Somebody's Fool
A novel
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4.3 • 9 Ratings
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Empire Falls returns to North Bath, in upstate New York, and to the characters that captured the hearts and imaginations of millions of readers in his beloved best sellers Nobody’s Fool and Everybody’s Fool.
“Sumptuous, spirited . . . [Russo] paints a shining fresco of a working-class community...” —The New York Times • "Another instant classic, filled with Russo's witty dialogue and warm understanding of human foibles." —People Magazine
Ten years after the death of the magnetic Donald “Sully” Sullivan, the town of North Bath is going through a major transition as it is annexed by its much wealthier neighbor, Schuyler Springs. Peter, Sully’s son, is still grappling with his father’s tremendous legacy as well as his relationship to his own son, Thomas, wondering if he has been all that different a father than Sully was to him.
Meanwhile, the towns’ newly consolidated police department falls into the hands of Charice Bond, after the resignation of Doug Raymer, the former North Bath police chief and Charice’s ex-lover. When a decomposing body turns up in the abandoned hotel situated between the two towns, Charice and Raymer are drawn together again and forced to address their complicated attraction to one another. Across town, Ruth, Sully’s married ex-lover, and her daughter Janey struggle to understand Janey’s daughter, Tina, and her growing obsession with Peter’s other son, Will. Amidst the turmoil, the town’s residents speculate on the identity of the unidentified body, and wonder who among their number could have disappeared unnoticed.
Infused with all the wry humor and shrewd observations that Russo is known for, Somebody's Fool is another classic from a modern master.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Few novelists capture the feel of small-town America like Richard Russo. Somebody’s Fool returns to the upstate New York town of North Bath, the setting of his previous bestsellers Nobody’s Fool and Everybody’s Fool (but like those, this book stands on its own). Ten years after his father’s death, community college teacher Peter Sullivan’s dissatisfied but familiar life gets disrupted by the sudden appearance of his estranged adult son, Thomas, who has a score to settle with the dad he hasn’t seen in decades. Thomas’ arrival also complicates things for newly retired police chief Doug, his successor (and ex-girlfriend) Charice, and diner owner Janey and her cop boyfriend. As always, Russo weaves these storylines (and a ton of others) into one coherent, realistic whole. Shot through with dark humour and empathy, it’s a story about how hard it is to break out of destructive patterns. It’s also one of the most emotionally moving novels we’ve read this year.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Russo (Nobody's Fool) concludes his North Bath trilogy with a wise and witty drama of small-town life. Donald "Sully" Sullivan, the hero of the first two books, has been dead for 10 years, a loss that many of the characters in this volume continue to grapple with. Sully's son, Peter, who always assumed he was destined for bigger and better things than small-town North Bath, N.Y., sticks around to renovate his father's Victorian house. Meanwhile, former police chief Douglas Raymer contemplates the loss of his job after the town was annexed by its richer neighbor, Schuyler Springs. Adding to the complications for Raymer, his longtime girlfriend is made the new Schuyler Springs police chief. But it's Peter's estranged son, Thomas, who sets the plot in motion when he shows up in North Bath unannounced. Thomas claims he's just passing through on his way to Montreal, but Peter believes otherwise, and circumstances soon suggest more sinister motivations involving revenge for Peter's abandonment of Thomas as a child. Russo gets a slow start, laying on a bit too much backstory at the outset, but the novel soon picks up speed, delivering the generous humor, keen ear for dialogue, and deep appreciation for humanity's foibles that have endeared the author to his readers for decades. Though Sully is gone, his world is alive and well.
