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A review by lizanneinkan
Red Notice: A True Story of High Finance, Murder, and One Man's Fight for Justice by Bill Browder
3.0
Mixed feelings. Red Notice is a true story and the stakes are huge; Bill Browder strides on the world’s stage. His ability to shape all this international drama effectively is the question.
This memoir contains a long set up to tell the story of Sergei Magnitsky, a brave Russian lawyer (Browder’s lawyer) who was taken into custody on trumped up charges. He never lost his integrity despite brutal mistreatment and his failing health.
To get to that story, Browder tells his own, incl memories of his grandfather, the Communist prez candidate, his brilliant father and mathematical genius brother, his own disappointing choice of biz school in a political/academic family.
After graduate school, Browder becomes fascinated w the Russian market and positions himself to find jobs in banking. Communist grandfather and he’s into Russian commerce—the irony! Along the way, he marries, has a child, divorces, marries again, has two more children. I have no idea when he sees any of them given his crusade to spotlight the FSB’s unethical, inhumane activities. He cannot think of anything else, as he notes while attending one of his child’s school events.
The main problem is that Browder is not a writer. He describes every character by an article of clothing, hair color, and height in reference to his own. He tells a highly detailed story of his life as a broker that is really its own book. I think this could have been more profound if written by a professional who did not keep addressing the audience and knew where to prune.
All that said, Browder’s experiences are startling. He truly does poke the bear. At one point, Putin personally name checks him. In his early years, Browder figures out how to make a fortune on undervalued Russian stocks. He strings together a multi-million dollar company before he really knows what he’s doing. He is brash and ingenious.
Interesting narrative w distractingly flawed narration.
This memoir contains a long set up to tell the story of Sergei Magnitsky, a brave Russian lawyer (Browder’s lawyer) who was taken into custody on trumped up charges. He never lost his integrity despite brutal mistreatment and his failing health.
To get to that story, Browder tells his own, incl memories of his grandfather, the Communist prez candidate, his brilliant father and mathematical genius brother, his own disappointing choice of biz school in a political/academic family.
After graduate school, Browder becomes fascinated w the Russian market and positions himself to find jobs in banking. Communist grandfather and he’s into Russian commerce—the irony! Along the way, he marries, has a child, divorces, marries again, has two more children. I have no idea when he sees any of them given his crusade to spotlight the FSB’s unethical, inhumane activities. He cannot think of anything else, as he notes while attending one of his child’s school events.
The main problem is that Browder is not a writer. He describes every character by an article of clothing, hair color, and height in reference to his own. He tells a highly detailed story of his life as a broker that is really its own book. I think this could have been more profound if written by a professional who did not keep addressing the audience and knew where to prune.
All that said, Browder’s experiences are startling. He truly does poke the bear. At one point, Putin personally name checks him. In his early years, Browder figures out how to make a fortune on undervalued Russian stocks. He strings together a multi-million dollar company before he really knows what he’s doing. He is brash and ingenious.
Interesting narrative w distractingly flawed narration.