Spendthrift

by Eric Hatch

Vintage paperback

152 pages, Mass Market Paperback

Published January 1, 1948

Reviews

[Cynthia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this read off eBay, because I like horses and vintage books. Receiving the book, I was immediately delighted by the loosely drawn Leon Gregori sketches of the main character and his women friends on the rear cover. So I went into the read happy and that might color this review somewhat.

I found it fun. If you are looking for a modern, steamy romance where the protagonists are constantly in the bedroom exchanging bodily fluids in lurid detail, LOOK ELSEWHERE! This isn't that sort of romance, thankfully!

If you are more inclined to something a little silly, set in a different time, with romance lightly handled, and actual sex just barely hinted at, this might be more to your taste. Yes, this is a typical screwball comedy, with silly and mostly idle rich folk (or wannabes), but with a nice message that when you do lose everything, you have a new beginning to explore.

I did, occasionally, find the author's wordplay a tad heavy-handed, but most of the time, enjoyed his writing style immensely. I even learned a few new words. It's a quick read of only 152 pages.

[Jonathan Bogart · Rating 2 out of 5]

The last, and worst, of the three Hatch books in an omnibus volume I bought a few months back. (Five Days was the best, A Couple of Quick Ones was middling.) Possibly this is because Hatch, as a stable-owner himself, was far more enamored with the glamour of horse-racing than I will ever be; but in any case his melodramatic plot about a man who loses his assumed riches then gets rich for real without having to try is no less gross today than it was in the Depression. The plot wouldn't be so bad if the tone were breezier and more willing to kid its protagonists, but there were uncomfortable moments when I felt I was being asked to take the book seriously, which spoiled it.