Title: Suits: A Woman on Wall Street
Author: Nina Godiwalla
ISBN: 978934633953
Pages: 300
Release Date: February 28, 2011
Publisher: Atlas
Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoir
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Summary:

Nina Godiwalla was a driven young woman who was determined to find financial independence.  She pursued a career in investment baking, interning at JP Morgan and working at Morgan Stanley after college.  The brutal hours and non-stop work were difficult enough, but when Nina is forced to compromise her cultural heritage along the way, will she continue along her chosen career path?

Review:

From the second the great people over at Atlas sent me an early review copy of Suits: A Woman on Wall Street by Nina Godiwalla, I knew I wanted to read it.  Nina is the real thing - she worked in the Corporate Finance group at Morgan Stanley, which is one of those where people are expected to work 24/7, no exaggeration.  I was eager to read about Nina’s experiences, how she got to that point, and why (if?) she decided to leave.

One thing that surprised me about Nina from the very beginning of her memoir is that she makes it clear her parents did not push her into investment banking.  Nina is a Parsi whose family is from India, and usually Indian parents are the ones that shove their children towards these lucrative fields, not understanding the sacrifices the people working these jobs are expected to make.  However, for Nina, she was pushing herself towards investment banking.  After her personal experiences at home, she was determined to be financially independent, in some ways, at the cost of everything else.  I was fascinated by this drive, where it came from as well as what the results were, and it gave the book a unique flavor.

The stories about life as an investment banker in Suits: A Woman on Wall Street sound like horror stories to someone like me, but for any investment banker, they’re just another day at work.  I was shocked at what Nina was expected to do and the way she, and women in general, were treated.  In order to progress at her job, she had to keep her mouth shut when the men around her made racist and sexist comments, and when she did, she was rewarded for being a “team player.”  It’s the kind of thing that will make you sick to your stomach.

The most interesting part of Suits: A Woman on Wall Street, though, is Nina’s personal journey.  She is a spunky young woman with a lot of energy and zeal and a desperation to prove herself in her early days.  By the time she’s into her Morgan Stanley stint, though, that woman is gone, replaced by someone who has become so deadened by her job, all she can do is keep going.  It’s so sad to see what the job does to her, but at the same time, it’s great when she finally comes back to herself.  Nina’s development over the course of the book is rewarding and ultimately very gratifying.

Suits: A Woman on Wall Street was a eye-opening, engrossing read that really defied my expectations.  I loved Nina; she’s clearly a talented writer who would do well if she tried her hand at fiction.  I’m glad she chose to share her story and I look forward to seeing what she does next.

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