This look at poverty was heartbreaking. Following two alternating narratives, the story shows the impact on Henry and his son. Henry is drives to a McDonalds, using a lot of gas, for his son’s birthday. This McDonald’s doesn’t have a bathroom requiring a key code to enter, so they can make an attempt at cleaning up. Junior gets to live it up for his birthday by ordering a full meal deal instead of a Happy Meal. Then its back to their home, Henry’s truck and off to Walmart for the night. Chapters are designated by how much cash they have. Beginning they have $89.34 but after Henry finds a quarter in the bathroom, it increases to $89.59. Yep, that’s how desperate they are. The other story focuses on how Henry got there. And that’s not pretty either. Henry’s dad’s violence, Henry’s selling oxy, and having to serve time in jail and then life in a singlewide trailer with Junior’s mother….and it keeps getting worse, bad luck and bad decisions but a determination to make a better life for Junior make this a compelling debut.

I heard that Jakob Guanzon was working on his debut novel from some Minnesota friends last year. I was told it was going to center on struggling families that had fallen through the cracks of the threadbare US safety net. I couldn’t wait. I jumped on “Abundance” as soon as it showed up on NetGalley. It doesn’t disappoint.

If there has ever been any doubt about the number of families that live paycheck to paycheck in America, those doubts should now be dispelled after watching what has happened during the Age of Covid. People who grew up in poverty, neglect, and trauma trying to break out, but finding themselves unable to cope with setbacks, unable to escape. Guanzon does an outstanding job capturing the challenges, temptations, stresses, and pain of navigating the lowest rungs of the American economy.

There were a few times I got a little lost or disoriented as “Abundance” unfolded. I did not exactly know where I was in time or place. But I quickly decided to let that be. Maybe that is the point. Poverty in America is a labyrinth, a maze, a minefield that you rarely, if ever, make your way out of. These are the people that I work with. They struggle, delight, disappoint, terrorize, often in the course of a single day. Their lives matter. Maybe someday we will ensure that everyone has the tools to succeed on a level playing field. I’m not optimistic, but I’ll never give up.

“Abundance” is an important book: well-written, compelling, disturbing. Here’s hoping it gets all the attention it deserves.

Thank you to Graywolf Press and NetGalley for the dARC.

Thank you NetGalley and Graywolf Press. I received an advanced copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

I finished Abundance a few days ago, and it has been on my mind since then. Jakob Guanzon’s debut work brings up questions of class, race, family, and what it takes to get a fair shake in life. With that said, what is a fair shake, anyway? Henry, or Pa, the main character of this book, has been through some tough times. Guanzon walks the reader through various points in Henry’s life, from growing up trying to make ends meet to going to prison to living in a car with his young son, Junior. Each chapter is titled not with a word, but with the amount of money in Henry’s pocket. Timelines jump back and forth between present, recent past, and Henry’s childhood or teenage years.

I loved the way Guanzon explored the characters throughout the book. When Henry was rehearsing lines for his job interview in the motel room bathtub, I felt my heart breaking for him, thinking about his struggles. As Michelle yelled at Henry, wanting to be seen, I could feel her pain and anguish.

I highly recommend this title, and I look forward to reading future works from Jakob Guanzon.

Something of a mixed bag. This is an overwritten and overlong tale of bad choices and misadventure, of poverty and the grim options of the working class in the USA. It also sometimes feels like. poverty porn.
But it’s also a wrenching account of effort, desperation and the struggle to get beyond. For all its predictability and repetition, it has a nightmare, gripping quality, a testament to the intensity of the author’s commitment.
Interesting debut.