I am at an impasse here. I really don’t know what to write for the review of Who Is Rich. This is one of those rare books that I can’t find any words for. And believe me, for me not to have words to describe a book is very rare. I am going to keep this review short and sweet.


I did enjoy reading Who Is Rich. It wasn’t a fast read and I did have to reread some chapters to understand what was being said and how it related to the story. Being told from Rich’s point of view, I actually empathized with him during most of the book. He was struggling with a wife who was in chronic pain and who might have been depressed (her actions during the book made me think that), a daughter and a son who refused to sleep at night (know that feeling) and a career that was over before it began. But my empathy for him began to fray after he slept with Amy and spent their savings on that stupid bracelet. But, that was his wake up call and he did try to make things right. Stress try.

I liked that I could also relate to Rich. Having 3 children myself, I have wondered the same things he did at times. I have felt that my relationship was buckling under the stress of having 2 toddlers and having a baby later in life (I was 37 when my now 3.5-year-old was born). I have felt that I needed to get away. I got him, I truly did. What I didn’t get was instead of talking everything out with Karen, his wife, he cheated on her and had an emotional affair with Amy for over a year.

While I liked that the author went into detail with his characters, I did feel that some parts of the book were too detailed. Like, I didn’t know that a character needed braces (not how it was phrased in the book). Stuff along those lines. I felt that instead of adding to the story, it overwhelmed it.

The end of the book was what I expected, with all the plotlines resolved. I just wish that I felt that things were going to be resolved between his wife and himself. I also thought that he lucked out, big time because Karen didn’t even notice the missing money in their account.

How many stars will I give Who Is Rich: 3

Why: Good plotline, realistic characters. I did think the book was a little wordy, hence my star rating, but overall, I liked it. Also, the drawings were creepy but an original way to star some of the chapters.

Will I reread: Maybe

Would I recommend to family and friends: Maybe

Age range: Adult

Why: Sex and violence

**I received a free copy of this book and volunteered to review it**

Who Is Rich is absolutely hysterical. I haven't laughed so hard in a book in a long time. Rich is a cartoon writing down on his luck and teaching at a summer conference in a small New England beach town that sounded like Provincetown to me. Under it all there is a currant of seriousness. A most satisfying book.

This book was okay. I did not connect with the characters. They were self absorbed and not relateable. I am sure some people will enjoy the book but I did not.

I am choosing not to review, as I did not finish the ARC.

Who is Rich? Well, no one I really want to spend any time with. He's unhappy, self absorbed, whiny and boring. He can't accept that his 15 minutes of fame is over and done. The beginning of this book reads like one long moan. I wanted to put it down and never pick it up again. I persevered, because hope springs eternal and I kept wanting to see if it would ever improve.

Rich is back teaching cartoon drawing at a summer conference. Five days on Cape Cod while his wife stays at home with their three small children. The prior year he had an emotional affair with a student that continued over the winter and she's back again. She's unhappy and rich. He's an ass, not to mention stupid. And it's not like any of the other characters are any more sympathetic.

I enjoyed the writing. The descriptions are well done. But it couldn't make up for my dislike of the main character and the drudgery of his narrative.

This was not to my liking, but I appreciate netgalley and Random House providing me with an advance copy of this book.

Thank you Netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. The writing is actually quite good but the subject matter couldn't hold my interest. I finally just stopped reading at 30% on my kindle. I rarely give up on a book, but I could not relate to any of the characters in this book. Rich, Robin, and Amy are some of the most unhappy dysfunctional, fictional people (I hope), that I have read about in a long time. Please don't allow my review dissuade you from giving this one a try. I recently read a book that received mediocre reviews that I absolutely loved as it spoke to me. One person's junk is another person's treasure.

This book just wasn't for me. I almost didn't finish it. I thought it might be a little bit of a lighter story but no the characters were very angry and just too negative for my liking.

A book full of unlikeable white men....(whispers....) i loved it.

Books aren't supposed to have unlikable characters. We, as readers, are supposed to fall in love with characters. The characters in "Who is Rich?" are ....THE WORST....and that's what makes this book great. It's easy to hate Rich...and I probably do.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

Ehhhhh..... I finished it, so it wasn't absolutely horrible. Did not hold my attention very well, a bit hard to follow. Thank you for the opportunity to read it though!

I received an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

I'm not entirely sure why, maybe it was the cute drawing on the cover, but I was under the impression that this book would be a light, easy reading, comedy. Nope. Not even close.

