Mohawk
by Richard Russo
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 606)
Read in November, 2007
I'm just a big fan of Richard Russo. The way he writes his characters and the small towns in which they live is very evocative -- you feel like you know these people, this place. Apparently, this was his first novel. I read it long after reading Empire Falls and enjoyed the comparison and contrast between these two books. I like how Russo makes at least one his main characters basically a total screw-up, but still gets you to empathize ...more
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recommends it for:
anybody I love because this book will teach them how to love.
Of all Russo's books I've read, this one is the most tragic. Russo killed many of the characters and you can't say that they died peacefully, though readers have to admit that their death is somehow necessary so the whole tangled web will make sense.
I can't help but love Mather Grouse, one of the characters, due to Russo's skill in describing him as someone who's not only full of positive qualities but also negative ones. His presence, dead or alive, influenced the action of other character...more
I can't help but love Mather Grouse, one of the characters, due to Russo's skill in describing him as someone who's not only full of positive qualities but also negative ones. His presence, dead or alive, influenced the action of other character...more
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Read in December, 2007
It's early Russo (his first book), and what I got from it is something about how the material he works with in Empire Falls and Bridge of Sighs has gotten so much better in the years that he's been writing. There's another small town diner here, a town idiot, a town drunk, and eventually a vietnam draft dodger, but all of this stuff is in its beginning stages. As a working class writer, I really appreciate his attention to how people live. Well worth reading if you like the later Russo.
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Read in January, 2008
Book by Author of Empire Falls. That book was superior to this one. Theme was similar. Small upstate NY town. Quick read, enjoyable if you enjoy this theme. Description from book jacket:
Russo explores the lives of small town inhabitants. He shows compassion and flint-hard wit. Out of derailed ambitions and old loves, secret hatreds and communal myths, he has created a richly plotted, densely populated, and wonderfully written novel that captures every nuance of America's backyard.
Russo explores the lives of small town inhabitants. He shows compassion and flint-hard wit. Out of derailed ambitions and old loves, secret hatreds and communal myths, he has created a richly plotted, densely populated, and wonderfully written novel that captures every nuance of America's backyard.
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in February, 2008
I found myself more deeply touched by this book then the other books by Russo. I don't think this is his best work, but I found it much more personal and raw. The characters were more flawed and less charming then in his other books. Which for me gave it a more of a punch. Russo still had his craftmanship at play here so I don't mean to say it isn't as well written, just a more raw portrayal of the town and the kind of person who lived or ran away from there.
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Read in November, 2004
This book is typical Richard Russo, though not quite up to the level of his other books. I thought the writing was a bit more choppy than his other books, but evidently it was written early in his career so I can understand why. Mohawk is a small town in upstate NY full of colorful characters, none of which grabbed me the way Sully (from Nobody's Fool) did. Overall I liked the book, but I'd read his others first.
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Read in July, 2008
Russo concentrates on characters & has a great way of creating a sense of place--I feel like I've been to this town called Mohawk. As is typical with Russo's books, the 1st half of the book is very character & place-centric, but then a series of dramatic events push the plot into overdrive. Well-done, but I like some of his other books better!
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Read in November, 2007
recommends it for:
someone whose problems seem to much for them
If you thought you were having a hard life, pick up a Richard Russo book.
Every character has a fault and a problem so large it makes anything that you could possibly think was wrong in your life seem so minute you feel bad for the self pity and apathetic way you've been feeling about your troubles.
Every character has a fault and a problem so large it makes anything that you could possibly think was wrong in your life seem so minute you feel bad for the self pity and apathetic way you've been feeling about your troubles.
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I loved this book, but I have loved every book that I've read by this author. He understands small towns & the people that inhabit them! If you've ever lived in a small town you'll recognize the characters in Russo's books. ps - His daughter, Emily, works at The Odyssey Bookshop in South Hadley.
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This is Richard Russo's second best book, which means it is fabulous (Straight Man just happens to be more fabulous). Every character is charming, even if you hate him or her, and you know someone just like every one of these characters. Russo is the best small-town writer there is.
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Read in July, 2008
I really wanted to like this book! And I liked the first half quite a bit, so I was especially disappointed in back half. Mostly, I spent the last 100 pages trying to figure out EXACTLY where Mohawk would fall on a map of upstate New York, if it did exist. Fun stuff.
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Randall reaches down inside himself and finds the courage to exceed the declining town's expectations for itself. When he doesn't compromise his ideals and act on his beliefs he finally frees the town of the whirlpool that is ready to consume it.
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Read in August, 2008
I love Richard Russo, but you can skip this one. About 15 pages into the book I realized that this must be his first book, and I was right.
I still read it all the way through, but if you want a good Russo book, read Empire Falls.
I still read it all the way through, but if you want a good Russo book, read Empire Falls.
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Russo's first novel, set in a dying industrial town in upstate NY is a template for pretty much everything he's done since. It's not his strongest, but its still pretty good stuff filled with his usual mix of bitter and sweet.
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Rather obviously a first novel; a lot of the characters remain kind of indistinct, and the climactic events in the second half are tonally jarring. Still very recognizably Russo, however, and therefore still compelling.
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Read in June, 2008
I've never understood why Richard Russo isn't better known in pop culture. He is a bigger, brighter, more accessible John Irving -- crisp language, beautifully rendered characters, laugh-out-loud passages.
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Russo writes so simply, yet eloquently, about small town life. It's almost like an updated Sinclair novel or something--this book definitely made me want to read more of Russo's stuff.
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Read in March, 2007
After reading a few of Russo's novels they become kind of repetitive, this was the last one i read and it just reminded me to much of bits and pieces of his other books.
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Read in December, 2007
I didn't enjoy this as much as Empire Falls, a lot of it seems like nothing ever happens... but a light read if you can manage to get through the first 100 odd pages.
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I really like Richard Russo's writing so I overlook the general lack of plot. I'm not sure what this was supposed to be about but it was entertaining.
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