The Rich Boy and The Shoe Shine Girl

Ten years in the works, Rich Boy is an extraordinarily well-crafted first novel of class, money, and love, spanning four decades in the life of a promising young man trying to escape his past.




Rich Boy by Sharon Pomerantz

Editorial Review

" Pomerantz's compelling, finely crafted debut novel chronicles one man's journey from the blue-collar suburbs of 1950s Philadelphia to the high-society of 1980s New York. Robert Vishniak grows up in a working-class Jewish neighborhood, often at odds with his frugal, distant mother. Blessed with good looks and possessing an uncompromising ambition, Robert learns at an early age to use his physical appearance to his advantage. Eager to leave behind his humble upbringing, Robert is accepted to Tufts University, where he quickly falls in with a group of privileged students led by the enigmatic Tracey, Robert's roommate and subsequent lifelong friend. Moving forward in time, Pomerantz chronicles Robert's varied adventures as he copes with the panoramic complexities and rewards of rebellion, self-renewal, and heartache. Over the course of four decades, Robert becomes entrenched in the upper echelon of Manhattan's elite, ultimately succeeding as a real-estate lawyer and marrying into a family of old money. He is finally enjoying the success he so desired as a young man, until a random encounter with a woman from his hometown begins to erode Robert's carefully crafted persona. Pomerantz's sweeping tale captures the intimate truths and hypocrisies of class, identity, and one man's quintessential American experience. --Leah Strauss, Booklist

COMMENTS:

"We dare you to put down this big, fat, old-fashioned drama about a poor boy who makes good—but feels bad about it."—O (Oprah) Magazine

"This vivid morality tale is also a Magical Mystery Tour of the '60s, '70s and '80s, in which Robert wins all the prizes but pays a price."—Susan Straight, More Magazine

"A sweeping portrait of class, sex, money and love, spanning four decades in the life of a man from a poor Philadelphia neighborhood determined to escape his past, Rich Boy is a remarkable literary feat and a noteworthy addition to the Jewish-American novel, marking the arrival of a major new talent."—Eileen Casey, Hamptons.com

“If you want to understand what made Bernie Madoff possible, I can think of no more serious, sensitive, and intelligent novel to read than Rich Boy."—Eileen Pollack, author of In the Mouth

Once I started reading this book, I couldn't put it down! Thanks to the author Sharon Pomerantz for a fun trip down memory lane. -Pixtal Peep

The Shoe Shine Girl