JR

by William Gaddis · 1975

William Gaddis’s sprawling novel *JR* plunges readers into the dizzying world of 1970s corporate America, where a young heir named JR inherits a fortune and is thrust into a relentless vortex of finance, power, and betrayal. Through Gaddis’s signature polyphonic prose—layered with overlapping conversations, fragmented reports, and relentless jargon—the novel sketches a satirical portrait of a society driven by profit and manipulation. As JR navigates boardrooms, stock exchanges, and the shadowy corridors of influence, he becomes both puppet and puppeteer, exposing the absurdities and moral vacuums of a system that values numbers over humanity. *JR* is a daring, intricate exploration of greed, identity, and the corrosive allure of wealth, offering a timeless critique of the forces that shape modern life.