Samantha Greene Woodruff on Blacklists and being a 'Christmas Tree Jew'

The Trade Off is the story of a brilliant and ambitious young woman striving to find her place amid the promise and tumult of 1920s Wall Street. 

Bea Abramovitz has a gift for math and numbers, and for finding patterns within the stock market. But in the 1920s, in a Lower East Side tenement, opportunities for (Jewish) women on Wall Street don't just come knocking. 

It's easier for her golden-boy twin brother, Jake, who longs to reclaim all their parents lost after fleeing the pogroms in Russia to come to America. Well intentioned but undisciplined, Jake has a charm that can carry him only so far on Wall Street. So Bea devises a plan to be the brains behind her brother, acting as broker. As Jake's reputation, his heedless ego, and the family fortune soar, Bea foresees catastrophe: an impending crash that could destroy everything if she doesn't finally take control. (Lake Union)

Samantha Greene Woodruff has an MBA from NYU Stern School of Business and spent fifteen years at Viacom’s Nickelodeon before leaving to parent her two young children. Her first novel, The Lobotomist’s Wife was a #1 Amazon bestseller and Amazon First Reads Pick. The Trade Off is her second novel. 

Samantha expounds upon her love of Christmas, what it meant to step into her Jewish identity post 10/7, and her conflicted feelings toward wealth. 

Samantha Greene Woodruff’s Five Books:

1. The Diary of Anne Frank
2. Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer
3. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon
4. The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl and The Whispers by Ashley Audrain
5. The Trade Off by Samantha Greene Woodruff

The Five Books has the advisory and promotional support of The Jewish Book Council.

The Five Books is fiscally sponsored by FJC, a 501c3 public charity. 

Hosted by Tali Rosenblatt-Cohen

Produced by Odelia Rubin

Artwork by Dena Friedman

Music by Dov Rosenblatt and Blue Dot Sessions