*-this vintage post was first published May 2009
Someone recently asked me to suggest a good weekend read and I couldn’t help but think of Straight Man by Richard Russo. I read it a few years back after finding it listed in a magazine somewhere on an anti-Oprah list. (An explanation: the list compiler was tired of the heart-wrenching books that Oprah was fond of recommending at the time and wanted something that still told a good story but that wasn’t totally depressing). Straight Man really fits that bill.
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A lot happens in this book. A lot of really funny stuff happens in this book. I don’t want to chronicle events here, because I don’t want you to miss the chance to laugh out loud when you stumble upon them throughout the narrative. But I don't want you to think this book is just fluffy comedy, because there is a real human story there as well. Henry’s problems, and his solutions, are sometimes outlandish, but you can always relate to where is coming from - even if you would handle things in a totally different way.
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For more fictional send-ups of the academic milieu you might also enjoy:
Moo by Jane Smiley - about the people of Moo University, a midwest Agricultural College
Small World by David Lodge - also set in an English Department, where the academics are competing for a newly created chair position
Moo by Jane Smiley - about the people of Moo University, a midwest Agricultural College
Small World by David Lodge - also set in an English Department, where the academics are competing for a newly created chair position
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