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The Risk Pool

3.97 of 5 stars 3.97 · rating details · 3,087 ratings · 249 reviews

The Risk Pool is a thirty-year journey through the lives of Sam Hall, a small-town gambling hellraiser, and his watchful, introspective son Ned. When Ned's mother Jenny suffers a breakdown and retreats from her husband's carelessness into a dream world, Ned becomes part of his father's seedy nocturnal world, touring the town's bars and pool halls, struggling to win Sam's a...more

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Published June 4th 1998 by Vintage (first published 1988)

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Nov 23, 2012 Paul rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: novels

1) This is like a very gentle version of the way the British sergeant-major explained how he lectures his troops :

"First I tells 'em what I'm going to tell 'em. Then I tells 'em. Then I tells 'em what I told 'em."

Because Richard Russo's middle name is Repetition. His full name is Richard Repetition Russo. Now I'm doing it. Must be catching. How many times were we told that the protagonist's father had a blackened thumb and forefinger? At least once every five pages. How many times did the father...more 1) This is like a very gentle version of the way the British sergeant-major explained how he lectures his troops :

"First I tells 'em what I'm going to tell 'em. Then I tells 'em. Then I tells 'em what I told 'em."

Because Richard Russo's middle name is Repetition. His full name is Richard Repetition Russo. Now I'm doing it. Must be catching. How many times were we told that the protagonist's father had a blackened thumb and forefinger? At least once every five pages. How many times did the father cuff the son's head? About once every two pages. How many times did the father not pay his bills? About once every other paragraph.

2) This is your standard autobiographical novel about growing up in small town America. There are a lot of these. It's a loving melancholy examination of flawed people, especially the father. Especially the father.

3) The story, if there is a story, and I'm not too sure, crawls along at about seven miles an hour. You could out-walk this story easily. By the time you got to the end of the street Richard Russo would be just about finishing describing lacing up his shoes.

4) He mulls. He ruminates. He describes. He worries. He considers.

5) He's a good writer. But he ain't the writer I need right now. This novel has 480 pages in it. All full of words describing the father's fatuous, aggravating, inept, boorish and yet strangely awesome ways. Yes, it seemed to me to be a kind of hymn to the great unlettered manly man, the guy who can shoot great pool, romance the new barmaid with some homely come-on lines, fix up the permanently ailing Oldsmobile, pick a winner, play a hell of a poker game but never earn a decent wage for more than two consecutive months. Thing is, I think we have had enough love letters from writers to these kind of guys to last us a lifetime. So eventually, about half-way through, I thought : not gonna finish this one.

6) I really don't like not finishing novels which I think are actually pretty good. But I don't want pretty good anymore. I want to get zapped in the ventricles by something unexpectedly great, something I didn't see coming. I probably want too much.
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Apr 13, 2008 Ak rated it 4 of 5 stars

i've decided richard russo is like u2 -- all his stuff sounds pretty much the same, but it's terrific, so i don't care.

the usual is all in evidence:
- lol-inducing humor
- affectionate brutal treatment of small-town folk and life (perfect internal echo: Sam constantly cuffing his son on the head to show how much he loves him)
- palpable rage against the socioeconomic forces and big business that slowly destroy his intimately beloved type of biosphere
- characters you feel you'd know at a 100 pace...more

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Aug 17, 2007 Samilja rated it 5 of 5 stars

It's true that for me a big part of this book's allure is how well I know these characters. I mean, really know them. But whether or not you relate to the characters from the start, by the end you will at least empathize with them. Russo draws each role so clearly with the requisite anecdotal background that brings them into focus. But his true talent is dialogue. Anyone who's spent time in back-woods, homegrown bars will have heard these conversations before - though perhaps not specifically or...more

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Jan 07, 2013 Brian Steinbach rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Russo fans

Recommended to Brian by: Simone

Calling small children "birdbrain", struggling academics, dysfunctional father/multi-generational searches for understanding, gruff or "dangerous" role model/ childhood friendships dealt through adolescence, and stagnate or dying smalltown America-- These are all reoccurring items in Russo's work. This (his second novel), depicts the four part growth of the protagonist from adolescence through adulthood and the death of his father.

The Risk Pool isn't my favorite of Russo's novels, but is impres...more

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Oct 21, 2012 Mike Gilbert rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: literature

This is probably my favorite Russo book. Granted, I have only read three, but between Empire Falls, That Old Cape Magic, and The Risk Pool, this one really stands out.

