Rating: 
Summary: 3 1/2 stars...
Review: This book was, as most of Russo's are, a snap shot of time in the life of a small town guy. I enjoyed it. However, usually the snap shot encompasses a climactic event, and in this case I didn't feel like that was the case.
While Hank was struggling with his school, friends, and children, I didn't feel like there was a real story underneath.
Hank was well developed (as a character), and as usual, Russo's writing is more than noteworthy, but the other characters were slightly underdeveloped and you never got a feel for his daughter, his wife, or even his colleagues.
I think that this time, Russo didn't do enough to develop the characters, and he spent a lot of time describing scenery and places ... I'd rather he had done more people, and fewer objects - in terms of description.
If you want to start reading Russo, read Nobody's Fool or Empire Falls - those are each a better indicator of what Russo is really capable of.
Rating: 
Summary: Dead on depiction of the Academic Life
Review: I read Rick Russo's latest novel right after finishing _Perfect Agreement_, another marvelous comment on the state of higher (and lower) education in this country. Russo's book captures the small campus of a state university just about perfectly. I am an adjunct Spanish instructor and also work halftime as the secretary of the Philosophy Dept at just such an institution, across the river from where Russo used to teach at SIU. My husband is a full professor in the Biology Dept. We have friends in various other departments across campus. Russo's observations of human nature, both in and out of Academe, apply equally to those in the sciences as well as the liberal arts; he describes the faculty, students, and situations that abound in such a setting with almost perfect accuracy, yet without sacrificing either the wit or the compassion that have marked his earlier novels. I don't give 10s easily, and I can't say that this is the greatest book I've ever read, but it is, I think, Russo's best to date, and I've read and enjoyed them all. The only academic novel that I've read that might be better is Don DeLillo's _White Noise_, but I guess I prefer Russo's less bleak viewpoint.
Rating: 
Summary: Straight Man Gets It Right
Review: Richard Russo's Straight Man is dead-on accurate and flat-out hilarious. In this book Hank Devereaux, an aging English professor in a less than stellar university, takes on family, university politics and an ailing prostate and comes out on top of the pile. Anyone who has ever been (or ever wants to be ) associated with a university should read this book - life in the ivory tower has never been so enthusiastically skewered. As a reader who was less than thrilled with Empire Falls, I started on Straight Man with some hesitation. I should have read this one first - the plot is better, the characters are better, the story-telling is merciless and I thoroughly enjoyed the book.
Rating:
Summary: Not His Best
Review: I've read three of Russo's books: Risk Pool, Empire Falls, and Straight Man. Straight Man is the weakest of the three in my opinion. I think it's because William Henry "Hank" Devereaux, Jr. is a jerk and I spent the whole book waiting for him to get his comeuppance. I suppose he got a little comeuppance, but not as much as I would have liked.The story is the familiar whine of a middle-aged man going through a crisis and "finding himself" over one week. Not an overly interesting story, but the wacky characters and situations make it worth reading. What I found strange is that Hank's father figures so much in his thinking, but really only appears in 3 scenes (only 1 of which is in present day). After all the hype about William Henry Devereaux, Sr., I expected to actually have him around more. And I would have thrown the book against the wall had William of Occam or Occam's Razor been mentioned one more time (much, much overused!). Straight Man suffers the same problem as Empire Falls, where it seems Russo feels the need to tack on a happy ending in the Epilogue. The Epilogue in Straight Man was of the irritating type where the author starts telling readers all this stuff that happened afterwards, sort of like in historical movies where at the end they flash on the screen what happened to each character after whatever event. It's an irritating way to close the story, I'd rather just leave it open-ended. Straight Man is an all right book, but Russo has better. I'd also recommend two other books. If you want to read more about a middle-aged man finding himself I'd recommend "Independence Day" by Richard Ford. And for wacky university faculty hijinks I'd recommend "Wonder Boys" by Michael Chabon. Both, I think, do a better job than Straight Man and are worth reading. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Duck, duck, goose
Review: "Straight Man" is a novel about Hank, a middle-aged college professor who is the temporary chair of the English department at a 'second-rate' university in Pennsylvania. The novel is told in first person so we get to see things from Hank's point of view and get his take on everything going on around him. He wonders how he got stuck at West Central Pennsylvania University and why he never moved on to something/someplace greater and more esteemed. Hank treats everything in his life as a joke: from the academic politics at his university, to his relationships with family and friends; from his painful, inability to urinate, to his lackluster students. As the novel proceeds, Hank quickly becomes buried under a pile of bizarre & amusing (for the reader at least!) problems. The story was entertaining and funny. "Straight Man" is the first Richard Russo novel that I have read and I was very impressed. The writing in this book was excellent and I look forward to reading Russo's "Empire Falls" soon. "Straight Man" reminded me of Chabon's "Wonder Boys", since they are both humorous books about English professors having a midlife crisis. If you enjoy "Straight Man", I would also recommend that you read "Wonder Boys".
