Rating: 
Summary: Lucky you, here's a great book
Review: "I do not now, and did not then consider myself a curmudgeon, but I can play that role," says William Henry Devereaux, Jr., narrator and protagonist. He later makes this same claim about his status as a chauvinist, innocent, and misogynist. But don't believe it. He is a lovable curmudgeon to the core, and those of you who are familiar with my other reviews should know by now that this is my most favourite of literary character types. And Hank 'plays' the role divinely. He is definitely one of my new favourite characters in any book, being wry and detached, a s--t disturber par excellence. He reminds me a lot of the title character in Kingsley Amis' book "Lucky Jim" (also set amongst the blowhards of academia). No wonder his chief rival has saddled him with the nickname 'Lucky Hank'. But Hank is more proactive, and ferocious, than poor Jim (A tangential note: I think Hank is pretty close to the way Martin Amis would have ended up, if "The Rachel Papers" had not been a success). Edging up on fifty years, he has had ample time and opportunity to learn how to push the buttons of those around him.And those around him are finely drawn as well. Russo has done a magnificent job populating his little world (mainly the English department of a B-level College in a small, Pennsylvanian town) with characters that jump off the page. Whether they are major secondary characters, or one scene wonders, each seems tragically real. You really get an opportunity to know these people, although it's always through the cynical gaze of Hank's eyes. But he has such awesome powers of perception and communication that it seems more than enough to get the full picture. The narrative, which slowly moves towards Hank being removed from his position as English department chair, is simple and quite appealing. But its simplicity is deceiving, William of Occam -- whose razor Hank holds up as the ideal -- notwithstanding. You see, Hank teaches a class in composition. There are some wonderful scenes of him in front of his class, trying to show them the proper way to build narrative suspense, how a story should have symmetry, how 'A' should lead to 'B' and then to 'C', and effective uses of metaphor and simile. His inner criticisms of other stories, told by his colleague Teddy and his father-in-law Angelo echo these classes. In this way, Russo challenges himself to abide by those rules of storytelling, while not producing something formulaic and expected. In my humble opinion, he pulls off this paradox magnificently. And on top of that, he writes dialogue that is fresh, alive, witty, and challenging, while never appearing forced or contrived. I am in awe of this man's talents as a writer. The other main thrust of the story centres on the return of Hank's father, William Henry Devereaux, Sr. (It is a measure of this man's stature in Hank's life that he always refers to himself and his father using their whole names). An academic legend, he walked out on Hank and his mom years ago, and now is not long for this world. The scene depicting their reunion is heartbreaking without being maudlin, and once again shows Russo's deftness with character and dialogue. He conveys much information about these two men, without having to say much at all. The only flaw in the book, as far as I can tell, is that Russo doesn't completely trust his readers to recall important events and characters from earlier in the book. He repeatedly adds reminders of who or what he is referring to, ostensibly to make sure we miss nothing. This constant handholding got tiresome after a while. But like I said, that is the book's only flaw. The rest of it is funny, endearing, educational, emotional, and above all entertaining.
Rating:
Summary: As good, if not better, than his others
Review: Of course I do work in academia myself, and the five or so people I loaned it to, getting it back fairly tattered, also do. So maybe this is why it got such high marks. But I laughed out loud just as much as when I read "Nobody's Fool", which I did not think would be possible. I loved the characters, the setting, the premise, the way they all interacted, etc. "Do we already have a resident poet?"
Rating:
Summary: A good laugh I've recommended often
Review: I laughed out loud at this book so many times I had to stop reading it on the train! I enjoyed this slightly more than his book 'Nobody's Fool' but both characters were humorous, cantankerous and imaginative. Devereaux's acerbic wit and the trip through his fears and problems was very entertaining. His love of his wife was charming, his fears for his children was realistic and the trepidation at seeing his father were all believable to me. I have both recommended and given this book repeatedly which I believe to be high praise. After reading some of these reviews, I can only guess that the reviewers take life a bit too seriously--lighten up and laugh a little...