I live in upstate New York, quite a bit further west than the Mohawk Valley, but its close enough put pictures of Leroy or Olean in my mind when the once flourishing now dilapidated town is described. And although my life was nothing like that of Ned Hall's, I easily identified with the people in his life and the fears that he nur...more

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Aug 01, 2012 Randy Ehrler rated it 5 of 5 stars

Inside the Underbelly of America

Thoughts Inspired by The Risk Pool; a novel by Richard Russo

This is a beautiful story about the struggles of a young man, trying to raise himself in the midst of two parents who are incapable of doing it themselves. The characters in this book are rendered in full – we are given glimpses into the good, the bad and the ugly about their lives. In so many instances in our lives, we are quick to judge – we condemn the choices, actions, appearance, behavior and opinion...more Inside the Underbelly of America

Thoughts Inspired by The Risk Pool; a novel by Richard Russo

This is a beautiful story about the struggles of a young man, trying to raise himself in the midst of two parents who are incapable of doing it themselves. The characters in this book are rendered in full – we are given glimpses into the good, the bad and the ugly about their lives. In so many instances in our lives, we are quick to judge – we condemn the choices, actions, appearance, behavior and opinions of others. In a world lived through the TV lens – we are seldom introduced to people outside the mainstream. TV provides a two dimensional perspective of the world – everyone is rich, everyone is beautiful, everyone is young, everyone has fake boobs, everyone has plastic surgery and everyone has a great life.

Except on reality TV, where they show us the “real” lives of the truly dysfunctional. The sad truth is that these shows are not real. They are scripted, produced, manipulated and directed to be entertaining – they encourage outrageous behavior, audacious personalities and shocking actions. These become the two primary perspectives we have of people – via TV – they are either great looking and successful or they are highly dysfunctional.

TV news shows us a third group – these are the lost souls that are interviewed whenever there is a shooting in the inner city or a plane crash in Oklahoma. These are the fractured remnants of the “lower class” – often looking very different, speaking very different and acting different than we are accustomed.

Real people don’t exist on TV. Real people only exist in the real world. Richard Russo provides a crystal clear picture of the people who inhabit the world outside the TV lens. These are the people who didn’t go to college, live in the town they were born in, are focused on surviving today not planning for their retirement in Florida – they shop (and work) at Wal-Mart and live a much different life that the suburban/urban TV producers and viewers.

The Risk Pool is a stellar, multi-dimensional perspective of characters that live on the fringe. No one is all good or all bad. We often make decisions about people based on how they talk, look, act or live – we are suspect of those who don’t “do it all” the way we do. Suburbanization has caused homogenization – we all want to cluster with others who are just like us. As time goes buy, we insulate ourselves further and further in pools of “likeness.” We judge, condemn and classify all others.

All men go through the same experiences, fears, challenges, doubts and struggles. Regardless of demographics, our pains are shared. The Risk Pool will open your eyes to men who live hard, love deeply, screw up regularly, violate normal behavior – but in so doing, reveal their hearts – and yours. Step outside yourself and give it a tumble – you won’t regret it.

Peace & God Bless!
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Mar 15, 2012 Scott rated it 5 of 5 stars

I always feel like kind of sucker for enjoying Richard Russo novels as much as I do--he plays the "looking back on your life, wistfully" card to the hilt--but whatever: the guy can tell a long, mostly uneventful story about vaguely interesting men with the best of them, and in Risk Pool, his second novel, from 1988, he again had me totally engaged, chuckling out loud, getting a bit teary-eyed, all of it. Risk Pool takes place in fictional Mohawk, New York, a dreary post-industrial town full of b...more

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Apr 06, 2011 Susan Emmet rated it 5 of 5 stars

Really love Richard Russo. Have followed him for a while. Decided to read The Risk Pool after reading anthology of short stories he edited, as well as Empire Falls a few years ago.
It's all character-driven and reminds me of Steinbeck. Not just the story of the Halls (loony mother, inebriated father, "lost" son Ned, the narrator), but also of Mohawk, NY, crumbling over time once the tanneries and mills and downtown shut down. After WW 2, Sam marries Jenny, Ned is born, and Sam takes off. The nove...more

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Nov 15, 2010 Lori rated it 4 of 5 stars

