false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178155248m/765047.jpg 765047 5 Insubstantial but charming, William Kennedy's <I>Roscoe</I> seems to unintentionally resemble many of the politicians it depicts. The seventh novel in Kennedy's Albany series, <I>Roscoe</I> follows Roscoe Conway, a quick-witted, charismatic lawyer-politician who has devoted much of his life to helping his Democratic Party cohorts achieve and maintain political power in 1930s and `40s Albany, New York. It's 1945, and Roscoe has decided to retire from politics, but a series of deaths and scandals forces him to stay and confront his past. Kennedy takes the reader on an intricate, whirlwind tour of (mostly) fictional Albany in the first half of the 20th century. He presents a mythologized, tabloid version of history, leaving no stone unturned: a multitude of gangsters, bookies, thieves, and hookers mingle with politicians, cops, and lawyers. In the middle of it all is Roscoe, the kind of behind-the-scenes, wisecracking, truth-bending man of the people who makes everything happen--or at least it's fun to think so. Kennedy shows an obvious affection for his book's colorful characters and historic Albany, and he describes both with loving specificity. Though the book often works as light comedy, its clichéd plot developments and stereotypical characters undermine its serious concerns with truth, history, and honor. "You've never met a politician like Roscoe Conway," promises the book's jacket blurb. But we have, through his different roles in countless films and TV series. As with its notoriously deceitful hero, <I>Roscoe</I> is likeable as long as you don't take it too seriously. <I>--Ross Doll</I> 751120 26 11 2002 Roscoe total:92|5:14|4:45|3:29|2:3|1:1| 92 344 125 4 765047 0142001732 9780142001738 88 4 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178155248m/765047.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/765047.Roscoe 5 0 false Sun Nov 15 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Nov 15 07:26:23 -0800 2009 Sun Nov 15 09:09:19 -0800 2009 more...]]> 765047 0142001732 9780142001738 88 4 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178155248m/765047.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/765047.Roscoe 4 0 false Wed Dec 10 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Mar 06 15:41:10 -0800 2009 Fri Mar 06 15:42:24 -0800 2009 765047 0142001732 9780142001738 88 4 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178155248m/765047.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/765047.Roscoe 3 0 false Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2003 Thu Aug 23 11:14:57 -0700 2007 Thu Aug 23 11:15:05 -0700 2007 765047 0142001732 9780142001738 88 4 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178155248m/765047.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/765047.Roscoe 3 0 false Sat Oct 11 13:06:21 -0700 2008 Sat Oct 11 13:08:10 -0700 2008 765047 0142001732 9780142001738 88 4 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178155248m/765047.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/765047.Roscoe 0 0 false Tue Dec 08 08:45:44 -0800 2009 Tue Dec 08 08:45:45 -0800 2009 765047 0142001732 9780142001738 88 4 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178155248m/765047.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/765047.Roscoe 4 0 false Tue Dec 01 19:07:54 -0800 2009 Tue Dec 01 19:07:54 -0800 2009 765047 0142001732 9780142001738 88 4 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178155248m/765047.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/765047.Roscoe 4 0 false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2002 Sun Nov 29 19:09:28 -0800 2009 Tue Dec 01 13:15:43 -0800 2009 765047 0142001732 9780142001738 88 4 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178155248m/765047.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/765047.Roscoe 2 0 false Mon Nov 30 16:35:11 -0800 2009 Sat Nov 21 14:18:28 -0800 2009 Sat Nov 21 14:18:28 -0800 2009 765047 0142001732 9780142001738 88 4 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178155248m/765047.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/765047.Roscoe 4 0 false Thu Nov 12 10:28:49 -0800 2009 Thu Nov 12 10:28:49 -0800 2009 765047 0142001732 9780142001738 88 4 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178155248m/765047.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/765047.Roscoe 0 0 false Thu Nov 05 16:52:55 -0800 2009 Thu Nov 05 16:52:55 -0800 2009 765047 0142001732 9780142001738 88 4 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178155248m/765047.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/765047.Roscoe 3 0 false Fri Oct 09 11:43:43 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 09 11:43:43 -0700 2009 765047 0142001732 9780142001738 88 4 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178155248m/765047.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/765047.Roscoe 0 0 false Mon Sep 21 14:25:58 -0700 2009 Mon Sep 21 14:25:58 -0700 2009 765047 0142001732 9780142001738 88 4 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178155248m/765047.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/765047.Roscoe 4 0 false Sat Sep 19 09:46:01 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 19 09:46:01 -0700 2009 765047 0142001732 9780142001738 88 4 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178155248m/765047.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/765047.Roscoe 0 0 false Fri Sep 18 07:51:47 -0700 2009 Fri Sep 18 07:51:47 -0700 2009 765047 0142001732 9780142001738 88 4 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178155248m/765047.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/765047.Roscoe 5 0 false Tue Sep 08 09:26:50 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 08 09:26:50 -0700 2009 765047 0142001732 9780142001738 88 4 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178155248m/765047.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/765047.Roscoe 3 0 false Sun Aug 30 09:40:14 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 30 09:40:14 -0700 2009 765047 0142001732 9780142001738 88 4 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178155248m/765047.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/765047.Roscoe 4 0 false Thu Aug 27 15:33:12 -0700 2009 Thu Aug 27 15:33:12 -0700 2009 765047 0142001732 9780142001738 88 4 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178155248m/765047.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/765047.Roscoe 4 0 false Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Aug 22 05:01:51 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 22 05:54:28 -0700 2009 765047 0142001732 9780142001738 88 4 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178155248m/765047.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/765047.Roscoe 4 0 false Fri Aug 14 07:47:53 -0700 2009 Fri Aug 14 07:47:53 -0700 2009 765047 0142001732 9780142001738 88 4 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178155248m/765047.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/765047.Roscoe 0 0 false Mon Aug 10 14:10:05 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 10 14:10:05 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=765047