Helpful Score: 6
This is the 4th book I've read from this excellent writer. His characters always come to life, but this one lacks the same charm as Mowhawk and Risk Pool. Still very worth a read.
Helpful Score: 5
I was enthralled by this book! Richard Russo has the gift of bringing the sad realities of a small manufacturing town in the Northeast to life. This drama examines the relationships between the four prominent families in the town of Thomaston NY. From the poorest to the rich, the threads of their lives weave through forty years. It is a wonderful story that could be anyone's journey into adulthood. Wit, charm, love, heartbreak, treachery, hope...all these emotions are there for the happy reading.
Helpful Score: 4
I'm not sure which family member of mine described too much self-analysis as navel-gazing, but they would label Russo's book as such. Sure, it follows the intertwined lives of small town characters, but in the end, who cares? About halfway through I realized it wasn't really going to get much better and started skimming - and I don't skim.
Save your time - reread Empire Falls, better yet - watch the DVD.
Save your time - reread Empire Falls, better yet - watch the DVD.
Helpful Score: 4
This book was, well, just fine. Have you ever been all primped up to go somewhere and ask your significant other how you look? If they say "fine," don't you freak out cuz that really says nothing? That's what I mean when I say this book was "fine." It's not that I don't like long books - I've read tons of them that I liked and loved. I just found myself hurrying through the book - not because I couldn't put it down - I just wanted to get to something important. The last 1/4 of the book is really great, but do yourself a favor and read Empire Falls, the Pulitzer Prize Winner by Russo. It's such a great book, and this book seemed more like a chore I had to finish.
Helpful Score: 4
This is a wonderful read. The author wrote a thought-provoking story of two small town boys from their young school days through their adult years and how family and friends shaped their destinies.
Helpful Score: 2
Richard Russo starts off at a slow meadering pace and gently draws you into the story until you reside there anticipating what will happen next. I wasn't sure about this book in the beginning and now that I have finished it I am not sure I can part with it because I know it is a book that I will want to read again and again. Richard Russo once again takes normal every day living and makes it something you do not want to miss and something you want to be apart of. I highly recommend this book. I am afraid you will have to get it from someone else because I am not willing to give up my copy yet!
Helpful Score: 1
LOVED this book!!!!
Helpful Score: 1
This book is long, and filled with many characters, but they are so well drawn, and the story is so believable, that I had no difficulty telling the individuals apart. The time periods do switch back and forth, so anyone looking totally for action and adventure, in a chronological order, might not find it an easy read, but for those who relish getting involved with what they are reading, this is a good choice.
Helpful Score: 1
Thoroughly satisfying. If you enjoy a complex, intricate look at characters lives, actions and motivations you will love this book. The author writes about small town characters and transforms the small town into a character as well. This story is minutely detailed and mesmerizing.
Helpful Score: 1
First, an admission. This reviewer is partial to Richard Russo's work. Therefore, discovering this 2007 work which followed immediately on the heels of his magnificent âEmpire Falls' was a great thrill.
For about the first hundred pages.
Then the glacial pace and huge scope of this coming-of-age tale mingled with an unraveling of what constitutes âtruth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me Godâ, overlaid with the stories of several marriages and parent-child relationships and the ugly class differences lurking in a blue-collar town⦠Well, it was just too much.
But when one of your favorite authors is presenting a story, one tends to hang on. And hang on. And hang on, far past the point where common sense says âthis isn't going to get any better and you might as well cut your lossesâ.
Sometimes we need to listen to that voice.
By the time the reader gets to the sixth decade of Lou Lynch's life and the 500th page of this tome, one is thoroughly tired of his ambivalence, of his unwillingness to let go of childhood friendships which may have disguised any number of betrayals, of his wife whose burning artistic talent just sort of dribbles off into the corner until the final chapter, and even of the new adventure on which he and his wife seem to be embarking.
It's too much. Just too much. Too many words. Too many characters. Too many simmering conflicts. Too much to ask of any reader, even one whose admiration for the author gets crushed to jelly under the weight of this interminable tale.
For about the first hundred pages.
Then the glacial pace and huge scope of this coming-of-age tale mingled with an unraveling of what constitutes âtruth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me Godâ, overlaid with the stories of several marriages and parent-child relationships and the ugly class differences lurking in a blue-collar town⦠Well, it was just too much.
But when one of your favorite authors is presenting a story, one tends to hang on. And hang on. And hang on, far past the point where common sense says âthis isn't going to get any better and you might as well cut your lossesâ.
Sometimes we need to listen to that voice.
By the time the reader gets to the sixth decade of Lou Lynch's life and the 500th page of this tome, one is thoroughly tired of his ambivalence, of his unwillingness to let go of childhood friendships which may have disguised any number of betrayals, of his wife whose burning artistic talent just sort of dribbles off into the corner until the final chapter, and even of the new adventure on which he and his wife seem to be embarking.
It's too much. Just too much. Too many words. Too many characters. Too many simmering conflicts. Too much to ask of any reader, even one whose admiration for the author gets crushed to jelly under the weight of this interminable tale.
Helpful Score: 1
I have some mixed feelings about this one, it felt at times like more than one book to me. There is an incredible amount of detail that at times seems like overkill. On the other hand, there are so many profound thoughts that just blew me away. I would definitely read this, and if, like me, you find yourself rolling your eyes upon occasion at all of the detail, just slog through because I do think you will find it time well spent. I really love this author. I found this a bit more serious than his other books, a little less whimsical-quirky. But the character development is amazing, I really feel like I know these people and would recognize them on the street!
Helpful Score: 1
Almost as captivating as Nobody's Fool, this is one of Russo's best books. The character development and the narrative structure are subtle and both unfold like a morning glory. I slowed my reading pace toward the end because I knew I would miss the characters and didn't want to leave them.
Helpful Score: 1
Good, but long.
Helpful Score: 1
I was enthralled by this book! Richard Russo has the gift of bringing the sad realities of a small manufacturing town in the Northeast to life. This drama examines the relationships between the four prominent families in the town of Thomaston NY. From the poorest to the rich, the threads of their lives weave through forty years. It is a wonderful story that could be anyone's journey into adulthood. Wit, charm, love, heartbreak, treachery, hope...all these emotions come to life on the pages of this book.
This book really contains several stories,Lucy, his mother, and father Bobby, his mother and father, Sarah, her father, Uncle Dec. When you are done you will feel like you've known these people your whole lifetime.
Emotionally rich. It's rare to encounter a novel so full of good-heartedness and wisdom about people. Many of the main characters live in a small town, but their lives are not constricted by that circumstance. Even the poorest and most unfortunate characters in this story are knowing and able to express what they know, or not quite know, in a believable and convincing fashion. Highly recommended. Can't wait to read the author's other works now!
This is my second Richard Russo book. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is a long read, but well worth it! He does such an excellent job of making all the characters come alive for the reader!
Would not have read this book except it was my Book Club selection for last month. It seemed like it took forever to finish the book. Enjoyed hearing what the other member's of the book club thought so I was glad I actually did finish it. It was well written; I had no trouble following the character point of view changes. Note that this book did not encourage me to read others by the same author. Personal preference. There were some things about the book that I really did not like; however it would be a spoiler if I mentioned them here. Suffice it to say I enjoyed "Shadow in the Wind" much, much more. Felt Russo's book was not the best investment of my reading time. If I am going to read a long book would rather read Follet's series.
I did not find the protagonist sympathetic. I could not bond with him and therefore the book was very tedious for me.
This book really wasn't anything to write home about. I felt the story was drawn out and I couldn't relate well to any of the characters. I really only finished it because I had such a long commute the past four weeks.
