Sully, a sixty-year-old underachiever, has led a life filled with turmoil. Divorced from his wife, carrying on halfheartedly with another man's, estranged from his son, and badly crippled, he stubbornly clings to the idea of independence. He believes that if he endures the hard times, his luck will eventually turn. However, his reality is far from what he hopes for. He owns nothing of value and views breakage as a constant in life, much like the weather. Despite the abundant evidence to the contrary, Sully remains an optimist, betting every day on the long chance horse race triple. He is a cheerful presence in town, always ready with a witty repartee or a silly prank, but his quick quips also suggest a refusal to accept reality.

The town of North Bath, where Sully lives, is a decaying middle-class America. The old trees that once symbolized prosperity are now diseased and ready to topple over the Victorian mansions. The people, too, are weary, decrepit, and mostly useless, pale shadows of their former selves. Sully serves as the poster boy for this attitude, but he is not alone. His friends, including Rub Squeers and Wirf, are also struggling with various problems such as illness, broken marriages, and poverty. Even the seemingly carefree Carl Roebuck has his own issues.

Miss Beryl Peoples, Sully's ninety-year-old landlady and former teacher, is one of the few people who haven't given up on him. She reminds him of the lessons he learned in school and equips him with the right frame of reference on his path to redemption. It is only when Sully stops thinking of himself and starts caring about the troubles of those around him that he begins to see the wisdom in those ancient lessons.

Richard Russo's novel is a powerful exploration of human nature and the woes of a small town. The humour in the story enhances the drama, making it both side-splittingly funny and deeply moving. Each character has a unique story to tell, and their pain and struggles are palpable. The novel raises questions about right and wrong, good and bad, and the circle of misfortune that seems to plague North Bath. In the end, the real value of the story lies in the time spent getting to know and empathize with the hard-pressed, resilient people of this small town. It is a reminder that nobody is perfect, but we can all find meaning and purpose in our lives, no matter how difficult they may seem.

I found myself at LaGuardia Airport, engaged in an ill-advised all-nighter. It was not the most pleasant of situations, to say the least. The uncomfortable chairs, the constant hustle and bustle, and the overall chaos of the airport were enough to make anyone's night miserable.

However, I had the foresight to bring along a book. And as I delved into its pages, I was completely enthralled. The story within those pages transported me to another world, far away from the discomfort and stress of the airport.

It was as if the book had a magical power, able to remove me from my current situation and immerse me in a realm of adventure, mystery, or romance. I lost track of time as I became completely absorbed in the narrative, forgetting all about the hard chairs and the lack of sleep.

Thanks to that book, what could have been a truly awful night turned into a somewhat enjoyable experience. It served as a reminder that sometimes, the simplest things, like a good book, can make all the difference in the world.

Throughout his life, Sully, a case study underachiever, was no one's fool, as people still remarked. This phrase, which Sully no doubt appreciated without ever sensing its literal application, held true even as he faced numerous challenges at sixty. He was divorced from his wife, carrying on halfheartedly with another man's, estranged from his son, devoid of self-knowledge, badly crippled, and virtually unemployable. Yet, he stubbornly confused all of this with independence.

Meet the enigmatic Donald “Sully” Sullivan, a lifelong resident of the small, dying upstate New York town of Bath. He limps through life, renting the upstairs apartment in his former eighth grade teacher's home, working part-time as a construction worker and amateur gambler, and taking all his meals at Hattie's or The Horse. Most of his shortcomings can be blamed on his deceased father, the local drunk and bully “Big Jim” Sullivan. However, Sully is not one to foster regret or lay blame. He adheres to his own mistakes, believing that “As always, to Sully, the deepest of life's mysteries were the mysteries of his own behavior.”

With his unique blend of loyalty, affection, and perseverance, Sully is an endearing contemporary hero of sorts. His irreverent sarcasm made me laugh out loud, while his “stupid streaks” had me shaking my head in disbelief. I cheered his unwavering path of least resistance and thanked God I wasn't married to him. But Sully is just one of the many unforgettable characters in this book. I adored 80-year-old former schoolteacher and widow Beryl Peoples, who openly admits her only child, Clive Jr., is NOT the “star of her firmament.” Sully's work partner and close friend, Rub Squeers, is one of the most poignant characters I've ever encountered in a book - dimwitted, emotionally raw, and loyal beyond measure. The remaining cast of characters, though small, is also impeccably sketched.

