Nobody's Fool

Rating:
Summary: Hometown Characters
Review: This book tells the story of a 60-year-old ne're-do-well who goes by the name of Sully. Sully does odd construction jobs in a small town in upstate New York, the very town where he grew up. His childhood friends, ex-wife, and high school flames all live in town, and in this story, he continues to annoy them as he always has. The town is slowing changing, though, and Sully with it. Sully certainly doesn't want to change, but between a knee injury that makes continuing his construction work dubious, an aging landlady, and the return of his son, whose marriage is failing, Sully reluctantly begins to admit that he's going to have to make some adjustments to the status quo.

I've run across Sully and his friends in my travels. Cranky, hypocritical, tough, and tender, they are the perpetrators of some of the funniest antics of family oral histories--that is, as long as you weren't on the receiving end of their ire at the time. You'll get a few laughs out of this book for sure, and it may even strike home.


Rating:
Summary: Comfortable Like An Old Shoe
Review: This is a novel of amiable drunks, lovable ne'er-do-wells, eccentric old ladies and one slightly-paralyzed dog. Russo has a skill for writing likable characters -- even when they're irresponsible and self-destructive -- and after a while you get used to their being around. When the book ends it feels like losing touch with a bunch of old friends.

I'm not sure Russo's writing is the Great American Novel (or anything close) but it's a pleasant diversion for sure.

Rating:
Summary: An candid window into small town America
Review: NOBODY'S FOOL centers around the story of Donald Sullivan (Sully), a middle-aged man whose life has been a series of mishaps and poor choices. As the book opens, Sully, out of work due to disability, decides to quit his college classes and to try to make some money instead. This bad decision sets off one of Sully's infamous streaks of bad luck, a streak which eventually lands Sully in jail, amongst other problems.

This novel's main strength lies in its richly developed characters. We learn the most about Sully, the chief narrator, from his ongoing feud with his deceased alcoholic father to his fleeting regrets about his own parenting skills. Another prominent character is Sully's octogenarian landlady, Miss Beryl, who provides the point of view for both the opening and the closing of the story. The remainder of the town is replete with quirky characters, including Sully's one-legged drunken lawyer, Wirf; his slow-witted best friend, Rub; his womanizing boss, Carl; his surprisingly competent son, Peter; his nervous grandson, Will; and finally, his long-time lover, Ruth, whose family includes her brassy daughter Janey and her troubled granddaughter Tina.

Where this novel is less successful is in its rambling prose: the author has the habit of going off on tangents and pontificating on various subjects which add little to the story. Despite this critique, however, the engaging characters sustain this novel, and like me, you will want to know how their lives turn out.

Rating:
Summary: Great, except for a few paragraphs.
Review: Nobody's Fool starring Paul Newman, Bruce Willis, and Jessica Tandy is my personal favorite movie of all time, and I have seen thousands. Therefore, it was with some trepidation that I turned to the book. In fact, I had the book in my possession for several years before deciding to read it. In the past I have been disappointed with a book after seeing an especially good movie. Case in point, Paul Newman's Hud, which was based on Larry McMurtry's Horseman, Pass By. I enjoyed the movie, but the reading of the book watered down that enjoyment. One reason, all of the good lines that were uttered by other characters in the book, were given to Hud in the movie. Alone, both the movie and book were fine, but together they sabotaged each other. Fortunately, this is not the case with Nobody's Fool. The book is a fine companion piece to the movie. And I am glad I visited them in this order. If I had read the book first, I would have felt cheated by the movie, because so much background on the characters was left out. However, reading the book after seeing the movie heightened the enjoyment of the movie as I learned more about all of the characters and their motivations. Sully's football hero youth and his on-again off-again affair, Rub's stealing and dominating wife, and Clive, Jr's fiancee are just a few of the extra goodies in the book not in the movie. However, there was one scene in the book which was not in the movie and I wish it hadn't been in the book. That is when Carl Roebuck lashes out verbally at Sully and catalogues his many shortcomings. It seemed viscious, especially when other characters started agreeing with the assessment. It truly made Sully a sorry character, which does not come out in the film at all. In fact, Sully's depiction in the movie makes him one of my folk heroes. Other than this short passage, I found the book very enjoyable and like the movie hated to see it end.

Rating:
Summary: Welcome to Russo's world
Review: Russo's world is small-town America, a place that's hopeful, sad and oddly inviting. It's a place that will likely strike a chord with most every reader, regardless of where they grew up. The characters here are interesting and find a way to be likeable despite their many flaws. It's hard not to be swept in by the various storylines that ebb and flow throughout the novel. In lesser hands, the petty rivalries and failed relationships of our protagonist, Donald Sullivan, aka "Sully," wouldn't be so captivating. But as any reader of Russo's novels knows, the author has a way with his characters. Their dialogue is thoughtful and just witty enough not to be taken too seriously. "Nobody's Fool" takes you to Russo's world. And when you're finished reading this book, it's hard not to feel the urge to return for another visit.