Rating:
Summary: Dead-on-aim
Review: As with all Russo books, the main thing is the characters. Russo is probably the best author we've got when it comes to creating people and all of his books are character driven. His portrait of the middle-aged college professor is so accurate that it's disturbing, and even Russo's descriptions of settings are dead-on--as if they themselves were characters. Of the three great books I've read recently ("Bark of the Dogwood," "Rule of Four" and this one) "Straight Man" is without a doubt the best.
Rating:
Summary: Mediocre
Review: I was expecting something more of wit from this book. It's cotton candy for the reader- not filling, but sweet. Straight Man just seems to be another fairly mediocre book of the grocery store book aisle type. Granted, it has its funny points, but they aren't the belly-aching laughter producing kind promised by so many reviewers of this book. It's a fun and easy read if that's all you are going for, however.
Rating:
Summary: Richard Russo can do no wrong
Review: In "Straight Man", Richard Russo once again has proven to me that he is one of the finest American novelists currently writing. He is brilliant in his simplicity and consistency. I had heard that this novel was his worst, but I would have to disagree. It is just as wonderful as all his others. As funny as "Nobody's Fool" and as tender as "Empire Falls." I really don't know how Russo does it. In every book he manages to create living, breathing characters in minimal plot that keeps the reader entranced far beyond the last page. While his writing style is extremely simple, the reader still marvels at the skill put into every sentence. "Straight Man" is a rip on academia, which all college / graduate students will find hilarious and dead-on. The book focuses on Hank and his struggles as English Chair at a lowly, cash-strapped University in Wrong Side of the Tracks, Pennsylvania. When his wife leaves for the weekend, Hank manages to pretty much completely turn the town upside down inside of three days. He manages to threaten a goose on live TV, get photographed naked in a hot tub with a TV personality, spend a night in jail, and pass a few hours trapped in the ceiling above his colleagues. Russo usually writes in third person ominiscient, which really helps him develop amazing and fully-fleshed characters. I was a little worried when I saw "Straight Man" was written in first person. I shouldn't have been. Russo still somehow manages to give his characters depth and soul. All in all I wasn't able to put this book down. If you haven't read Richard Russo, you are really missing out. This guy is flat-out wonderful.
Rating: 
Summary: A stinker by Russo
Review: "Straight Man" ranks as one of the worst novels I've read. It is a masterpice of prolixity, filled with boring episodes and chapters that do nothing to advance the plot. And nothing is resolved at the end; our miserable hero simply rides off into the sunset. One wonders if Russo had an editor. If he did, the editor ought to seek another line of work.
Rating:
Summary: A laugh riot
Review: Russo has become one of my favorite authors. After reading Empire Falls, I read all his other novels, and this one stands out by its comic elements. Unlike his other books, this is a true laugh riot from beginning to end. With bizarre situations, characters who are out of place, and tongue-in-cheek humor, Russo gives us a great comic novel. It's hard to say if he should write more in this vein; his other books are far more profound. But this is a great laugh.
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