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Straight Man by Richard Russo
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Straight Man

A Novel

$24.00

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Narrator Sam Freed

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Length 14 hours 11 minutes
Language English
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William Henry Devereaux, Jr., spiritually suited to playing left field but forced by a bad hamstring to try first base, is the unlikely chairman of the English department at West Central Pennsylvania University. Over the course of a single convoluted week, he threatens to execute a duck, has his nose slashed by a feminist poet, discovers that his secretary writes better fiction than he does, suspects his wife of having an affair with his dean, and finally confronts his philandering elderly father, the one-time king of American Literary Theory, at an abandoned amusement park.

Such is the canvas of Richard Russo's Straight Man, a novel of surpassing wit, poignancy, and insight. As he established in his previous books -- Mohawk, The Risk Pool, and Nobody's Fool -- Russo is unique among contemporary authors for his ability to flawlessly capture the soul of the wise guy and the heart of a difficult parent. In Hank Devereaux, Russo has created a hero whose humor and identification with the absurd are mitigated only by his love for his family, friends, and, ultimately, knowledge itself.

Unforgettable, compassionate, and laugh-out-loud funny, Straight Man cements Richard Russo's reputation as one of the master storytellers of our time.

Richard Russoย is the author of eight novels, two collections of stories, andย Elsewhere,ย a memoir. In 2002 he received the Pulitzer Prize forย Empire Falls,ย which, likeย Nobodyโ€™s Fool,ย was adapted for the screen in a multiple-award-winning HBO miniseries. In 2016 he published Everybody's Fool, a sequel to his 1993 book Nobody's Fool.

Sam Freed is an American actor who has performed on Broadway, television, and in movies. His first major regular role on television was as Bob Barsky in the last three seasons of Kate & Allie. In the short-lived television series Ferris Bueller, he played Bill Bueller, the father of the title character. He also portrayed James C. Whiting III, the executive editor of the Baltimore Sun, in the fifth and final season of The Wire.

Richard Russoย is the author of eight novels, two collections of stories, andย Elsewhere,ย a memoir. In 2002 he received the Pulitzer Prize forย Empire Falls,ย which, likeย Nobodyโ€™s Fool,ย was adapted for the screen in a multiple-award-winning HBO miniseries. In 2016 he published Everybody's Fool, a sequel to his 1993 book Nobody's Fool.

Sam Freed is an American actor who has performed on Broadway, television, and in movies. His first major regular role on television was as Bob Barsky in the last three seasons of Kate & Allie. In the short-lived television series Ferris Bueller, he played Bill Bueller, the father of the title character. He also portrayed James C. Whiting III, the executive editor of the Baltimore Sun, in the fifth and final season of The Wire.

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Audiobook details

Author:

Narrator:
Sam Freed

ISBN:
9781415900987

Length:
14 hours 11 minutes

Language:
English

Publisher:
Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group

Publication date:

Edition:
Unabridged

Libro.fm rank:
#19,654 Overall

Genre rank:
#1,335 in Humor

Illustration of person opening a gift

The perfect last-minute gift

Audiobook credit bundles can be delivered instantly, given worldwide, and support local bookstores!

Start gifting
Phone showing make the switch message

Limited-time offer

Get two free audiobooks!

Nowโ€™s a great time to shop indie. When you start a new one credit per month membership supporting local bookstores with promo code SWITCH, weโ€™ll give you two bonus audiobook credits at sign-up.

Sign up today

Reviews

"The funniest serious novel I have read since—well, maybe since Portnoy's Complaint." The New York Times Book Review

"There is a big, wry heart beating at the center of Russo's fiction." The New Yorker

"[Russo] skewers academic pretensions and infighting with mad abandon...in a clear and muscular prose that is a pleasaure to read....I had to stop often to guffaw, gasp, wheeze, and wipe away my tears."Chicago Sun-Times

"Bursting with humor and insight."USA Today Expand reviews
The perfect last-minute gift Shop credit bundles