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j3n_d's review against another edition
1.0
I received this book for free from First to Read. Unfortunately, this book did not connect with me. I did not find the characters interesting or likeable. The non-linear nature of this story made the flow choppy, making me even less invested in the tale. I did enjoy the drawings scattered throughout.
bookhero6's review against another edition
2.0
I struggled with this book.
My first response to Who is Rich? Rich is an asshole. I wanted to give up on this book so many times because the main character is so completely unlikable. I almost didn't make it past the first 20 pages because he came off as a sexist, selfish asshole who seriously needs to get over himself. But I trudged on and Rich's rants get a little more soft-edged, more introspective, more self-critical. Rich is a middle-aged cartoonist, married with two young children. He's unhappy. Well, more, he's stuck. And he goes to his annual writer's workshop/conference where he teaches to get away from his family.
He seems to be a work at home dad, and his wife, who works in television, is usually the one away on business while he deals with the kids. And this is his chance to get away and have some me time. He finds himself at a crossroads in his life, career changing/dwindling, marriage stagnating, stuck in a rut. So he does the guy thing and cheats on his wife.
I wanted, I tried, to enjoy reading this, but I just couldn't. It's a book about a middle-aged white guy and he's not a man's man, and he's not suffering from testosterone poisoning, and he thinks, and he questions himself, which are all good things. And there are times when this book is beautiful, and spare, yet abundant. Ultimately, though, I struggled through it and I'm struggling to find a positive outcome of having read it.
I received a digital copy of this through Penguin's First to Read program.
My first response to Who is Rich? Rich is an asshole. I wanted to give up on this book so many times because the main character is so completely unlikable. I almost didn't make it past the first 20 pages because he came off as a sexist, selfish asshole who seriously needs to get over himself. But I trudged on and Rich's rants get a little more soft-edged, more introspective, more self-critical. Rich is a middle-aged cartoonist, married with two young children. He's unhappy. Well, more, he's stuck. And he goes to his annual writer's workshop/conference where he teaches to get away from his family.
He seems to be a work at home dad, and his wife, who works in television, is usually the one away on business while he deals with the kids. And this is his chance to get away and have some me time. He finds himself at a crossroads in his life, career changing/dwindling, marriage stagnating, stuck in a rut. So he does the guy thing and cheats on his wife.
I wanted, I tried, to enjoy reading this, but I just couldn't. It's a book about a middle-aged white guy and he's not a man's man, and he's not suffering from testosterone poisoning, and he thinks, and he questions himself, which are all good things. And there are times when this book is beautiful, and spare, yet abundant. Ultimately, though, I struggled through it and I'm struggling to find a positive outcome of having read it.
I received a digital copy of this through Penguin's First to Read program.
an_enthusiastic_reader's review against another edition
4.0
Darkly comedic novel about a cartoonist's mid-life crisis, but with even darker undertones about the politics of sex and money, mobility and monogamy. I laughed at some of this, but felt so sad about the rest.*
*And it takes place during the summer of 2012, when Obama was trying to defeat Romney and then you remember how much we didn't want Romney and how he doesn't look quite as demonic as when compared to a real demon.
*And it takes place during the summer of 2012, when Obama was trying to defeat Romney and then you remember how much we didn't want Romney and how he doesn't look quite as demonic as when compared to a real demon.
emmagetz's review against another edition
2.0
I read this book for my internship and it just really wasn’t for me. It plays into the white middle aged male ennui of hating your wife and career, and I just couldn’t get into it. Not that it was necessarily a bad book but I personally didn’t care for it.
felixsanchez's review against another edition
1.0
I couldn't even get past page 50. I usually don't rate books unless I've read about 50%, but you'll see why I feel so strongly about this.
Firstly, there were transphobic comments on page five. "Nick, the trans kid, said his father had thrown him out of the house and that he - or she - lived in her car.”. Come on, Matthew Klam, if you really think you can get away with misgendering and transphobic comments in literature these days, you're living in the past. This is capital-F fucked up. I considered stopping there, but I persevered with bated breath.
