Poor Man's Wealth by Rod Usher

"Tourism is too loud for my liking. And it blinds some people . . . Tourism in the end is stare and click, fluids in, fluids out. It makes visitor no longer your guests."

Poor Man's Wealth by Rod Usher is the tale of a sleepy, Spanish-speaking town as told by the mayor, El Gordo. Their main source of income is the tobacco crop. However, as people become more aware of the health consequences, the town begins to slowly die and the town must look into new places for their money. El Gordo has the idea of forming a committee to create a 'hoax' or town legend to attract tourists. 

Gentle - that is the word I'd use to describe the novel, Poor Man's Wealth. I enjoyed reading it, it wasn't too short or long, and it had an interesting idea. But, there wasn't any shocking twists or tense moments - it didn't capture my heart. The book seemed to go on a smooth ride and while Usher added some twists to the story, the characters reacted to them in such a calm manner that I never became anxious about it. In a sense, this created the atmosphere of the town. While reading, I felt I was transported to the sleepy town of Higot and even to the past (as the townsfolk still led old-fashioned lives). Usher was successful in depicting the scenery and creating his world, but as for the story, it wasn't very captivating. 

Although the plot wasn't anything exciting, Usher did introduce some interesting ideas about tourism and greed. As shown in the quote at the start of this review, Usher presents a negative side to tourism. I had never really thought about tourism in that perspective, as being a major tourist I've only seen the positive aspect of it. According to the novel, tourism takes away the work-life balance and people's social lives. The more tourism, the more business can be made, competition may arise and the greedier people become - working harder for material goods. This was completely detrimental to the small, peaceful town. But is someone who is ambitious (business-wise) necessarily greedy and bad? It seemed El Gordo criticized these people and believed they were going down a bad path. However, I found it inspiring that those small townsfolk were reacting to proactively to the opportunities tourism brings.  

Lastly, I absolutely loved the happy ending. I always love a cheesy happy ending that leaves me feeling good hours after reading. I was so glad that trusting Bartolomeo worked out and that the town's economy was now focused on something healthy and positive - no longer tobacco. Plus, I'm glad that El Gordo and Petra got together - though that was predictable from the beginning.

Poor Man's Wealth shows that the real wealth lies in love, friends and book (totally agree :D ). It's a sweet novel to read and it is really relaxing. Who knows, you might even start taking naps in public just like the Higot townsfolk - it probably has health benefits too!