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thejoyofbooking's review
2.0
I’m rather at a loss as to how to review this book. On the one hand, I am rolling my eyes at the claims that every wealthy person has terrible anxiety, no work ethic, untrustworthy friends, no-good kids, backstabbing siblings, is cheating on his or her spouse with their personal trainer and is being cheated on in return. That they all give to charity for the kudos they receive in return, that they work through every vacation, that they don’t know how to maintain real relationships, that they take no joy at all in simple pleasures and that they are spiritually bankrupt. On the face of it, that is exactly what this book claims.
On the other hand, I have seen up close the effects that wealth can have through generations – the parents that worked hard for it, the kids who didn’t and who take it for granted, and the grandkids that grow up spoiled to no end by parents who won’t say no to sharing money they didn’t even earn. I agree that there is more to life than earning money, and that many of life’s greatest joys are free. I know that I trust my friends and family in part because there’s not much they could get out of being my friend, perks-wise.
But what, exactly, this book was supposed to do about that is somewhat a mystery to me. It’s something between a tell-all and a pat on the back from the lawyer to the wealthy who’s managed to rise above all the pettiness he sees on a daily basis (yet, given the vacations he’s able to take from which he can spy on non-client millionaires, he’s clearly being well-compensated himself). Is he really one of us, the 99%? Or is he a 1%-er who doesn’t even realize it?
Ultimately, I’m not sure. The book is a very quick read, which was a relief, because I realized at one point that my favorite bits were cheap tabloid fodder – the affairs and misfortunes of the poor little rich girls and boys the author worked for. I don’t like to spend my time indulging in that kind of content in magazines, and I didn’t want to do it in book form either. I think the best I can say is that if US Weekly is your type of beach read, this book could be a fun little peek inside the world of the real wealthy.
On the other hand, I have seen up close the effects that wealth can have through generations – the parents that worked hard for it, the kids who didn’t and who take it for granted, and the grandkids that grow up spoiled to no end by parents who won’t say no to sharing money they didn’t even earn. I agree that there is more to life than earning money, and that many of life’s greatest joys are free. I know that I trust my friends and family in part because there’s not much they could get out of being my friend, perks-wise.
But what, exactly, this book was supposed to do about that is somewhat a mystery to me. It’s something between a tell-all and a pat on the back from the lawyer to the wealthy who’s managed to rise above all the pettiness he sees on a daily basis (yet, given the vacations he’s able to take from which he can spy on non-client millionaires, he’s clearly being well-compensated himself). Is he really one of us, the 99%? Or is he a 1%-er who doesn’t even realize it?
Ultimately, I’m not sure. The book is a very quick read, which was a relief, because I realized at one point that my favorite bits were cheap tabloid fodder – the affairs and misfortunes of the poor little rich girls and boys the author worked for. I don’t like to spend my time indulging in that kind of content in magazines, and I didn’t want to do it in book form either. I think the best I can say is that if US Weekly is your type of beach read, this book could be a fun little peek inside the world of the real wealthy.
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