The more books I read by Richard Russo the more I associate him with a fine, expensive wine. With a wine such as that, you don’t gulp it all down at one time. You take your time and savor it. Such is my experience with The Risk Pool. I think the biggest fascination I have with Mr. Russo’s books is that they don’t really have an apparent storyline but more of a history of his character’s lives. This particular book was no different. His characters are deep messes. The same person you sniff at dur...more

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Oct 23, 2010 Felicity rated it 4 of 5 stars

"The Risk Pool" was published two years after "Mohawk," but set almost a decade before the events recounted in "Mohawk" in the same town (Mohawk). Harry's Grill seems to be the primary recurring feature, but in "The Risk Pool" the action (as it is) centers on the relationship between Sam Hall and his son, Ned. I'm not actually sure when Russo wrote these novels, but it is clear his writing improved enormously between the two. Certainly, "The Risk Pool" has that ability to tug at the heartstrings...more

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Apr 28, 2009 Alex rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Russo always impresses me with his ability to skirt the "rules" of writing and get away with it. If any of you have been unfortunate enough to expereince a graduate level writing class you've - at some point - been brow-beaten with the two oldest writing saws: "Show don't tell" and "Write what you know." Russo never ever shows in any of his books, but the skewed perspective of the narrator is often part of the novel's depth as well as its charm. Perhaps he makes up for breaking the one rule so c...more

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Jul 28, 2009 Nancy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2009

Dear Richard Russo,

I love character-driven stories, and you write some of the best I've ever read. Does anything much happen in your stories? Not usually, and what does happen tends toward the quotidian. But the way you portray these events, and their effects on your wonderful characters, makes me so pleased. Because don't we all have some little experiences, those ones that happen almost every day, that make us who we are?

Good work. I'm sadly almost done with your back catalog now, but I'm exci...more

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Oct 26, 2010 Ryan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Richard Russo has such an unmistakable style and voice – if you like any of his books you’ll like all of them. His material does tend to be a bit repetitive (although yes, I realize, this one was his 2nd, although the 4th I’ve read…) as he focuses on self-destructive, alcoholic father figures, deteriorating towns, troubled youths, asshole cops, barflys, and mythical town figures whose fate is always somehow tied to the river in town; but despite all this, even if you’re familiar with him, each b...more Richard Russo has such an unmistakable style and voice – if you like any of his books you’ll like all of them. His material does tend to be a bit repetitive (although yes, I realize, this one was his 2nd, although the 4th I’ve read…) as he focuses on self-destructive, alcoholic father figures, deteriorating towns, troubled youths, asshole cops, barflys, and mythical town figures whose fate is always somehow tied to the river in town; but despite all this, even if you’re familiar with him, each book – this included – is so well developed with characters he treats so compassionately that by the final page the reader feels like he/she’s saying goodbye to a long-time friend you know everything about.

This story uses the voice of adolescent Ned, following him as grows from a 10 year old up to a 35 year old, focusing mainly on his relationship (or lack thereof) with his father. This was a nice change in perspective for Russo, who in other works tended to use the voice of a 40 year old “straight man;” the adolescent voice perfectly suits this story as you see the effects of such fathering through the eyes of his kids, with all the descriptions and focus shown clearly through the distorted perspective we all view the world as kids. My big complaint with this book was that it tended to glorify the father figure as some kind of hero, a man with a million friends, a man whose greatness was understood by barfly friends but not by his family. I really viewed him as a douche-bag and wondered why Ned (the narrator)kept visiting, trying to track him down. But I guess, again, through the distorted eyes of a child, when you’re your own parent, don’t infinitely numerous kids put up with increasing amounts of bullshit from douche-bag parents from whom they want love/attention? Reading up on Russo himself, it’s not surprising to see that he bases much of his work (especially his early work) on autobiographical instances, including his absentee father. I just don’t see why he’s so glorified for turning his back on his wife and kids, not to mention nearly every man in this novel does the exact same thing, and then they all sit together and talk about how everyone is crazy but them. Is this really the way the world works? I didn’t think so, but I guess over 50% of the population is divorced…