If you prefer people over plot, this is your book. It is very long (well over 500 pages) and took me almost a month to read, but it lends itself well to quiet, unrushed reading. I'll leave you now with one of my favorite Sullyisms: “There was a certain degree of aggravation beyond which Sully would not go, and today he'd reached it. There were days when the world set up more than its usual phalanx of obstacles, and when Sully sensed this principle in action he hung it up.” Occasionally, Sully makes sound decisions

There are numerous excellent reviews regarding this particular work, so I will simply offer a few additional thoughts.

The story is set in upper New York state, within the fictional town of New Bath. It revolves around Donald "Sully" Sullivan, a 60-year-old man who continues to meander through life in a reckless and carefree manner. He is truly one of my favorite literary creations. This work serves as a perfect illustration of small town America. It is uproariously funny, yet it also delves into some rather serious issues.

Currently, I am eagerly anticipating reading "Everybody's Fool", which is Russo's follow-up and was released just last year. I am excited to see how the story progresses and what new insights and experiences it will bring.

I have high expectations for this sequel, as Russo has already demonstrated his remarkable talent for creating engaging and thought-provoking stories. I cannot wait to immerse myself in the world of "Everybody's Fool" and discover what lies ahead for the characters.

Finally finished!! It’s not entirely my fault that I had to return to the library for other patrons' holds and the library only has 1 copy!!!

Richard Russo truly does an outstanding job when it comes to writing about people being introspective and uncovering who they are and the reasons behind it! His writing style is such that there is nothing fast-paced about it. Instead, you just meander around the town and gradually get to know the characters. It's as if Richard Russo makes you feel like you are right there, living life side by side with the characters. You become fully immersed in their world, experiencing their joys, sorrows, and all the little nuances of their lives. It's a captivating and engaging read that keeps you hooked from start to finish.

Loved it!

I just felt as if I was truly there in the 1980s in North Bath, upstate New York, along with Sully and all the other characters. Maybe I was sitting on a stool, having a drink in the only bar in town, The Horse, observing the goings-on, taking it all in, and having a good chuckle. Richard Russo has crafted a truly memorable character in Sully. He is a man full of wit, at times rather caustic. Basically, he is someone with no real ambition or goals, yet he manages to charm many of the people he comes into contact with, and somehow, Sully gets by. For me, this book was laugh-out-loud funny, filled with wry humor, witty one-liners, and Catch-22-like philosophical musings on the absurdity of life.

One semi-serious theme throughout the book is Sully's inability to forgive his father, Big Jim Sullivan. He was a violent and aggressive man, but also a smooth talker who could charm people around to his way of thinking and get them to take his side. Big Jim died four years ago, and a year before he passed, Sully was visiting him in his nursing home with Ruth, the woman he had been half-heartedly carrying on an affair with for 20 years.

It was clear to Sully right from the start that his father had not lost his gift. It took the old man about three minutes to charm Ruth, a woman not easily fooled, into easy affection. Big Jim's act had changed a little, Sully observed, to take full advantage of the wheelchair he was now confined to after his stroke, but it was basically the same sly appeal. The nurses scurried around him, ignoring the appeals of the other residents to attend to his father's needs in much the same fashion as his mother had attended to them, though she had done it out of fear.

“Yes I’ve lived a man’s life and made a man’s mistakes,” he told Ruth sadly, “and I’m plenty sorry for them, but they tell me God forgives all sinners, so I guess he’ll forgive me too.”

“Not that my own son ever will,” he added when Sully snorted.

“You may fool God, Pop,” he told the old man. “But you ain’t shittin’ me even for a minute.”

“So,” Ruth had said on the way home, “I always said you were nobody’s fool. But I wouldn't have guessed you were smarter than God if you hadn’t told me.”

“Just on this one subject,” said Sully, who could tell Ruth was ready to start a fight he’d just as soon have avoided.

