Any Richard Russo fans out there? The first book I read of his was Straight Man, which I loved. Very funny in a Wonder Boys-ish sort of way. Really hilarious and so well done. Then a book group I was in read Empire Falls, which ended up being Russo’s biggest critical hit. It even won the Pulitzer, though it definitely isn’t my favorite of his novels. Since then I’ve also read Nobody’s Fool and I just finished Mohawk.
Mohawk, Russo’s debut, set the stage for a lot of the themes he returns to time and again: the struggles of blue collar workers in the northeast (usually upstate New York), difficult/estranged/unsuccessful fathers, ensembles of realistic but off-beat characters, and a diner. There seems to always be a diner for some reason.
Knowing the quality of work Russo has put out more recently, I think it’s fairly easy to tell that Mohawk was his first outing. There’s a lot more telling than showing compared with his later books, and some characters and events don’t evolve as slowly and smoothly as they should. It’s still a good read, but I wouldn’t recommend it to someone who would only ever read one Richard Russo book.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Mohawk
at 10:53 AM
Labels: Bibliophile
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
I think I've read Empire Falls, but I can't remember. I'll put his name on my list.
I love him. Mohawk is on my "to read" shelf. I've read Nobody's Fool, Empire Falls, and Straight Man, and I loved all of them to varying degrees.
The Risk Pool is the other one of his that I have on my shelf. Josh, I almost gave it to you as a birthday present a year or two ago (that's how long it's been on my shelf) but I found it in a used bookstore and I thought it was too beat up to be a good gift. So I made it a gift to myself. :)
Post a Comment