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Loading... Straight Manby Richard Russo
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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. amusing story set on a college campus (  ) lgorey | Jul 6, 2009 |  An outstanding academic satire about a professor at a remote Pennsylvania state school where getting tenure "was a little like being proclaimed the winner of a shit-eating contest". (  ) emfink | Jun 15, 2009 | A wonderfully-written satire of academic life; I used to work in a unversity English Department and this book captures the politics, drama, feeling of that time. ( ) mjspear | Jun 5, 2009 | This modern satire about the intricacies of college faculty relationships is laugh-out-loud funny in unexpected ways. Russo’s characters are artfully drawn with depth. We all know one or more of these characters in our own lives. The comical aspects of the story arise out of “everyman’s” tendency to avoid the often inevitable pitfalls life throws at us. This I can best sum up by my friend Suzanne’s comment, “I will know my life has gone to hell when Fox News knocks on my door.” The story follows William Henry Devereaux Jr., English Dept. Interim Chair, during what must be the most torturous week of his life, replete with wild women, psycho students, paparazzi and personal agonies both physical and familial. The beauty in the story is his ability to see past the agony to the levity. Great read! MAT PeskyLibrary | Apr 29, 2009 | Truly hilarious academic novel. Really an enjoyable read. ( ) miriamparker | Mar 19, 2009 |  no reviews | add a review
Amazon.com (ISBN 0375701907, Paperback)First Jane Smiley came out of the comedy closet with Moo, a campus satire par excellence, and now Richard Russo has gotten in on the groves-of-academe game. Straight Man is hilarious sport, with a serious side. William Henry Devereaux Jr., is almost 50 and stuck forever as chair of English at West Central Pennsylvania University. It is April and fear of layoffs--even among the tenured--has reached mock-epic proportions; Hank has yet to receive his department budget and finds himself increasingly offering comments such as "Always understate necrophilia" to his writing students. Then there are his possible prostate problems and the prospect of his father's arrival. Devereaux Sr., "then and now, an academic opportunist," has always been a high-profile professor and a low-profile parent.Though Hank tries to apply William of Occam's rational approach (choose simplicity) to each increasingly absurd situation, and even has a dog named after the philosopher, he does seem to cause most of his own enormous difficulties. Not least when he grabs a goose and threatens to off a duck (sic) a day until he gets his budget. The fact that he is also wearing a fake nose and glasses and doing so in front of a TV camera complicates matters even further. Hank tries to explain to one class that comedy and tragedy don't go together, but finds the argument "runs contrary to their experience. Indeed it may run contrary to my own." It runs decidedly against Richard Russo's approach in Straight Man, and the result is a hilarious and touching novel. (retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:03 -0400) The first test round has been closed. Visit the Open Shelves Classification group for details. |
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