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2 reviews

Straight Man
by Richard Russo

Published: 1999-03-16
Hardcover : 0 pages
2 members reading this now
9 clubs reading this now
1 member has read this book
Recommended to book clubs by 2 of 2 members
In this uproarious new novel, Richard Russo performs his characteristic high-wire walk between hilarity and heartbreak.��Russo's protagonist is William Henry Devereaux, Jr., the reluctant chairman of the English department of a badly underfunded college in the Pennsylvania rust ...
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Introduction

(In this uproarious new novel, Richard Russo performs his characteristic high-wire walk between hilarity and heartbreak.��Russo's protagonist is William Henry Devereaux, Jr., the reluctant chairman of the English department of a badly underfunded college in the Pennsylvania rust belt.��Devereaux's reluctance is partly rooted in his character--he is a born anarchist-- and partly in the fact that his department is more savagely divided than the Balkans.��

In the course of a single week, Devereaux will have his nose mangled by an angry colleague, imagine his wife is having an affair with his dean, wonder if a curvaceous adjunct is trying to seduce him with peach pits, and threaten to execute a goose on local television.��All this while coming to terms with his philandering father, the dereliction of his youthful promise, and the ominous failure of certain vital body functions.��in short, Straight Man is classic Russo--side-splitting and true-to-life, witty, compassionate, and impossible to put down.


From the Trade Paperback edition.

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Overall rating:
 
 
  "Well written and humorous"by Victoria W. (see profile) 10/12/09

Russo is an incredible writer who can mix humor and heartache. I highly recommend any of his books.

 
  "I LOVED this book!"by diane c. (see profile) 08/11/09

Richard Russo is one of my favorite authors and I think this may be the book I like best. It's funny and dry and witty and charming. His characters are often well meaning, down on their luck, hard drinking... (read more)

 
  "Didn't care about main character"by Dana B. (see profile) 07/22/09

The majority of our club could not relate to the main character, didn't appreciate the writing style, and didn't think the book was very humorous. This was not a good book for discussion as most of our... (read more)

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