Although this book does get a tad slow in the middle (where you feel like nothing is happening), Russo keeps his novel – like his others – character driven and not plot driven. There is still definitely a forward-moving plot, but Russo is much more worried about portraying his characters’ journeys for us rather than a single conflict. His story encompasses the entire town – almost its own character – and follows a large cast of characters throughout the years as we see how the people grow and change over time: some magnificently, some not at all. But like the preface to his novel – taken from Steinbeck’s Cannery Row -- all of Mohawk’s inhabitants are ‘“whores, pimps, gamblers, and sons of bitches,’ by which he meant everybody. Had the man looked through another peephole he might have said, 'saints and angels and martyrs and holy men,' and he would have meant the same thing." Perfect Russo worldview: human beings suck, but we’re all heroes in our own way as we grow, learn, and try to make it through this thing called life in the only way we know how.
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Sep 19, 2009 Cari rated it 4 of 5 stars

Richard Russo is great. I've now read three of his novels and really enjoyed all of them. The characters stand out from the page, and I get lost so easily in the narrative. This book is a coming-of-age and beyond story about a boy/young man in an upstate New York town with two separated parents who are neglectful yet still loving in their own ways. Most interesting is watching how their relationships with their son shapes who he becomes. The focus is clearly on the father-son relationship, and t...more

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Jun 23, 2011 Audrey rated it 4 of 5 stars

Dang it - I've tried to save this review 3x now....this is my last attempt. I really LOVE this author. This particular book is about a dying town and the rather hopeless down-and-out people who live there. Sound depressing? I know, but it wasn't somehow. Certainly not an uplifting book, but not actively depressing given it's content. The most striking thing is Russo's stunning descriptive abilities. You can see, hear, feel and smell what's going on in this book. Genius. If you have not read Russ...more

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May 19, 2011 Barbara rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction-literature

Yet another excellent read by Russo, with his usual depth of plot and character. He has a gift for drafting surprising connections between his characters, linking them through quirks of circumstance and fate, and deftly illustrating both the grit and frailty of relationships. The protagonist grows from child to man as the novel follows his relationship with his irresponsible and emotionally distant father. The author injects humor and wit into their experiences, but also shares sober observation...more

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Jan 18, 2013 Jay rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

After reading Russo’s Elsewhere memoir, I went on to read his earlier Risk Pool novel, which I really enjoyed. While Elsewhere is mostly about Russo’s relationship with his mother, Risk Pool seems to be mostly about the relationship he might have had, or wished he had, with his father. Risk Pool almost reads like a reflective memoir with its developing chronology. Subtle theme variations give the novel continuity and authenticity. Although not written as a memoir, Risk Pool is similar in that it...more

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Aug 17, 2011 Marci rated it 5 of 5 stars

I adore Russo and agree a little with another reviewer comparing him to U2 in that all his stuff pretty much sounds the same but it doesn't matter because it's all terrific. Except I wouldn't use U2 and I've read enough of Russo now to say that a few of his novels do differ plenty in plot and tone and mood. But The Risk Pool and Mohawk, which I read just before, are about the same town and even some of the same characters, and I've seen Nobody's Fool (also takes place in Mohawk) and might even i...more

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Sep 07, 2010 Truthmonkey rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I didn't listen to the audio book, but apparently there is no listing for the book itself. Anyway, I picked it up because I have always enjoyed Richard Russo's books...until now. It was basically a ocming of age story of a boy with two crazy parents. But it dragged. And dragged. Halfway through the book, when it skipped ten years, it got a little more bearable, but only a little. And by the end, when I'm supposed to feel sympathy for the dad, I don't. He's not really redeemable. And neither is t...more

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Apr 08, 2011 Al rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I've become a big Richard Russo fan, so I'm slowly working through his works. This one follows a young man who grows up on the seamy side of a seamy upstate New York town. It's built around his problematic relationship with his (divorced) mother and father, particularly his father. As usual, Mr. Russo's scenes and dialogue are beautifully rendered, often funny and always affecting. I did feel that some of the situations in The Risk Pool were a little far over the top, and also the book is overl...more

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Oct 09, 2011 Ella rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Ella by: Susan

Ik heb het boek gelezen in de Nederlandse vertaling. Het speelt in een kleine 'rundown'stad in Amerika.
Het wordt verteld door de zoon. Na zijn geboorte verlaat zijn vader het pand en na enkele jaren begint het getouwtrek van de ouders om aandacht van de zoon. Het speelt zich voornamelijk af in kroegen en gokhallen die worden bevolkt door de drinkmaten van zijn vader. Het wordt met veel humor en mensenkennis verteld en je krijgt sympathie voor alle 'losers' van die maatschappij.
Heb een ander boek...more

