16 February 2004
Moral Hazard
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by Kate Jennings
In the world of high finance, reflects Cath, women are about as welcome as fleas
in a sleeping bag. She's in a unique position to note this fact. A confirmed
liberal who can scarcely contain her own sarcastic wit, she is a spy in the
house of Mammon: a speechwriter for self-important plutocrats, disguising their
greed with lulling words. Cath has found herself on Wall Street because she
needs serious money: after ten good years, her beloved husband, Bailey, is
suffering from a tragically early case of Alzheimer's.
So Cath's journey into two nightmare worlds. Caught between them, she must
grasp whatever will keep her from falling apart - even if that means risking
moral hazard.
Kate Jennings was born in Australia but has lived in New York since 1979.
During the 1990s she worked as an executive speechwriter for several Wall Street
investment banks. She has published several volumes of poetry and essays.
Moral Hazard, her second novel, won the 2003 NSW Premier's Literary Awards
Christina Stead Prize for Fiction.
Sound engineer: Richard Girvan
Production: Justine Lees