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book for a Sunday afternoon
Review: Having attented a small, liberal arts college in PA (the setting of this book), I found Richard Russo's "Straight Man" right on the money. This is the story of Hank Deveraux, an English Professor battling a hilarious and troubling mid-life crisis. Added to Hank's problems are the supporting cast of whacky and inane denziens of academia (they provide Hank with further obstacles as well). While Russo plays for laughs, as a protaganist, Hank's humanity propels the novel forward. Via Russo's excellent characters, "Straight Man" is an inviting read, one that makes a Sunday afternoon go by breezily. I highly recommend this book.
Rating: 
Summary: No better the second time.
Review: I HAD to re-read this, to give my favorite author the benefit of the doubt. Alas ...There seems to be an obligatory urge of every author, whose day job is teaching at a university, to relate all those madcap highjinx perpetrated by the wild-and-crazy guys who inhabit acadamia. What comes glaringly across to readers is the recollection that their hopes for a college experience worthy of the name was trampled by the unimaginative, petty hacks who hold forth in the hallowed reaches of higher education. Read Jon Hassler's "Rookery Blues" for the same depressing jog of your hopefully-buried-forever memories. I didn't care a whit for any character in this book. And this from the man who could bring me to tears with "Nobody's Fool" and "The Risk Pool". Richard, I hope you've gotten it out of your system.
Rating:
Summary: Hilarious!!!
Review: If you have a sense of humor buy this novel. There are more laugh-out-loud moments in here than any in any book that comes to mind. If you have no sense of humor, buy it still, and perhaps Russo's genious will help one to develop.
Rating: 
Summary: A Russo Rarity--A Misstep
Review: Having read and savored Nobody's Fool, Mohawk, and The Risk Pool, I eagerly jumped into Russo's latest work, only to be disappointed by the inexplicably overwhelming high praise for Straight Man. Whereas the characters in his previous novels were flawed but yet endearing, those in Straight Man are just flawed and rather pathetic. Not that they aren't humorous; the main character obviously has a nicely developed wit. He also has no redeeming qualities, not really living his life but merely existing. He lives outside his life, detached from his work, wife, parents, children, and community, and doesn't seem to care about anything. And when the characters don't care, neither do the readers. Better luck next time, Mr. Russo.
Rating:
Summary: Ho-hum, mildly enjoyable, slightly funny
Review: Maybe I would've liked this book more had I not come to it with such high expectations. The reviews' and bookjackets' comparisons with literary greats had me blindsided. I expected profound insights, searing wit, and side-splitting humor. Instead, I found a somewhat clever tale of middle-age crises in small-town academia. It's not a bad book. But I simply didn't find it as humorous nor as profound as most people found it. The situations are pretty predictable, and the personal crises could have come straight from John Updike. Some characters are well written, but they are for the most part typecast stereotypes (for example: "Orshe," the token ponytailed male feminist who is so named because he always says "or she" when someone uses "he" as a generic pronoun... he provides some comic relief, but he, like most of Russo's characters, seems so cartoonish). Maybe I'm too young to fully appreciate the characters in this book. I thought DeLillo's "White Noise" was a much funnier take on late 20th century academia.
Rating:
Summary: Superbly funny and well written
Review: I ordered this book from amazon.com because of its rave reviews by other readers whose taste in fiction seemed to match my own. I loved "Straight Man" from the first paragraph to the last. It's insightful, marvelously written and guaranteed to make the reader laugh out loud! In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I subsequently ordered several of Russo's other books. While "Straight Man remains my favorite of his books, this author never disappoints!
Rating:
Summary: If you read WONDER BOYS...
Review: ...you've read this book. Only, you read it funnier. Still, the voice of the narrator is equisitely sharp and witty. I'd say, read until youre bored, then stop. It never changes.
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