This was my first book by Regina Porter--and what a thrilling ride it was. Set during COVID-19, this book follows several characters in New York City as they manage the pressures of the pandemic on their families and relationships. Without judgement, it examines how crisis forces people to be honest with themselves and others about race and privilege in ways they might not confront in times of ease and prosperity. The characters are well rounded and, at times, morally gray, but they command the reader's sympathy without emotional manipulation or melodrama. The plot is well-paced and thoroughly developed. Highly recommended. --Arlan Hess, City Books (Pittsburgh)

I found this book to be slow and challenging to get through. I had to force myself to finish it. The beginning hooked me, but about a third of the way through, I lost interest.

Thanks to Random House and NetGalley for this ARC of 'The Rich People Have Gone Away' by Regina Porter.

Building your novel around, for me, a thoroughly unlikeable character - Theo Harper - is a brave move by Regina Porter but the book works because of all the other elements. Theo's wife Darla disappears on an upstate NY mountainside following an argument hot on the heels of them abandoning New York in the early months of the Covid 19 pandemic.

Throughout the remainder of the book we're introduced more in-depth to their close friends, family, neighbors, and lovers.

Multiple characters and storylines and issues are woven into the tale with Darla's disappearance at the center of everything. Slavery in the US, the 'single drop' approach to race and racism, inter-racial marriage, socio-economic-engendered snobbery, LBGTQ+ issues, the pandemic itself, and even the September 11 attacks and their impact on the personal and national psyche. We delve deeper into the lives and experiences of Theo, Darla, and Darla's friend Ruby Black (as well as a Black high school student) and see the once seeming utopian existences begin to fracture under the weight of events (inside and outside their control) and decisions made.

This book is all about interconnectedness of people and events and, although I did find it a little difficult at times to keep everything and everyone straight in my head, I very much enjoyed the story and the writing.

Thank you Netgalley for the arc of this upcoming novel.

Similar to the beat of many classic novels, this unfolds telling one story through many perspectives and angles. The story kept the same pace and didn’t leave me wanting more or less. Ultimately 3.75

The story flowed well and the characters were well developed. I recommend this book and look forward to more from this author.


****Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review****