The Financial Lives of the Poets: A Novel

Name: The Financial Lives of the Poets: A Novel
Price: 2.99 USD
Availability: InStock
Rating: 4.1 (1025 reviews)
Author: Jess Walter

by Jess Walter

Contemporary Fiction Literary Fiction

4.1 (1,025)

4.1 stars from 1,025 reviews. Top 90% of Contemporary Fiction books we track.

304 pages~5.1 hr readPublished by HarperPublished 2009-01-01

$2.99Deal79% off peak

Last checked: Jul 5, 2026

Price history: $1.99 – $13.99

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Price range: $1.99 – $13.99

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Fans of these authors will like this...

Jess Walter
George Saunders
Jonathan Franzen
David Mitchell

Fans of these books will like this...

Beautiful Ruins
The Discworld series
Dept. of Speculation
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Perfect for you if...

You enjoy dark comedies that find genuine warmth in characters at their lowest point, where the humour comes from real desperation rather than cheap jokes.
You appreciate smart, character-driven stories that blend financial anxiety with genuine human connection and unexpected friendships.
You like Jess Walter's style: witty, tender, and unafraid to show how ordinary people make spectacular mistakes.

Maybe not for you if...

You want straightforward feel-good narratives or stories where hard work cleanly solves problems.
You prefer tight, plot-driven thrillers where each scene builds obvious tension toward a climax.
You're looking for practical financial advice or self-improvement wrapped in fiction.

About this book

A comic and heartfelt novel about how people reach financial ruin and begin to recover. Matthew Prior, a small-time reporter, leaves his job to pursue an ambitious idea: a website dedicated to financial journalism written in blank verse. The venture quickly unravels, leaving him jobless, deeply in debt, and facing the loss of his home within six days. Suspicions about his wife's online communications add to his troubles. During a desperate late-night trip to 7-Eleven, Prior encounters local stoners and becomes involved in an ill-conceived plan that becomes his most significant undertaking yet.

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Price History

Kindle price over time. Green zones = periods when the book was free.

$1.99 – $13.99

Currently on sale at $2.99 — 79% off peak. Price has dropped 10 times over the last 6 years. Goes on sale roughly every 87 days.

Sales Rank

Amazon sales rank: lower number = better selling book. #1 is the bestseller.

Currently around #16K in the Kindle store — a steady mid-list seller. Climbing the charts — 52% improvement recently.

Rating & Reviews

Purple line = star rating over time. Blue area = total review count growth.

Currently 4.1★ from 1,025 reviews

Gaining approximately 4 new reviews per month. Rating has climbed from 4.1 to 4.2. Recent readers are rating it higher.

Sale Prediction

Actual Predicted

This book is currently discounted at $2.99. It typically returns to around $13.99.

Prices shown in USD from Amazon US. We continuously pull new data to improve tracking. If dates look old, it usually means there has been no significant change since the last data point.