REVIEW: Straight Man by Richard Russo

 

I'm sorry I was MIA recently.  I've started new things but I was also pretty sick last week with a cold that went into my chest. It was only this week that I've started feeling better.  As a result, my reading and reviewing have slipped but I'm back for the foreseeable future.

I read this book because AMC has a series called Lucky Hank based upon this book and starring Bob Odenkirk, so I wanted to read it first. It isn't really like his other books, which are more about blue collar America.  This one actually is about a college professor - William Henry Devereaux, Jr. - and takes place mostly on the state college campus in Railton, PA that he teaches at. The focus - more obsession really - is the lack of budget and threat of cuts that Hank is faced with (he's the head of the English Department - interim of course).  The *best* scene - and the pivotal one - is when Hank (wearing one of the following disguises - now imagine Bob Odenkirk in them - pretty funny all around) holds up a duck and threatens to kill one a day until he gets a budget. The resulting uproar takes most of the book - and causes Hank to be either a hero or a villain depending on the character he's talking to. 

I found the dark and dry humor in this book very funny and entertaining.  So much so in fact that I found myself like snorting or chuckling to myself at various points, earning side glances from the people that I was around while I was reading. I found myself very much imagining the settings and the characters, even though I didn't always identify with them (I don't think I was supposed to - it wasn't really a character examination of me).

Definitely a read from Russo's backlist.