Kapitoil

Teddy Wayne

2010 • 320 pages

Ratings3

Average rating3.7

"Sometimes you do not truly observe something until you study it in reverse," writes Karim Issar upon arrival to New York City from Qatar in 1999. Fluent in numbers, logic, and business jargon yet often baffled by human connection, the young financial wizard soon creates a computer program named Kapitoil that predicts oil futures and reaps record profits for his company.At first an introspective loner adrift in New York's social scenes, he anchors himself to his legendary boss Derek Schrub and Rebecca, a sensitive, disillusioned colleague who may understand him better than he does himself. Her influence, and his father's disapproval of Karim's Americanization, cause him to question the moral implications of Kapitoil, moving him toward a decision that will determine his future, his firm's, and to whom—and where—his loyalties lie.

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This is my first Teddy Wayne novel, and I look forward to reading more. Karim is a great (and funny) protagonist.

March 27, 2019

Shawn Towner

I've found that anything that McSweeneys adds to their McSweeneys recommends list is worth reading, and Kapitoil is no exception. The novel starts off slowly, in fact I was about to give it up as I was getting sick of the repetitive Borat/EiL jokes about immigrants having a comically poor command of the English language. Fortunately, the book picks up when it goes from making fun of people who speak in business textbook language to being a Faustian tale of American capitalism.

The book tells the story of Karim, a Middle Eastern programmer who comes to America to help an investment company deal with the Y2K problem, but who ends up writing a program that uses reports of violence in the Middle East to predict oil futures. The program is a success and Karim is tempted by money, parties, romance, and all the other excitements of 1999 NYC. He is eventually faced with the decision of whether he will should sell his program (and his soul) to American corporate interests, or instead pursue a more lofty goal.

September 4, 2010