The Financial Lives of the Poets by Jess Walter (2009)The Financial Lives of the Poets is a recent novel of one man's attempt to save his family from economic disaster, his marriage from ruin, deal with job loss and a father with Alzheimer’s.

It's gutsy to write fiction quite this up-to-the-minute, but Jess Walter has written a very enjoyable novel that is remarkably astute; a comic fable for the current hard times. Watch the author's YouTube video below, read the New York Times review and check out the author's website.