They’d driven the rest of the way in silence, though Ruth had tried once more when they got back to town. “What does it say about a grown man who won’t forgive his father?” she wanted to know.

“I have this feeling you’re going to tell me,” Sully sighed.

“You’re just like him, you know,” Ruth offered.

“No, I don't know that.”

“It’s true. I look at him and see you.”

“I can’t help what you see, Ruth,” Sully told her when she pulled over to the curb to let him out. “But you can be thankful you aren’t married to him.”

“I’m thankful I’m not married to either of you,” she said, pulling away from the curb.

I took quite a while to read this book as it was pretty long, but really there was never a dull moment. And I can't wait to read Sully #2, Everybody's Fool, where we catch up with Sully some 20 years later.

This is an article that I truly enjoyed reading.

It presents a captivating story filled with a diverse cast of wonderful, human, and delightfully quirky characters. These characters reside in a small town in America, specifically in New York.

The narrative is not focused on action but rather on the characters themselves. It is filled with very funny and witty repartee that keeps the reader entertained. However, it also has extremely moving and poignant moments that tug at the heartstrings.

I have been completely charmed by characters like Wirf, Sully, Ralph, and the simple yet stinky Rub Squeers (what a name!). But the star of my firmament is undoubtedly Ms. Beryl.

The writing style reminds me somewhat of John Irving, with its combination of heartbreak, hilarity, and shenanigans.

Overall, I would rate this read 4.5 stars. It is an excellent and engaging piece that I would highly recommend to others.

Richard Russo is truly an outstanding storyteller.

I adored Nobody's Fool almost as much as Empire Falls. While I had a soft spot for Sully more than Miles, I felt that Empire Falls was perhaps a touch more nuanced. However, Nobody's Fool still boasted some remarkable writing.

I relished North Bath (and its rival Schuyler Springs, NY) nearly as much as Empire Falls, ME. The two books shared many similarities, from the rundown New England towns to the characters. What held everything together was Russo's incredible prose.

Nobody's Fool is set in upstate New York, beginning just before Thanksgiving in 1984 and concluding after New Years Day 1985. It centers around the 60-year-old protagonist, Donald "Sully" Sullivan, and his various relationships. There's the delightfully teasing one with his landlady Beryl Peoples (who was also his 8th grade English teacher), his lover Ruth, his ex-wife Vera, his "best friend" Rub, his son Peter, and his grandson Will. Each character is exquisitely and masterfully crafted.

Sully is just finishing his studies at a neighboring community college while recovering from a fall off a ladder that severely injured his knee. He lives upstairs in Beryl's house with his meager possessions, believing that "owning things was overrated. All you were doing was alleviating the disappointment of not owning them." (P. 305)

He is a practical joker and somewhat of a town clown, known for having bouts of good luck (like when he burned down a house by leaving a lit cigarette on a couch but received $500 from the owner who was happy to be rid of the property for the insurance money) and his "stupid streaks," one of which persists for most of this novel. "He pretended ignorance as convincingly as laziness, and his pretense of laziness was indistinguishable from the real thing." (P. 248) Money was not Sully's forte: "When Sully needed it most, money had a way of liquefying, then evaporating, and finally leaving just a filmy residue of vague memory." (P. 48)

He is an endearing and captivating character who effortlessly elicits both the best and the worst in those around him.

The book has a similar feel to the Rabbit series of John Updike, but Russo has his own distinct voice and writes fantastic dialogue. I highly recommend Nobody's Fool to those who loved Empire Falls and even more highly recommend Everybody's Fool, the sequel that Russo published in 2016. I wonder when he will release something new?

Richard Russo's "Nobody's Fool" delves deep into the life of Donald "Sully" Sullivan. For six decades, Sully has been stubbornly making his way through life in the fictional town of North Bath, NY.

As the novel commences, Sully finds himself in a series of misfortunes and poor decisions, which he aptly labels as one of his "stupid streaks." Despite this, he is determined to persevere.

However, it is no easy feat. He has a severely injured knee but is unable to claim disability. His landlady's son is plotting to evict him. His estranged son has just arrived in town with his own marital issues. His boss refuses to pay him the money he is owed, and the future of the town itself is uncertain.

