Rich man, Poor Man [Hardcover]

Irwin Shaw (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Dell Books (1976)
• ASIN: B0014C0QAC
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Like Fine Wine.........., April 11, 2005

By 

A. J., Lawrence "Elmore Leonard Wannabe" (Calgary, Alberta Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rich Man, Poor Man (Hardcover)

How often does one ever reread "popular" fiction? This novel has remained firmly ensconced in my memory, and, consequently, I decided to revisit it some thirty-five years later. Very quickly it became clear why I had never forgotten the book as it contains all the elements that can make "popular" fiction such an enjoyable experience: well written prose, a captivating plot, unexpected twists, and, ahem, scenes of substantial sensuality. I cannot recommend it too highly!

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very engrossing and absorbing, August 28, 2004

By 

Cindy T. Carney (Marlboro, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rich Man, Poor Man (Hardcover)

I find it hard these days to really get into a book, so I put down about 10 in the past year. But this one is VERY ABSORBING, you keep wondering what the characters are going to do next. It is interesting (I'm writing in August 2004) about the hobbies/words used/way they think in the years beginning in 1940 and ending 1968. For those of us born after those years, we tend to think of those years in black and white and that THEY were VERY OLD FASHIONED, however, they're the same as us, just in a different time in the world.

This is pretty light reading, some parts contrived - a little Danielle Steel'ish (which I hate), but I'm saying some parts are a little too...well...perfect. Not real life. Very long book too. But you will stay absorbed till the end - kind of a surprise ending too.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A page-turner, hard to put down, December 14, 2009

By 

SusieQ (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rich Man, Poor Man (Mass Market Paperback)

This novel's plot takes the reader through the highs and lows of the Jordache family, from 1945 to 1968, through the lives of its cleverly drawn and vigorous characters.

Most of the plot is propelled by Rudy Jordache's rise from a slummy district of a small upstate New York town to wealth and the beginnings of a political career, but for me the most sympathetic character is Tom Jordache. Tom, after a life of being knocked around and ending up in trouble, finally wins out over his unloved beginning; wins out over his "whole rotten life" (as he calls it, in a conversation with his uncle), and finds a measure of peace. Gretchen and Rudy, his sister and brother, are less admirable, but somehow the reader doesn't despise these characters; all the siblings are ably and realistically drawn, and their stories are consistently interesting.

I don't look for deeply profound 'meanings' and revelations in bestselling books like Rich Man, Poor Man; just a good story well told. It's a big, robust, multi-generational family saga, and Irwin Shaw tells it excellently.