The humour was subpar, try-hard and quite frankly, the typical middle-aged guy trying desperately to be funny - i.e. “Solito was young enough to be my son, if I’d had a son at fourteen.” (pg.10). Was that supposed to be funny? Why was that an included detail? It's such a daft piece of information that I just sat there, rolled my eyes and thought for a solid minute, why, Matthew Klam, why?.
I only just got into Rich's (unhealthy) relationship with married life, but this gem came out fairly early: "Bad sex was better than nothing, and Beanie [their son] effectively ended the badness. Fuckless weeks..." (pg.20). So not only are we transphobic, we're also sex-obsessed, self-centred and not at all considerate of women or children's needs? This made me sigh and just wish I got my $30 back (how did I waste that much money on such a piece of garbage?)
There was vague racism up until this point, in describing Indian or non-descript 'Asian' characters (which abided by cultural stereotypes, i.e. Asians being nerds), but the real kicker was "Obama as a jug-eared mullah." (pg.35). So, alongside the transphobia and misogyny, we're also racist. Congrats, Matthew Klam, you got the unholy trinity.
That just highlighted how much of an overgrown schoolboy Rich is. He is an unlikeable character - which isn't necessarily bad - but had no redeeming qualities, or, in any stretch of the imagination, interesting. It's a typical example of an egotistical man who got a glimpse of fame and glory, but was always too far from his grasp. He whinges about how good he's got it, and how privileged he is, and it never comes off as a commentary on society. It comes of self-interested, boring and irritating.
So, this is a complete flop, and is definitely not directed at younger audiences. It's for middle-aged men who lament about their unstable position in today's world, and the non-event that was their lives.
Firstly, there were transphobic comments on page five. "Nick, the trans kid, said his father had thrown him out of the house and that he - or she - lived in her car.”. Come on, Matthew Klam, if you really think you can get away with misgendering and transphobic comments in literature these days, you're living in the past. This is capital-F fucked up. I considered stopping there, but I persevered with bated breath.
The humour was subpar, try-hard and quite frankly, the typical middle-aged guy trying desperately to be funny - i.e. “Solito was young enough to be my son, if I’d had a son at fourteen.” (pg.10). Was that supposed to be funny? Why was that an included detail? It's such a daft piece of information that I just sat there, rolled my eyes and thought for a solid minute, why, Matthew Klam, why?.
I only just got into Rich's (unhealthy) relationship with married life, but this gem came out fairly early: "Bad sex was better than nothing, and Beanie [their son] effectively ended the badness. Fuckless weeks..." (pg.20). So not only are we transphobic, we're also sex-obsessed, self-centred and not at all considerate of women or children's needs? This made me sigh and just wish I got my $30 back (how did I waste that much money on such a piece of garbage?)
There was vague racism up until this point, in describing Indian or non-descript 'Asian' characters (which abided by cultural stereotypes, i.e. Asians being nerds), but the real kicker was "Obama as a jug-eared mullah." (pg.35). So, alongside the transphobia and misogyny, we're also racist. Congrats, Matthew Klam, you got the unholy trinity.
That just highlighted how much of an overgrown schoolboy Rich is. He is an unlikeable character - which isn't necessarily bad - but had no redeeming qualities, or, in any stretch of the imagination, interesting. It's a typical example of an egotistical man who got a glimpse of fame and glory, but was always too far from his grasp. He whinges about how good he's got it, and how privileged he is, and it never comes off as a commentary on society. It comes of self-interested, boring and irritating.
