Poor Man's Autumn: A Novel

by Jay Gershwin

The unforgettable story of a poet who disappears.

Jack Malley is a struggling college student who opens his mailbox one morning to discover a human ear. It belongs to his professor, a famous poet who has spent his lifetime writing a single poem.

When the poet vanishes, the only clue to his disappearance is a shoebox full of love letters. Jake sets out to find the girl who wrote them, using the ear as his guide.

291 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 20, 2016

Reviews

[Ria · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was just pure rubbish, a poet who hasn't finished his poem after fifty years goes after a crazy woman called Harper who has stolen his ear!
He is aided by one of his students Jake who was at one point in love with Harper, with the ear she seems to have power to bend people to her will as it enables her to recite poetry.
This was mad, nonsensical and just a ridiculous chase across America to retrieve someone's torn off ear!!!
Bizarre.

[Judy Crawford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Breathtaking Joyride

Jay Gershwin's Poor Man's Autumn is a breathtaking joyride. I'm still reeling in the prose and tale and sheer ballsiness of it. Believably over-the-top! This should be a major motion picture!

[Catherine Peel · Rating 1 out of 5]

If I could give less than 1 star I would. This was the worst book I have ever read. The story was bad and the end was bad. Everything about it was bad. So glad it was free

[Nicholas Bridgman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the combination of high art, poetry, and philosophy themes with thriller-style street smarts and action. Gershwin’s book is full of smoothly flowing language and creative metaphors that express his points without becoming overly flamboyant themselves. The plot takes the reader on a tour of New England and Los Angeles, following the protagonist and his poet mentor, Professor Kline, author of the hit poetry book Poor Man’s Autumn, as they chase Harper, a young woman who cut off and stole one of Kline’s ears. The ear turns out to have supernatural powers that had given Kline the ability to hear poetry, and Harper uses it to hypnotize artists to create art in praise of her. What follows is an exciting chase through an art museum and the urban city streets, motels, and shopping centers of Los Angeles, which along the way reveals insights into what it means to be a poet, to create art, to be a friend, to age, and simply to be alive.