Author : Richard Russo
Narrators : Ron McLarty
Genre : Fiction
Publisher : Random House Audio
Listening Length : 24 hours 53 minutes
Rating : 4/5
Narrator Rating : 5/5
There comes a time when you try book after book, but none hook you enough to go beyond an hour of listening time. Then you need a dependable author, one you know has the skill to put together a real tale. So you turn to Richard Russo.
Nobody’s Fool is about Donald “Sully” Sullivan, a 60 year old out-of-work construction worker with a bum knee, a broken marriage and an estranged son. Good-natured, easy-going Sully is well-liked around the small town of Bath, New York where everyone knows everyone and has for a long time. He rents out the top floor flat from his old English school teacher Mrs. Beryl Peoples, doing odd jobs for her and looking in on her from time-to-time. Other people populating Sully’s world are co-worker Rub Squeers, tight-fisted boss Carl Roebuck, mistress Ruth, ex-wife Vera, and son Peter.
We meet Sully as he goes about finding work with Rub, lunching at the local diner, and playing poker with his one-legged lawyer friend Wirf who’s trying to get him disability benefits. Sully has issues, even though he pays them little mind, and his obstinate streak won’t let him be guided by good reason, something his astute and sharp-tongued mistress points out to him again and again. Sully is nobody’s fool, but he does have a penchant for meandering (even while resisting) his way through all the conflicting, intricate little threads of problems that surround him.
Russo gives us minute descriptions, of the locales, the people, and their behaviors. The character development is well nigh perfect! His story telling is compassionate; his words even while poignant and truthful are interspersed with wit and wry humor. But of course, such expansive descriptions lend themselves to long, leisurely stories, and this is no different. Like “Empire Falls” Russo builds up his story slowly, so we get to hear of and about Sully in little bits and pieces, even though those bits and pieces are seamlessly knit together. There is no big over-arching plot or a clear resolution to that plot in this book. If you are looking for a clear-cut plot-driven, climax-filled book, this is not the one.
I will say that I listened to the book in fits and starts because the build-up went on too long for me. It sped up around Hour 7 and after that I plowed through it. I will also say that even though I would drop this for a couple of days, every time I picked it back up I would be immersed in the story, and again in awe of Russo’s skill!
Ron McLarty delivers impeccable narration to go along with this gorgeous book. Nobody’s Fool is like Empire Falls, almost perfect (even though that was much more fast-paced), and a book that will stay with you a long, long time after reading or listening to it.
