Rich and Poor by Jacob Wren
"What we don't want to look at, we think we don't have to deal with, and then it owns us completely."
—from the novel Rich and Poor by Jacob Wren
I recently re-read, Rich and Poor, Jacob Wren’s 2016 unbelievably fucking relevant novel about a classical pianist turned dishwasher who wants to kill a billionaire.
The novel switches point of view between the billionaire and his aspiring assassin.
In one especially hilarious section, the billionaire reflects on the poet who turns on him after winning his prestigious poetry prize:
He is only a poet, and I am a billionaire, and I know at the end of the day there is no real way he can hurt me. He has no public voice, only a few readers, while I have every newspaper in the free world. That's why we chose to sponsor a prize for poets and not a prize for movie actors, who wouldn't need the extra money anyways, but would always be happy to receive any extra attention.
In this moment of exceptional corporate greed where most are struggling with the basic necessities, this is a revenge-fantasy novel that is truly satisfying to read.
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Rich and Poor
by Jacob WrenBook*hug Press, 2016Support Send My Love to AnyoneSupport Send My Love to Anyone by signing up for a monthly or yearly subscription, liking this post, or sharing it!
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