If you are looking for a light beach read, this isn't it. This is a dissection of an affair, by an unlovable main character. But somehow, I kept reading. This is a well written account of two miserable people, attempting a shot at happiness.

I didn't enjoy reading this book. I almost didn't finish it.. Several times. After I was done I really wondered why I had bothered. There was not one character I could say was ok. Rich was a creep. A cheater. Selfish. Nuts. Amy was no better. Robin was also self absorbed and they all deserved the crappy life they all got. There were some moments of hilarity, humor....but the rest of it seemed like a free flow nervous breakdown ending with a trip to the mental ward. This book just wasn't for me.

Rich Fischer a cartoonist and married with two children leaves for a summer teaching assignment with an odd but elite collection of faculty and students. Concupiscence overtakes him and pushes him into an adulterous affair that ever seems to be over. This piece of fiction is amoral, at times witty and humorous and filled with vapid characters searching for their true selves.

I only got through approximately 10% of this book and found that it was just not my type of book. Unfortunately I decided to discontinue reading it at that part. It may be a fantastic book but just not for me.

It's not often I abandon a book, but I just couldn't finish this book no matter how many times I tried to keep reading it. I got about 50% through it I found it very difficult to like or identify with the primary characters and to become attached to their stories. While the prose was very well written and the author's style of writing creative, I didn't like the story like and plot at all. Huge apologies to the publisher...because my review may be an anomaly, I am not publishing on my blog so as not to dissuade others

I received this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. The best part of this book is the humor. It is written through the eyes of the main character, Rich Fischer. He is a 42 year old cartoonist who peaked early in his career and then fizzled out. Now every year he attends an arts conference, and teaches a 4 day workshop. He is unhappily married to Robin, with two small children. Money is an issue for them and they basically tolerate each other. Enter Amy, who Rich had a fling with at the conference the year before. She is married to a Wall St. magnate who ignores her when he is even home. When she shows up at this years conference, they reconnect, and as you can imagine, a little chaos ensues. The writing is done well, but it was not my kind of book. Rich is very whiney, I found myself calling him Eeyore about half way through. The characters are interesting and as I said there was a good bit of humor throughout the story, it just was not my cup of tea.

2 stars

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was just not my kind of book. I didn’t like the man character Rich or anyone else in the book. Rich is a one-hit wonder cartoonist that leaves his wife and young children to teach at a week long summer conference. During this long week, we learn that Rich is obsessed with a rich woman that he met at the last conference. He has been having an affair with her since the last summer conference and in her sees an escape from the life that he has become increasingly dissatisfied.
The book is just one long whiney, self-indulgent rant by a man that is not happy with himself, his life, his family and his career. He is self-destructive, a narcissist and makes one bad decision after the next. It just wasn’t pleasant to read and I found myself skimming large sections just to get through the book.

The writing is well done and there is probably a market for this book. I’m just not it.

Hmmm. The book was well written for the most part, but...Rich, Who is Rich? Well, he is a self-absorbed middle-aged man going through a grand selfish period. He is very dislikeable and I found myself getting mad just reading about this ridiculous man, out galavanting around while his poor wife is stuck home breastfeeding the baby and taking care of the children, his children. His self-centeredness really put me off and I found it difficult to complete the book. I found my mind wandering, not wondering, which is not a good thing when reading a book. I do appreciate the opportunity given to me by NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group, to read an ARC for an honest review. Sadly, this book was not for me.

This was very disappointing. The sheer volume of names and characters made my head spin. I was very excited about the book and I was unable to muddle through the text.

Sometimes a book is a bad fit for a reader and I suspect this was the case.

Some might say I'm being unfair giving Who is Rich only 1 star seeing I only read 50 % of it, but I just couldn't take anymore. Matthew Klam writes of a man who is unhappy in his marriage and semi unhappy with his "mistress". Who is Rich? I found him self indulgent and an idiot. I was given an early copy to review.

"Who Is Rich" refers to the main character and narrator, Rich. Rich had found fast success as a cartoonist, but it was short-lived. Now he works as an illustrator--a big step down. The story begins with Rich giving a summer cartoonist class at a bankrupt Maine college for $1500 a pop. Rich complains he is paid poorly, his accommodations at the school are poor.

For most of the first 18% of the book, the author tells the reader what Rich thinks--about his colleagues, his students, his family, especially his wife--none of it complimentary.

My question is: Who cares?

Don't waste any of your time or money on this book.