Product Description

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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11009 in Books
• Published on: 1998-06-09
• Released on: 1998-06-09
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 416 pages

Amazon.com Review
First Jane Smiley came out of the comedy closet with Moo, a campus satire par excellence, and now Richard Russo has gotten in on the groves-of-academe game. Straight Man is hilarious sport, with a serious side. William Henry Devereaux Jr., is almost 50 and stuck forever as chair of English at West Central Pennsylvania University. It is April and fear of layoffs--even among the tenured--has reached mock-epic proportions; Hank has yet to receive his department budget and finds himself increasingly offering comments such as "Always understate necrophilia" to his writing students. Then there are his possible prostate problems and the prospect of his father's arrival. Devereaux Sr., "then and now, an academic opportunist," has always been a high-profile professor and a low-profile parent.

Though Hank tries to apply William of Occam's rational approach (choose simplicity) to each increasingly absurd situation, and even has a dog named after the philosopher, he does seem to cause most of his own enormous difficulties. Not least when he grabs a goose and threatens to off a duck (sic) a day until he gets his budget. The fact that he is also wearing a fake nose and glasses and doing so in front of a TV camera complicates matters even further. Hank tries to explain to one class that comedy and tragedy don't go together, but finds the argument "runs contrary to their experience. Indeed it may run contrary to my own." It runs decidedly against Richard Russo's approach in Straight Man, and the result is a hilarious and touching novel.

From Library Journal
Hank Devereaux Jr. is the kind of guy who turns anything serious into a joke. Pushing 50, he's the interim chair of a squabbling English department at a small rural college. Big budget cuts are rumored. Each department chair has been told to provide a list of those who will lose their jobs. His department believes that Hank has prepared such a list, but he hasn't and won't. Instead, he goes on television and spontaneously jokes that he will kill the campus geese until the administration gives him his budget. When a goose really is killed, Hank becomes the prime suspect. In his earlier novels (e.g., Nobody's Fool, LJ 4/15/93), Russo captured with compassion and humor the lives of the people in small backwater towns; now he does the same for those who inhabit the groves of academe. This novel is filled with laughter but also much seriousness. Give it a straight A.?Charles Michaud, Turner Free Lib., Randolph, Mass.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile
Paul Newman played the title role in Russo's last novel, Nobody's Fool, and reader Linden gives the same low-key style to Hank Devereaux, the lead character in the author's latest gem. Sounding like your best friend, Linden relates the occurrences during a week when Devereaux--an English department chair at West Central Pennsylvania University--is physically assaulted by a feminist co-worker and threatens to "kill a duck a day" to stave off departmental budget cuts. There's humor, love and just the right amount of quirkiness to Hank, thanks to Linden's reading style. His voice has the feeling of a comfortable old sweater, and the pacing is perfect for listening on a lazy afternoon. S.I.R. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Customer Reviews

Very funny, very real
Before reading this book I did not know what to expect from a comic novel. Most comedies these days depend on gimmicks and foul language to make people laugh. There was no way 390 pages of that kind of comedy was going to work.

I was pleasantly surprised with Russo's book about a middle age English professor and the motley crew his department was comprised of. Well written and funny, this book shows you a piece of America that is very real and very funny.

Really entertaining, but probably not for everybody
This was a book club choice and, after having read it, our group's reactions really ranged across the board. Most either loved or loathed it - no one really fell in the middle. I happened to love it.

The narration is smug and self-absorbed, but once past that it's really a funny story with a lot of literary easter eggs peppered through the dialog. It probably could have been 50 pages shorter and had a minor, rather ridiculous subplot removed, but otherwise I thoroughly enjoyed it. A smart, fun read.

Fantastic novel
This book was so great. Highly recommended if you're from PA, or involved in academics...but I think any reader could enjoy this book. I've been reading Paul Auster these days, and the change from Auster to Russo was very welcome. This book was so easy to read -- very funny, as many have commented -- and yet there was plenty to think about while reading. This book reminded me of a time when I was younger and just got to drink one glass of milk each day (after being a milk lover). I remember just sipping the glass, taking it slowly to enjoy it. Soon after beginning this book, I kept trying to stop myself from reading it too fast, wanting to make it last as long as possible. It was great to the very end, and many thanks to Richard Russo for writing such an excellent book. It was a good friend for the last 2 weeks.