Chances Are, Richard Russo, author; Fred Sanders, narrator
Forty plus years after their graduation, during a time fraught with the trauma of the Vietnam War, three Minerva College fraternity brothers who have remained friends, gather back in Martha’s Vineyard for a reunion. The current time is fraught with the Donald Trump election and the current financial and social issues confronting the country. One friend is not present for this reunion. Jacy Calloway, a Theta sorority girl who hung out with them. She disappeared 44 years ago and was loved by each of the three men. They always wondered which of them might win her heart, but she was engaged to another man, at the time, "Vance, Chance Lance?", who was studying to be a lawyer and who was portrayed as a nerdy character who preferred his class distinctions. He came from Greenwich, CT, also, and Jacy’s parents and his parents were close friends. The two were an item for years.
Now, on the island, each of the men reminisces about their relationship with her and about their memories and lives since graduation. They all had secrets which are slowly revealed as the novel progresses. Each had some kind of parental issue, and except for Jacy, who comes from tony Greenwich, CT., each was a scholarship student. The views of their parents shaped them, and they and their parents were obvious products of their times, representing all aspects on the spectrum of societal issues.
Lincoln, a commercial real estate broker is on the island to try and sell his house because of the recent recession. He and his wife helped their children through the crisis and are now in need of protecting themselves in case another financial crisis occurs. Mickey Girardi is still playing in his rock band and is quick to react in anger. He seems stuck in his teenage mindset. Teddy Novak has a small publishing company for religious and spiritual titles. He had once thought of going to divinity school. He has a host of medical issues. Jacy (Justine) Calloway has disappeared. No one seems to know what happened to her and the police investigation when she went missing was sketchy, 44 years ago. Lincoln unwittingly reopens the investigation because of his own curiosity when he meets a retired cop through the local librarian.
There are several stories within stories. Lincoln seems to be the most stable. He married Anita after college, and they have six children. Teddy is the most medically compromised; he is unmarried and was at one time thought to be gay. Mickey is a throwback to another time. He is tough and outgoing, and he has had several marriages. He is unmarried now. He was a draft dodger who ran away to Canada. Jacy has a history of family abuse and was confused about her real identity. She has an unknown biological father, and a sometimes cold-hearted adoptive mother. She is furious with her parents for keeping her heritage from her. Her father represents the evil of the financial industry, the industry that has just suffered a terrible crash and is the reason for Lincoln’s need to sell his family home.
While the narrator did a fine job, it was sometimes hard to figure out which character he was describing. The chapters alternated between Lincoln and Teddy with Jacy and Mickey being developed at the end.
Social issues were hinted at, with Trump supporters being portrayed negatively. Although some of the fraternity brothers were Republican, they were not on the extreme right. The right was portrayed as loud, opinionated, and lower end, with a tendency to quick anger and behavior that was not always appropriate.
The book also touches on present day racial issues with the relationship of Teddy and Theresa, a woman of color whom he rejects, but not for those reasons. Teddy does not like confrontation. His emotional health is fragile and he has spells.
Subtly, the author pretty much trashes the values of the right and lauds those of the left. The one wealthy Wall Streeter falls from grace, and it is implied that he goes to prison. He is also suspected of abusing his daughter. Jacy is inexplicably really furious with her mother for not revealing that she was adopted, and she spends the rest of her life harboring that grievance.
The book does describe the mindset of the country as the Vietnam war robbed it of its human capital. It explains how nationalism drove some men to support it on principle and others to dodge the draft. The men have moved on from the heyday of their youth and often describe themselves as if their end is near, although they are only in their mid sixties. Since it is retirement age, they are aware of their new found shortcomings brought on by advancing age. They are not as fit or as healthy, but otherwise, seem unchanged in their views. The book also explores loneliness, modesty and some behavioral issues facing women, especially during the time of these early college years before women achieved more independence.
The book examines the relationships of friends, their emotional entanglements, their choices and their secrets. It examines aging and maturing with evolving points of view. It examines varied parent/child interactions and their effects on each other. It also examines the place of luck and unexpected accidents in our lives.
There are several surprises in the book and it keeps you guessing, but it is often tedious and overwritten. I enjoyed it because it is was an original story not immersed in filthy language, the PC culture, sex or current day social issues at its forefront. The story seemed to be the purpose, not the author's political views which are so often the reason for many of the books written today in our current political atmosphere that is fraught with contention.