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Apr 01, 2013 Els rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorieten, noord-amerika

Eind jaren vijftig, begin jaren zestig. Ned Hall woont samen met zijn moeder Jenny in het Amerikaanse stadje Mohawk. Sinds zijn terugkeer uit de oorlog in Europa neemt vader Sam het niet zo nauw met zijn verantwoordelijkheid als vader en echtgenoot. Hij wil maar één ding en dat is de bloemetjes buitenzetten. Jenny wil van hem scheiden, maar Sam piekert er niet over om zijn huwelijk officieel op te geven. In de bittere strijd die daarop volgt komt Ned voor een bitter loyaliteitsconflict te staan....more Eind jaren vijftig, begin jaren zestig. Ned Hall woont samen met zijn moeder Jenny in het Amerikaanse stadje Mohawk. Sinds zijn terugkeer uit de oorlog in Europa neemt vader Sam het niet zo nauw met zijn verantwoordelijkheid als vader en echtgenoot. Hij wil maar één ding en dat is de bloemetjes buitenzetten. Jenny wil van hem scheiden, maar Sam piekert er niet over om zijn huwelijk officieel op te geven. In de bittere strijd die daarop volgt komt Ned voor een bitter loyaliteitsconflict te staan.

Wanneer zijn moeder een zenuwinzinking krijgt en zich steeds meer opsluit in huis, gaat Ned bij zijn vader wonen. Die leidt een losbandig leven waarin drank, gokken en vrouwen aan de orde van de dag zijn. Sam neemt zijn zoon vaak mee naar de Mohawk Grill en The Elms, de plaatselijke kroeg waar stamgasten luisteren naar namen als Watje, Dunne, Boom en Nul. Ned weet zijn draai aardig te vinden, al maakt hij zich ook zorgen om zijn moeder en kost het hem moeite om de liefde van zijn vader voor zich te winnen.

Deel 1 en 2 beschrijven Neds kinder- en tienerjaren. In deel 3 is Ned inmiddels student antropologie in Tucson, Arizona. Als hij voor het eerst in zeven jaar weer terugkeert naar Mohawk, blijkt alles nog min of meer bij het oude te zijn, alsof de tijd heeft stilgestaan. Zijn vader zit nog steeds in de kroeg, met dezelfde vrienden die dezelfde grappen maken. Ned is het allemaal ontgroeid, maar toch blijft hij een tijdje hangen in Mohawk, niet echt in staat om richting te geven aan zijn leven. In het vierde en laatste deel woont Ned samen met zijn vriendin Leigh in New York. Hij heeft Sam al tien jaar niet gezien en besluit weer eens naar Mohawk te gaan. Zal het vader en zoon lukken om nader tot elkaar te komen?

Russo is een begenadigd verteller die romanpersonages weet om te toveren tot mensen van vlees en bloed. Levensechte mensen, met rauwe emoties en moeizame relaties. Zijn natuurtalent schuilt erin dat hij de lezer direct vanaf bladzijde 1 op sleeptouw neemt en niet meer loslaat. Het is verbluffend zoals Russo het kleinsteedse bestaan in het arme stadje Mohawk driedimensionaal in beeld weet te brengen. Hij geeft je als lezer soms het idee dat jij daar zélf rondloopt en aanschuift aan de bar van de Mohawk Grill om naar de gesprekken tussen Sam en zijn kroegmaten te luisteren. Ook brengt de schrijver Neds ontwikkeling van kind tot volwassene op meesterlijke wijze over het voetlicht. Bovendien geeft Russo’s heerlijke gevoel voor humor de nodige lucht aan de soms toch wel heftige en emotioneel beladen gebeurtenissen die deze lijvige roman rijk is. Hier en daar had de schrijver wat bondiger kunnen zijn, maar dat is dan ook het enige kritiekpunt. 'Schadevolle jaren' is gewoon een prachtig en ontroerend epos.

Deze recensie plaatste ik op 28 juli 2011 op Dizzie.nl
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Mar 05, 2011 Steve Lindahl rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm about halfway through The Risk Pool, but I thought I'd make a few comments about it now because a couple of other books have leap frogged it on my reading list.

