Somebody’s Fool
Knopf
July 25, 2023
The Pulitzer Prize–winning author of EMPIRE FALLS returns to North Bath, in upstate New York, and to the characters that captured the hearts and imaginations of millions of readers in his beloved best sellers NOBODY’S FOOL and EVERYBODY’S FOOL.
Ten years after the death of the magnetic Donald “Sully” Sullivan, the town of North Bath is going through a major transition as it is annexed by its much wealthier neighbor, Schuyler Springs. Peter, Sully’s son, is still grappling with his father’s tremendous legacy as well as his relationship to his own son, Thomas, wondering if he has been all that different a father than Sully was to him. Meanwhile, the towns’ newly consolidated police department falls into the hands of Charice Bond, after the resignation of Doug Raymer, the former North Bath police chief and Charice’s ex-lover. When a decomposing body turns up in the abandoned hotel situated between the two towns, Charice and Raymer are drawn together again and forced to address their complicated attraction to one another. Across town, Ruth, Sully’s married ex-lover, and her daughter Janey struggle to understand Janey’s daughter, Tina, and her growing obsession with Peter’s other son, Will. Amidst the turmoil, the town’s residents speculate on the identity of the unidentified body, and wonder who among their number could have disappeared unnoticed.
Infused with all the wry humor and shrewd observations that Russo is known for, SOMEBODY'S FOOL is another classic from a modern master.
Foreign Sales:
Allen & Unwin / U.K.
Dumont / Germany
Table Ronde / France.
Praise for Somebody’s Fool:
“Russo’s beguiling art is the mastery of cloaking complex human emotions and conflicts in surprisingly simple guises, and he brings depths of pathos and wisdom to this Everyman microcosm by challenging its citizens in unlikely ways, only to have them emerge whole and even heroic. There have never been fools in Russo’s world, just lovely, relatable people navigating foolish situations.”
—Booklist, Starred Review
Praise for Everybody’s Fool:
"Russo hits his trademark trifecta: satisfying, hilarious, and painlessly profound."
—Kirkus, Starred Review
“Triumphant... Russo's reunion with these beloved characters is genius: silly slapstick and
sardonic humor play out in a rambling, rambunctious story that poignantly emphasizes that
particular brand of loyalty and acceptance that is synonymous with small-town living.”
—Booklist, Starred Review
“How could twenty-three years have slipped by since Nobody’s Fool? . . . Russo is probably
the best writer of physical comedy that we have [but] even the zaniest elements of the story
are interspersed with episodes of wincing cruelty. . . . North Bath is a sleepy little town that
never sleeps [and] no tangent ever feels tangential.”
—The Washington Post
“Cause for celebration . . . writing that reflects [Russo’s] deep affection for the
quotidian and for the best and worst that’s found in every human heart.” —Library Journal
Praise for Richard Russo:
"Russo's 14th book blends everything we love about this author with
something new...it provides the familiar pleasure of immersion in the
author's distinctive, richly observed world and his inimitable ironic voice."
—Kirkus, starred review, on CHANCES ARE...
"Russo takes deep philosophical dives, in the subtlest of ways, into issues of fate
and free will and loyalty and lies...this is vintage Russo with a cunning twist."
—Booklist, starred review, on CHANCES ARE...
“How could twenty-three years have slipped by since Nobody’s Fool? . . . Russo is
probably the best writer of physical comedy that we have [but] even the zaniest
elements of the story are interspersed with episodes of wincing cruelty. . . .
North Bath is a sleepy little town that never sleeps [and] no tangent ever feels tangential.”
—The Washington Post
“Cause for celebration . . . writing that reflects [Russo’s] deep affection for the quotidian and
for the best and worst that’s found in every human heart.”
—Library Journal