A review by hellmice911
Rich Man, Poor Man by Irwin Shaw

4.0

This eminently readable novel made me reluctant to do anything else for the entirety of the time I read it. At work, in my ceramics class, even walking the dogs, I was thinking about the characters, their lives, their tragedies, curious for their futures, hopeful for their success. The novel’s chapters (including Goodreads comments) largely focus on the brothers, Tom and Rudy; I, however, found Gretchen’s story quite enthralling. My only detraction from the novel would be that, while it touches on many intriguing themes, it doesn’t necessary delve into them as deeply as I would have liked. Some of the peripheral characters – Jean, Billy – are caricatures that Shaw molds and changes to emphasize the point of the moment and Tom’s “redemption” seems a bit obvious and dramatic. All the same, this was a phenomenally interesting and enjoyable read and, though I hadn’t read Shaw before, I now want to read his entire repertoire. I can’t think of a better compliment than that! The overview of history was also fabulous and Shaw seemlessly blends one generation into another.