Rich Man, Poor Man by Irwin Shaw - A Short Summary & Review
Rich Man, Poor Man by Irwin Shaw - A Short Summary & Review
By: a.d. elliott | Take the Back Roads - Art and Other Odd Adventures
A Rite of Fancy Book Recommendation and Review
A short summary:
Rich Man, Poor Man is a sweeping family saga centered on two brothers whose lives diverge dramatically as they move through mid-20th-century America. Though they share the same upbringing, their temperaments and circumstances push them onto sharply different paths: one toward ambition and social ascent, the other toward conflict, failure, and stubborn independence.
Set against a changing American landscape, the novel examines class, masculinity, resentment, and the ways family bonds both shape and strain the people who cannot escape them. It is a story less about wealth than about the uneven distribution of opportunity, and the emotional cost of that imbalance.
My favorite quote from the book:
Questions to ponder while reading the book:
My review:
Ah, the irresistible pull of family drama. This novel is compelling precisely because it feels so real, so uncomfortably familiar. Shaw has an uncanny ability to capture how siblings can love one another deeply while remaining fundamentally unable to understand each other.
What struck me most is how vividly human these characters feel. Their mistakes are not symbolic; they’re personal, impulsive, and painfully believable. Reading this for the first time made me feel like a big kid, like I had stumbled into a grown-up world where consequences mattered more than intentions.
Rich Man, Poor Man is absorbing without being sentimental and dramatic without being exaggerated. It doesn’t offer easy villains or heroes, just people struggling within the limits of who they are and where they come from. That realism is what gives the novel its lasting power.
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About the Author
a.d. elliott is a wanderer, photographer, and storyteller traveling through life
She shares her journeys at Take the Back Roads, explores new reads at Rite of Fancy, and highlights U.S. military biographies at Everyday Patriot.
You can also browse her online photography gallery at shop.takethebackroads.com.
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