The
Hazards of Good Fortune
by Seth Greenland explores why society is less forgiving today
than in the past and relies too much on the court of public
opinion. He delves into the issues of race, religion, and
how they are intertwined.
Greenland wanted to write a story centered around “a
New York real estate mogul that takes some events of Donald
Sterling’s life. I thought Sterling got everything he
deserved, but it did make me think. I actually had a character
before I had a story, knowing that I wanted to write about
someone tried and convicted before he had his day in court.
In my book, people make up their minds before all the facts
are.”
The main character, Jay Gladstone is a Jewish real estate
tycoon and NBA basketball team owner who’s proud of
his philanthropic efforts. His star player, Dag Maxwell, wants
a contract renewal with a lot of zeroes at the end of his
payment. Things turn upside down when Jay finds him in bed
with his wife, Nicole, and then accidentally runs over him
as Maxwell runs out of the house. Jay is also contending with
Nicole’s desire to have a child, which goes against
the signed prenup, as well as his college aged daughter, from
a previous marriage, that has very radical political ideas.
But nothing compares to a statement he made that goes viral,
“why does everyone in this family need to have sex with
black people?"
“I wanted to explore the idea of intersectionality and
question if it excludes Jews. They are not considered a persecuted
minority. There seems to be a ladder of grievance. In the
50’s, 60’s, and 70’s being Jewish was considered
a cool thing, but it no longer is. I write about this in the
book and how that nuance got lost. Power structures are now
being challenged. Our society is at an inflection point, and
I thought this the right time to wade into the national conversation.
Jay is a good man that makes a terrible mistake and he has
his life destroyed because of it. I think he is a flawed individual
who is intelligent, big-hearted, wealthy, and is clueless
about what happens to him societally after he let his emotions
get the better of him.”
Through the plot and characters, Greenland makes a statement
about today’s divisive society. A book quote hammers
the point home, “Nowadays personal destruction is a
sport.” Because of life’s circumstances Jay sees
that he has become public enemy number one, with everything
spiraling out of control. “I wrote this scene in the
NBA offices where Jay uses the phrase ‘sold down the
river.’ Someone tells him that he should not say it
because it refers to slavery. It is so obvious that Jay meant
it as the current day reference and did not even think about
the latter day meaning. We are in an environment where people
are just looking for things. The extremists on the left and
right have hijacked the dialogue with the media amplifying
everything and the Internet is the accelerant.”
This book shows through each of the characters how good people
can do bad things and the result is having their life blown
up. Through Nicole, Jay, and Dag the issues of race, religion,
class, money, sports, and politics, are explored. It is a
tragedy with some humorous scenes that at times are witty
and at other times biting.
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