. St. Martin's Press, $19.95 (313pp) ISBN 978-0-312-08928-3

The fascination of ruthless characters and a breakneck pace somewhat redeem the distasteful title of this testosterone-fueled indictment of the 1980s. Written pseudonymously by an investment banker, the novel takes place over a frenetic June weekend in 1992. Four hotshot young Philadelphia businessmen discover that their onetime college roommate Mitch Myerson has accessed their bank records (and those of many others) in an electronic scam involving about $20 million. Mitch has also absconded with Rachel, the ``trophy wife'' of one of them. On the chance that the criminal twosome have fled to Manhattan, the victims scope out the city's finest hotels, never suspecting that another traitor might be among them or that Rachel could be even more conniving than they've imagined. A predictable but well-crafted set-up occurs, followed by a cartoonish, tire-squealing taxi chase. The tale's overt boys'-club orientation probably will deter some readers, as will the depiction of women as either simple-minded housewives or harlots and the sketchy renderings of non-white characters. Even so, Breckenridge's manic, satirical style can be appealing. (Apr.)