This book was a choice for my book club. Unfortunately it was picked during the Christmas season, so a number of the members didn't have time to finish it. One woman didn't like it at all, but most of us felt it was well written, but not captivating. I was in that group. I liked the characters and the descriptions were exciting. But f...more I'm about halfway through The Risk Pool, but I thought I'd make a few comments about it now because a couple of other books have leap frogged it on my reading list.

This book was a choice for my book club. Unfortunately it was picked during the Christmas season, so a number of the members didn't have time to finish it. One woman didn't like it at all, but most of us felt it was well written, but not captivating. I was in that group. I liked the characters and the descriptions were exciting. But for me it read more like a collection of short stories than a novel. That isn't a bad thing. There are lots of good books out there that have a similar feel. The Greer Agency by Harris Tobias is a wonderful example of one I enjoyed. In the case of The Risk Pool I felt that each individual anecdote was fun to read but had a beginning, middle, and end. I loved the story of how Ned was kidnapped by his father, Sam, and taken on a fishing adventure, especially when his mother, Jenny, greeted them by shooting up Sam's car. And the relationship between Father Michaels and Jenny is fascinating in another story.

What the book lacks for me is a strong thread to pull me to the next anecdote. There are the relationships between Ned, his father, and his mother. And there is also Tria, a girl he's started to take an interest in. But at this point those factors aren't enough to keep me involved.

A number of different writers have told me that there are only a few basic plots that cover all stories. (The number of plots seems to change depending on who is telling me this fact.) I believe that's a dangerous way to think. It's the subtleties of plots that pull readers forward. The same thing could be said for relationships or anything else that makes up good writing. There are, after all, only twenty-six letters. So haven't all stories been told by now?

My wife tells me the plot of The Risk Pool gets more interesting after Ned grows up. That might be true and I do intend to finish this novel. I enjoy Richard Russo’s writing. But I’ve heard that Empire Falls and Bridge of Sighs are both much better.(less)

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Feb 16, 2011 Tamela rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Thinking of what to say about this book and realizing it's going to sound like I didn't like it. That is farthest from the truth. It's just that Russo is one of those writers that amaze me so much that I expect so much more from him than most writers will ever be capable of. So, while I had a few issues with the format of the story, still, a mediocre Russo book is better then almost anything out there. The way he tells a story, the characters he fills his pages with and the emotions he evokes ar...more Thinking of what to say about this book and realizing it's going to sound like I didn't like it. That is farthest from the truth. It's just that Russo is one of those writers that amaze me so much that I expect so much more from him than most writers will ever be capable of. So, while I had a few issues with the format of the story, still, a mediocre Russo book is better then almost anything out there. The way he tells a story, the characters he fills his pages with and the emotions he evokes are second to none.

So, about this book.

The Risk Pool is the story of Ned Hall and of his estranged parents--Sam, an exuberantly shiftless man who has never stopped gambling, whoring, and fighting since he managed to get home from World War II, and Jenny, whose resentment at the husband who refuses to stay or stay away drives her into a catastrophic love affair and mental breakdown. How can Ned resolve the tug between his very different parents? And with a father as terminally irresponsible as Sam (his bad habits have put him at the bottom of his auto insurance risk pool), what kind of man can he become?

First, I'm going to ignore that the little bit in the parenthesis (theirs not mine) was an unnecessary explanation of the title and hardly was the most important aspect of the characters shortfalls, and move right to what I loved about the book. COMING OF AGE! I adore coming of age stories. To me, all of Russo's stories are a bit of coming of age stories, even when (especially when) the characters are in their 30s, 40s and 50s (and beyond). But, because I love coming of ages so much, I get really twitchy when a few things happen. Russo hit my biggest thing that makes me twitch. This is when, 2/3 or farther into the book, they FAST-FORWARD THE CHARACTER into adulthood. When you are with a kid from the age of 10 or younger and you are following pretty closely to his growing up and becoming super invested with his day to day happenings and how they form who he is as an adult, you can't just stop at 14 and then re-introduce them again at 24. I've been 14, I know that there are a LOT of things that happen between 14 and 24 that helped form who I am. The jolt was unsettling for me.

