Customer Reviews

Beggarman, Thief

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was happy to find out that Rich Man, Poor Man, which immediately became one of my favorite books after I finished it, had a sequel. Being a sequel, it definitely didn't live up to Rich Man, Poor Man, but I considered it an excellent follow up. It was cool to see all the characters from the original and the book had a lot of events in it, as did the last one, which is what I love about them. I wasn't at all disappointed and this is probably my favorite series of books.

Not as good as Rich Man, Poor Man but a good sequel nonetheless. I ended RM, PM wondering more about the characters (a sign of a good book to me I might add) and was delighted to read B,T. Definitely need to read them both to feel satisfied.

Rereading this work after 30 years was as deeply satisfying as the first time. Irwin Shaw had this talent not a lot of novelists do -- he made you care about the characters, who embedded themselves in your feelings and stayed in memory. I cared about Wesley and worried that Rudolph might finally reach his limits as family champion. At the time of the first reading I had no idea "Rich Man, Poor Man," and "Beggarman, Thief" were blockbusters, only that the stories were deeply satisfying. And you know what: in "Rich Man" I even enjoyed the behavior of Rudolph's father with the French teacher. This time around, I will keep the two books with me.

This is the so-called sequel to "Rich Man, Poor Man", which was a well-written, absorbing story with interesting characters. Far from being a sequel, however, this novel is a sad rehash of the earlier success. Shaw revisits his characters from "Rich Man, Poor Man", but they do nothing more than reminisce about plotlines from the original novel. Please be diligent about recycling your post-consumer waste, but don't disappoint yourself by reading a recycled book.