Yet, contrary to what might seem like a recipe for a depressing read, Russo's writing is filled with wit, style, and the remarkable ability to create three-dimensional characters that the reader can't help but care about. Although the outcome for each character remains unknown, the story is never truly bleak. It simply presents the difficulties and sometimes even the humorous aspects of life, much like real life itself.

The main character of this book, Donald ‘Sully’ Sullivan, is a rather careless man. He left his wife and had little to do with raising his son. He's been having an affair with a married woman for twenty years and now lusts after another man's wife. Sully also drinks and gambles almost daily. At one point, he even slaps a woman, and there's an act that might be considered animal cruelty.

He sounds like a real jerk, right?

But actually, Sully is one of the most likable characters I've read in a while. Most of the harm he accidentally causes others is outweighed by the harm he does to himself.

In the blue-collar town of North Bath in upstate New York, 60-year-old Sully is a laborer with a bad knee from a job injury. Instead of following the lawyer's advice and everyone else's, he insists on going back to work instead of seeking full disability. Why? Even he can't say. His habit of doing things his own way rather than the smart way has been with him his whole life. The fact that this attitude keeps him broke, with only a run-down pick-up truck, doesn't stop him from always turning left when told to go right.

If he's short on money, Sully is rich in friends. Or at least he has no shortage of people to talk and argue with as he goes about his daily routine of the coffee shop, OTB, and the local bar. As he tries to get back to work with his bad knee, he runs into his estranged son Peter and his family, who are back in town for Thanksgiving. Events eventually force Sully to face the fact that, despite a lifetime of avoiding personal responsibility, there are times when it can't be avoided.

I've seen the movie version with Paul Newman several times and liked it so much that I always wanted to read the book but never got around to it. After reading Russo's Empire Falls and now this, I wish I'd been reading him for a lot longer. He does a great job of writing about small communities in hard times in both books. Although there are similarities between his fictional towns, he creates large and vivid casts of characters with their own histories and motivations that feel unique to each book. There's also enough humor to keep it from being a boring story about how hard life can be.

Sully is a particularly great creation. He's a good-natured slob with a self-destructive streak that he admits to but has no desire to change. He's smart enough to win most arguments but too stubborn to lose a battle to win a war. While he may complain about working hard all his life and having nothing, there's also a sense of contentment about him. As long as his truck starts, he can bet on his daily horse race, and get a few beers at the bar, he doesn't feel like he needs much more.

It's a bit long and has a few too many sub-plots for my taste. (The movie's scaled-down plot actually works better as a story.) But it's still a great book with a lead character that you can't help but like, even as you wish he'd be a little wiser.

And just like that, Donald Sullivan becomes one of my favorite characters in all of literary bookdom’s realms of gold.

His complex personality and the depth with which Richard Russo has crafted him make him truly remarkable.

Donald Sullivan is not a one-dimensional figure; he has his flaws, his dreams, and his struggles.

Russo's ability to bring this character to life on the page is a testament to his skill as a writer.

Through Donald Sullivan, we are able to see the human condition in all its glory and its imperfections.

He is a character that we can relate to, that we can root for, and that we can learn from.

Donald Sullivan is a shining example of the power of literature to create characters that stay with us long after we have turned the last page.

Richard Russo's achievement in creating this character is one that will be remembered and celebrated for years to come.

I don't precisely know the exact reason why I have such a profound love for Richard Russo. Well, actually that's not entirely true. I like him because his characters are endowed with senses of humor that seem to be in almost direct proportion to their integrity.

While reading this particular work, I experienced that gluttonous feeling. It was that kind of intense "I love this book and can't stop reading it, yet at the same time, I wish I could keep reading it forever and that there were countless more RR novels available for me to devour when I'm done with this one."

Anyway, wouldn't it be great if we all lived in a world where the definition of a villain was simply someone without a sense of humor? If only the logic "villains are despicable, and people without a sense of humor are despicable, so people without a sense of humor are villains" could hold true. Alas, if only.

But in reality, the world is much more complex than such a simple equation. However, Richard Russo's works do have a way of making us think about these kinds of interesting concepts and characters that draw us in and make us feel so passionately about his stories.