My two favorite ways to handle coming of age are to stay at that one place and time in the protagonist's life--think "To Kill a Mockingbird" or intersperse current day protagonist with their younger self--first example of this to come to mind is Stephen King's novella, "The Body." The first type wouldn't have really worked for "The Risk Pool" because, while I found it jarring, the current life of the protagonist was very important and necessary and I did enjoy it once I got over the twitching. So, that leaves the second way. It could have very easily happened where we get bits and pieces of Ned's adult life, or a sense that the older Ned is narrating the story. I would have loved to see what Russo would have done with telling the story this way. This was only his second novel though, so I'll take it as it is and love his character and keep reading his work. For me though, my favorite book of his (one of my favorite books of all time) is "Straight Man." Seriously a funny and touching novel that I can't even explain how very much I loved it. So, if I've accidentally talked anyone out of reading this book, do yourself a favor and read that one at least. And also Empire Falls. And Nobody's Fool. Okay, and probably all the rest of them.
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Nov 10, 2008 Kendall rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

On the back of the book- the Boston Globe describes The Risk Pool as Weighted with wonderful detail. That's a perfect way to describe this novel. There's so much detail that it almost- but not quite- feels like a slog at times. The town- setting- and many of the characters are identical to those in his first novel Mohawk. I read Mohawk just before The Risk Pool- and found the similarities a little disconcerting because at first it felt like a was reading a continuation of Mohawk- just shifted ba...more

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May 06, 2008 Kate rated it 4 of 5 stars

As I drove through Gloversville, N.Y., about five years ago, I saw a brick house that was being demolished. It appeared to have suffered a fire. Perhaps because it was close to the houses on either side, it was being knocked down manually, without heavy equipment. In the time that I drove by, I saw that a group of sturdy men were smashing away with sledgehammers, and all that remained of the house, perfectly free standing, was the front facade. As I passed by the front of the house, it looked li...more

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Apr 20, 2008 Becky rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Becky by: Mom

At first I just found this story interesting -- and wondered how I could like someone who is a jerk (the father, Sam). But by the end of the story, I realized how deep this book is on so many levels. (1) I thought the story was going to be about Ned and his mother (she raised him for the most part). But it wasn't...it was more about Ned and his father, and what a profound impact his father had on Ned's life, even though he wasn't around most of the time. (Don't let the fact that the book was wri...more

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Jul 30, 2010 jo marked it as read-enough

Shelves: mama-is-crazy, us-regional, the-american-dream, boozy-brawling-boys

i really should say that i read this book, because i'm only a fistful of pages to the end. i liked it while ned was a kid (the dynamics of growing up split between parents talk to me), but i find the grown ned strange and boring, and his identification with his dad, and disaffection with his long-suffering mother, too painful to bear. i don't know if russo is consistently unkind to women. he sure is awful to ned's mom.

this is a meandering book about a father and a son and that kind of american...more

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Feb 11, 2013 Lori rated it 1 of 5 stars

This book was a thick, bloated mess. Was there something in Russo's personal history that made writing about the father's drunken escapades somehow interesting or cathartic? For this reader, the tales of excess which went on and on and on ad nauseum induced extreme boredom. I skimmed the last half of the book to learn what happened--the answer--nothing much. I hope that Russo at least benefitted someone from the experience of writing it, because for the reader, the pickings are rather slim.

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Sep 14, 2012 Eric rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Not sure what I was thinking when I ordered this book.

However, it turned out better than expected.

It is a novel based on a father-son relationship in a small town in northeastern U.S.

The writing itself is really good but the youthful impetuous self in me felt that the plot was a little direction-less and ambiguous.

I feel this would be worth going back to when I'm a bit older.

Was this book life-changing? No, not really. But time spent reading it wasn't wasted either, I will concede.

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About Richard Russo

Richard Russo (born July 15, 1949) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist. Born in Johnstown, New York, and raised in nearby Gloversville, he earned a B.A. (1967), a M.F.A. (1980), and a Ph.D. (1979) from the University of Arizona.

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Quotes from The Risk Pool

“My mother had more than once remarked that my father was one of the war's casualties, that the Sam Hall who came back wasn't the one who left, the one she'd fallen in love with. I didn't doubt that she believed this certain truth, or even that it was true, after a fashion. But it was a nice way of ignoring another simple truth--that people changed, with or without wars, and that we sometimes don't know people as well as we think we do, that the worst errors in judgment often result from imagining we understand what has escaped us entirely.” — 2 people liked it

“To weigh and evaluate a vast grid of information, much of it meaningless, and to arrive at sensible, if erroneous, conclusions, is a skill not to be sneezed at.” — 2 people liked it

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