I've always been a fan of Russo - particularly since Empire Falls - because he writes about upstate/central NY, a place I spent some time in young adulthood. He also has focused on the lives of blue collar workers in his books. This novel continues in that theme.
The book itself seems to focus on people that are seemingly unexceptional. They don't really stand out but their relationships with each other certainly do and that's what makes the book so good. We meet Louis Lynch (Lucy to his friends after an incident in school when they were young) when he is 60 years old and living with Sarah, his wife, in the town that he has lived in for his entire life. It's in the Mohawk valley of New York. The couple is preparing to go to Italy to visit Lou's oldest friend, who is an artist living in Venice. Lucy is writing the story of his life in the town and that narrative is the meat of the book, occasionally interspersed with modern views of both Lucy's life and his friend's life in Venice.
The book's themes really hit home for me. The book strove to answer the question of whether it is better to love or be loved and whether the comfort of family is better then actually leaving and heading out. The length of the book can be daunting - it's 528 pages. Every page is worth it - Russo paints an intimate and vivid portrait of the people in this novel and the town that they're in, as well as the workings of their emotions and minds. It is completely intriguing and just lovely.
Highly recommend.
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