Rating: 
Summary: A beautifully written book
Review: Donald Sullivan--"Sully"--has rarely met a promising opportunity he didn't walk away from. Arguably the most stubbornly wrongheaded man in the economically depressed village of North Bath, New York, Sully scrapes a living as a jack of all trades, often fed construction work by the town's most fortunate scion, Carl Roebuck. Roebuck, a man with the sexual appetite of a satyr, enjoys an amusing love-hate relationship with Sully, the product of a lifetime of acquaintance in a small town. Richard Russo's Nobody's Fool abounds in these rich relationships, fully-formed characters sharing complex, realistic histories with one another. Chief among those characters is Sully's landlady and one-time 8th-grade teacher, 80-year-old Beryl Peoples, who has been Sully's staunch ally for more than forty years.Nobody's Fool is a chronicle of one particularly trying period in Sully's life, during which he is plagued by a grotesquely swollen knee and by unusually vivid reminiscences of his abusive father, now dead. ("Sully hated to think of his father at rest, and had there been a way, and if Sully'd had the money, he'd have left instructions to have Big Jim dug up every decade or so, just to make sure he didn't get comfortable.") The book is beautifully written, and Russo's evocation of North Bath is so successful that the town and its strange-looking denizens will come to reside in your imagination. A good, long, slow read you'll be sorry to part with.
Rating:
Summary: Read this book!
Review: In brief, Nobody's Fool is yet another brilliant, hilarious and affectionate snapshot of small-town life in a fictional upstate New York town from Richard Russo. Though he mines the same territory in most of his works (absent, good-for-nothing fathers), in Nobody's Fool we get inside the head of one of these said fathers in Donald "Sully" Sullivan. And as is also the case with Russo's novels, his plots take their time to develop. In the hands of a less skilled writer, that could be infuriating, but Russo's prose and characterization is so entertaining, by the time he gets to the point you're having so much fun, it makes the wait more than worth it.
If you're looking for an introduction to Russo's work or just want a great novel to live with for a few weeks, Nobody's Fool is the perfect balance between "serious" literature and homespun storytelling. Do yourself a favor and start reading.
Rating:
Summary: Great Read
Review: Mr. Russo is becoming one of my favorite authors. NOBODY'S FOOL is about nothing and yet it is about everything. He presents with a group of richly drawn characters in a small "dying" town in upstate New York. Donald "Sully" Sullivan is at the heart of the novel and forever in our hearts. This novel is to be savored and enjoyed.
Rating:
Summary: One of my Top 10 Favorite Books of All Time
Review: My first exposure to Richard Russo came via the movies. Specifically, the film rendition of 'Nobody's Fool' (I cannot resist anything featuring Paul Newman). I fell in love with the film, and all of its quirky, lovable characters, and debated for quite a while before picking up the book. Would reading it tarnish the esteem in which I held the movie? Film versions of books are notoriously horrid ('The Princess Bride' is a notable exception). Would I end up wishing I had never read the cursed manuscript? Oh no. Emphatically no. This is a wonderful book, full of lyricism, real people, and the engaging, bittersweet story I have to come to expect from Mr. Russo. His painting of small-town New England life is full of colorful details and a clarity that reminds me of Hemingway, although I never felt as drawn to any of Hemingway's characters as I do to those in 'Nobody's Fool.' The reluctant protagonist, Donald Sullivan ('Sully'), is both irresistable and infuriating. His ridiculously comic best friend Rub and his perpetually optimistic land-lady Miss Beryl are on-the-money portaits of genuine people. The interplay between Sully and his sometimes-boss, all-the-time nemesis Carl is worth the read alone. As is typical with film versions of books, the book is a good deal deeper, and darker, than the movie. The descriptions of Sully's childhood growing up with an abusive parent have stayed with me, although in no way do they resort to grisly details to pack their punch. The book and the film are different entities; two separate and excellent pieces of work. I have not read all of Mr. Russo's works, but a good number of them, and 'Nobody's Fool' is still my favorite. You will laugh out loud at Sully's antics, fall in love with the characters, and marvel and the fine writing in this book.
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: Another classic by Russo
Review: Richard Russo hasn't published very many books, but he is quickly becoming one of the great authors of today. In Nobody's Fool, he writes another excellent tale of small-town life, a setting he revisits in his masterpiece, Empire Falls. The main character in Nobody's Fool is Donald Sullivan, known more commonly as Sully. Sully is something of a free spirit, rarely thinking beyond the moment; now that he's sixty, he's feeling the effects of his short-sightedness; he has many friends but few real relationships, even with his son and his off-and-on again lover. Indeed, the closest relationship he has is with his landlady. It's hard to describe this novel in terms of plot, since this is more a book about characters than a regular story. Russo is not interested in the standard beginning-middle-end structure of a novel; instead this book is almost pure middle. Plenty happens, but as in real life, few things are neatly resolved. Russo is a brilliant writer and makes all his characters multi-dimensional. There are no good guys or bad guys here; even Sully, a likeable enough fellow, has some definite flaws. The way all these characters interact - Sully, his landlady Miss Beryl, his friend/worshipper Rub, his foe/friend Carl and the dozen or so others - is what makes this book so much fun. There is humor here, but this is not a comic novel; instead, it is a novel that does not fit well into any category. For those whose tastes run beyond strict genre fiction, this is definitely a reccomended read. It just one indication of what a great writer Russo is.
Rating:
Summary: No fooling-read this
Review: Richard Russo is known for his flawed but engaging characters, and he brings the theme home in this one. Sully-alcoholic n'er-do-well, divorced, with limited fathering skills to his grown son, has more redeeming qualities than flaws. However, they both keep multiplying throughout the book. Russo manages to inject exrtaordinary realism and humor into his stories so that you can smell the coffee in the diner, see the grit of the dying small towns, and laugh as you recognize a few people you know among the players. I recommend this and all his works for their humor and heart-with the exception of Mohawk, having no humor, but still worthy of praise. Can't wait to read his next one.
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.
Rating:
Summary: Great read!
Review: Simply put, this book is a winner. If you love character development, great dialogue and wit, you'll laugh and cry to the last page. Some writers don't know how to end a novel, and leave readers feeling cheated, unsatisfied, or disappointed. Although I was worried as I neared the end of the book, I had nothing to fear. Richard Russo, in my opinion, couldn't have ended this story any better.
|
