Review of Poor Tom

[Huini Hellen]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Poor Tom" by Martin Drapkin.]

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4 out of 5 stars

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For a man who has lived his whole life as a loser, his family is the only knot he can tie and hang onto. Moreover, for one with lower chances with women, his father and only parent alive would be his “rock of ages”, a foundation that cannot be shaken, sure to guarantee him the closest bond with humanity. Martin Drapkin presents Julius Dickman’s world of chaos in Poor Tom by developing a utopian world where man’s closest rival is himself. Drapkin shows how, in an attempt to care for his father, Julius almost loses himself.

Herbert, Julius’ father, planned to retire from the theater at seventy-two years after featuring in King Lear. After waiting all his life, he felt he had not done his best. On the other hand, Julius is in a toxic relationship with his girlfriend. He is always on the receiving end of Naomi’s tantrums, even for problems he did not cause. However, they have lighter moments, especially when Naomi gets emotional while watching a movie and Julius has to kiss her tears away. Apart from such episodes, Julius is always happy with Benji, Naomi’s son, with whom he has developed a working relationship.

The story is narrated from Julius’ perspective, vividly capturing his emotions and thoughts about the drama that characterized his life. I enjoyed reading how he doubted the success of his advances on women. I could not help laughing at episodes where he underestimated his ability to confront Naomi, especially when he felt unfairly treated or reprimanded. The author excellently characterized Julius as a stammerer, a condition that often prevented him from defending himself when victimized. This realistic edge enabled me to empathize with his vulnerability, which exposed him to exploitation by other characters. The author's character development was my favourite aspect of this novel, as it enabled me to bond with them.

The book has a significant number of characters whose contributions are insignificant to the plot development. They dragged out the storyline and made reading parts of the book boring. I did not also appreciate being forced to go back to previous chapters to confirm that the characters are linked to subsequent sections, hence critical in the plot development. This is what I liked least in the book.

Poor Tom must have been edited professionally, as I found only one error. Owing to the shortcoming mentioned earlier, I rate this book four out of five stars. It is recommended to readers who love family drama, especially those that involve toxic relationships and whose characters are battling self-esteem issues.

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Poor Tom
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[Nqobile Mashinini Tshabalala]

Julius is not a poor man according to me because he has a family! And that's the best thing in the world. Thanks for the review!

[Huini Hellen]

Julius is not a poor man according to me because he has a family! And that's the best thing in the world. Thanks for the review!

Thank you for taking the time to read and comment on my review.