So, this is a complete flop, and is definitely not directed at younger audiences. It's for middle-aged men who lament about their unstable position in today's world, and the non-event that was their lives.
raoionna's review against another edition
2.0
Rich is a guy whose life didn’t turn out as he wished and who doesn’t have the grace to make the most of what he has. The language and characters are so poorly done.
yetanothersusan's review against another edition
2.0
I think this book is expected to be received as some great existential view of that period in life where you realize the glamour is over. Rich is a past his prime cartoonist whose wife is home breastfeeding one offspring while the other one throws fits. In the meantime, Rich is teaching others how to create cartoons and having an affair with a return student. He spends a majority of the book telling himself he is in love with Amy, the married student, or whining about the unfairness of her having money and him being broke. The levels of self-absorption in the book was an instant turn off. Sure, a person can struggle with where life finds them, but the whining needs to be broken up with some type of enlightenment. There is none in this book.
A copy of this book was provided by NetGalley and Random House in exchange for an honest review.
A copy of this book was provided by NetGalley and Random House in exchange for an honest review.
petra_reads's review against another edition
2.0
[b:Who Is Rich?|32912192|Who Is Rich?|Matthew Klam|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1483411274s/32912192.jpg|53529388] Rich is a committed father of two kids under the age of five. Rich is a somewhat less committed husband to an angry wife. Rich is unhappy. Rich is dejected because his marriage has become a sex-free environment. Rich has money problems. Rich was a once promising cartoonist but is now a struggling illustrator. Rich is stuck. Rich has an affair with a woman who doesn't have money problems but husband problems. Rich is spending a week away from his family at an annual summer school/conference where he meets up with Amy, the aforementioned woman. Rich likes extensive descriptions of people and his surroundings and reading his rambling introspection for 350 pages was the dullest thing I've done in a while. Couldn't wait to get to the end.
I tend to enjoy these mid-life-crisis 'male-lit' type of books because it's an interesting change from the more frequent female POVs, but this one wasn't right for me. There were some fleeting moments of wit and admittedly, bits of the writing were good. I didn't have an issue with the adultery theme. If anything that was the most interesting aspect of this book. But overall, there was too much inconsequential rambling. All those background characters? There were moments when I could relate to Rich. Married life with two under fives and financial worries can be a strain. Been there, done that. But ultimately, there wasn't enough there to make me care. When I finally got to the end, I was mainly wondering what the actual point of it all was?
I received an ARC via NetGalley. Thank you, and sorry.
I tend to enjoy these mid-life-crisis 'male-lit' type of books because it's an interesting change from the more frequent female POVs, but this one wasn't right for me. There were some fleeting moments of wit and admittedly, bits of the writing were good. I didn't have an issue with the adultery theme. If anything that was the most interesting aspect of this book. But overall, there was too much inconsequential rambling. All those background characters? There were moments when I could relate to Rich. Married life with two under fives and financial worries can be a strain. Been there, done that. But ultimately, there wasn't enough there to make me care. When I finally got to the end, I was mainly wondering what the actual point of it all was?
I received an ARC via NetGalley. Thank you, and sorry.
sophronisba's review against another edition
2.0
Often unlikable protagonists are not a deal-breaker for me, but sometimes they just are. And oh, how I loathed Rich. He had not a single redeeming quality, as best I can tell -- he was whiny and entitled and assholish and worst of all, incredibly tiresome. I think the author wanted me to sympathize with him, or at least sympathize with his human struggle, or something -- but I just wanted terrible things to happen to him. Rich is the worst, and I could not wait to be away from him.
entrejl's review against another edition
3.0
This book started great. Then fizzled. I was expecting more humor and less depression and need. Maybe it hit too close to home for me. I can really see myself as Robin, I am pretty sure at one time I was almost her. I found myself growing uncomfortable in a way that does not lead to self discovery, but instead, guilt and sadness. I don't need to feel that now so I skimmed the last 100 pages. I'm sure as a result, I missed something, but I needed to finish it. It wasn't bad enough to quit, but it was great enough to make me want to read every word. I guess I just wanted it to be better. Maybe I wanted myself to be better too. Or maybe I am better and don't need to be drug back into a not so great time in my life. People in a different place in their lives may really connect with this book and find the humor that I didn't see. I think it could be a good book with an audience better than me.