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Set in a new york based fictional bank, the story follows the life of two main protagonists, sundeep sikka and swaminathan, who started their journey in the banking industry as newcomers. The story delves into their lives and how they make it to the top, ethically and unethically. It is interesting to see how two people, who started on the same ground, veered off to different ways to achieve their success. After reading the book, i can definitely say that ravi subramanian was successful in capturing real life situations in a fictional world.

The characters deal with everyday troubles that people in the corporate worldface at some point in their lives. Subramanian’s writing is crisp and cinematic,which immediately engages the readers. The characters in the book makequestionable choices. This aspect of the plot will make the readers want tocontemplate whether they will make similar choices in such situations or pick different possibilities.

The book will keep you hooked with its plots and twists. It explores ambition, morality, integrity and the influence of corrupting power on people. Moreover, as a person who is studying to head into the corporate world, i could put myself in their shoes and think from the characters’ point of view. The book has some insider knowledge, since the author himself has experience in the banking sector.

Subramanian’s expertise in this world lends credibility to the story . This makes the story feel like a behind-the-scenes look at the world of finance. The book is expeditious and engaging. The narration draws readers into the world of investment banking. Throughout the story we see the characters developing from curious novices to people who need to make difficult choices as they progress in their life.

The use of financial jargon and terminology lends verity to the narration which makes it an invaluable read for those interested in finance. While “if god was a banker” received praise for its engaging plot and industry insight, it also faced some disparagement. While some found it to be a good read, others found the characters and their actions to be stereotypical of the corporate world. Moreover, the moral dilemmas presented in the story might have come across as black and white to some, lacking the nuance found in real-life ethical conflicts.

There are two quotes that spoke to me- when a man tastes continued success, he cannot accept a failure. And life often does weird things that leave one with little or no choice. These are very true- we never know what will happen. As people, we improvise. Life is not black and white. The grey area is what we will have to work with. That is exactly what the book tells us.

My curiosity took me to look up what other people thought of the book as well. Among a lot of positive reviews, there was one which called the book a lie and claimed that the story is built on a vanilla dreamland of how iims and and its make it big in life. However, if you are reading this and it piques your curiosity, i would like to suggest that you read this book and decide on which opinion you will agree upon.

Good luck and happy reading!
Thank you.