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If there ever were a living author with a better grasp of small town America, they would pale in comparison with Richard Russo. The author of NOBODY'S FOOL manages to take the reader to a fictional small town and immerse them inside the day-to-day of the small hamlet. In this case, it will be the fictional town of Upper Bath, NY known as Bath to the locals. The who's who, the wheres, the hows, the what might have happened and the could have been all play a part in the structure of Russo's novels. Every body wants to make it in the world; others just want to get by, just to do it all over again the next day. Originally published in 1993, NOBODY'S FOOL is the story of one man's journey to what he considers to be conformity. He believes that he is happy, but he is not. He has had several opportunities to improve his life but never took advantage of it. Now, he is a sixty-year-old curmudgeonly cynic and most people in town consider him to be a fool. When his son comes back to town, Sully begins to reevaluate his life and sees his son going through the same life patterns. Sully was never a good father to his son and that has been eating him for years. He has some issues to deal with the past and has to deal through them. It is a beautiful story from a great writer. One of the best ways to approach this novel is by listening to the unabridged version of this book read by Ron McLarty. You do not get a reading, or even a narration; you get a full-blown entertaining one-man show. The author does a terrific performance giving a unique voice and their own personalities making the story a joy to behold. If by the time you finish the book, you are left craving for more. Oh, by the way, McLarty also did a reading of Russo's Pulitzer Prize winning novel, Empire Falls. It is terrific.
Reviewed by Angel L. Soto, September 2003
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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