First lines of the novel I had neither the time nor the inclination to write today:

"Santiago had lived a very good life. Although he had twice been married (and twice-divorced), he'd never had children. Now, at 79, his modest apartment and simple furnishings would certainly never lead one to guess he had nearly half a million dollars in the bank.

'Compound interest,' he used to say. "The most powerful force on the planet." And then he'd wink…”