Introduction

A provocative satire of love, sex, money, and politics that unfolds over four wild days in so-called “paradise”—the long-awaited first novel from the acclaimed author of Sam the Cat
 
“I seriously, deeply love this book.”—Michael Cunningham
 
Every summer, a once-sort-of-famous cartoonist named Rich Fischer leaves his wife and two kids behind to teach a class at a weeklong arts conference in a charming New England beachside town. It’s a place where, every year, students—nature poets and driftwood sculptors, widowed seniors, teenagers away from home for the first time—show up to study with an esteemed faculty made up of prizewinning playwrights, actors, and historians; drunkards and perverts; members of the cultural elite; unknown nobodies, midlist somebodies, and legitimate stars—a place where drum circles happen on the beach at midnight, clothing optional.
 
Once more, Rich finds himself, in this seaside paradise, worrying about his family’s nights without him and trying not to think about his book, now out of print, or his future as an illustrator at a glossy magazine about to go under, or his back taxes, or the shameless shenanigans of his colleagues at this summer make-out festival. He can’t decide whether his own very real desire for love and human contact is going to rescue or destroy him.
 
A warped and exhilarating tale of love and lust, Who Is Rich? goes far beyond to address deeper questions: of family, monogamy, the intoxicating beauty of children, and the challenging interdependence of two soulful, sensitive creatures in a confusing domestic alliance.

Advance praise for Who Is Rich?

“Bitingly funny and surprisingly relatable . . . Think John Irving with a side of Maria Semple.”—PureWow

“It’s amazing to wait so long for a book, and for it to be everything you wanted. The most singular quality of Matthew Klam’s writing is how alive it is. I loved every page of this book. It got into my bloodstream—and kind of destroyed me.”—Curtis Sittenfeld

“What a thrill to experience the fusion of Matthew Klam’s fierce, kinetic prose with the mysteries of fatherhood and domesticity. Who Is Rich? is an electric amalgam of frustration and tenderness, wonder and rebellion: a paean to the obliterating power of parental love.”—Jennifer Egan

“I’ve been eagerly awaiting another book by Matthew Klam—and here it is, and it’s a stunner. This, his first novel, is funny, dark, big, and bold. I read it straight through, with great pleasure and awe at all he knows about art, money, family, sex, kids, mortality, and shame. Who Is Rich? is not to be missed.”—Meg Wolitzer

“By turns fierce, disturbing, and outright hilarious, Who Is Rich? is much more than a novel of midlife crisis; it’s a frank exploration of what it feels like to struggle as an artist and a man.”—Jonathan Tropper

“Who Is Rich? is a tantalizing novel—acute and smart and stark, but mostly it’s unrelentingly funny about a large number of very inappropriate things.”—Richard Ford

Editorial Review

An Amazon Best Book of July 2017: Matthew Klam is an immensely talented author: he’s funny, deep, easily readable, and sometimes honest to the point of being startling. He’s written a novel—about a white, middle-aged, once successful graphic novelist-turned-steadily-working-illustrator—that touches on family, love, aging, unhappiness, infidelity, life as a working artist, and money. Making his protagonist white and middle-aged was a brave choice, because Rich (the protagonist) does some complaining in this novel (and some cheating), and a lot of readers don’t like to see white, middle-aged men complain or cheat. If that’s you, you can stop reading now. But Rich is also an artist. He’s educated, he’s talented, and he’s frustrated that he still has to struggle to make ends meet. He’s made choices based on passion—passion for his art, for love—which is how it should be. But what happens when the passion begins to ebb? What are you left with then? Matthew Klam strikes me as a writer’s writer, and I think that other authors will love this work; he’s just so honest and talented. But there are other people out there who will be practically relieved to come across such rawness, honesty, and humor as well. Perhaps that’s you. --Chris Schluep, The Amazon Book Review

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