Straight Man by Richard Russo

My latest is about William Henry Devereaux Jr. ("Hank") - a 50-year-old college professor at a small rural Pennsylvania university. In the course of a single week (of course while his wife is away, tending to her nutty father), Devereaux will have his nose mangled by an angry colleague, imagine his wife is having an affair with more than one friend, wonder if a curvaceous adjunct is trying to seduce him with peach pits, and threaten to execute a goose on local television. All this while coming to terms with his philandering father, the realization that his youth is a mere thing of the past, and the ominous failure of certain vital body functions.

This is the 3rd Richard Russo that I've read and it's also my least favorite. In fact, out of 5 stars? I give it a generous 3 (really I give it 2 1/2 but I'm trying to be nice here...okay so 2 stars...I give it 2 stars). It tried too hard to be clever and witty while in the end it was annoying and mundane...depressing really. The characters were all a bunch of putzes (the most likable character in the book was the goose) and more than a handful of times, I wanted to put it down and start something else. In reality, I skimmed the last half of the book but my recommendation to you would be not to put yourself through this...don't read it at all...waste of time.