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The Risk Pool
Sweeping, humorous and greatly moving, The Risk Pool is a 30-year saga of Sam Hall, a roguish hellraiser, and of his introspective son, Ned. When Sam abandons the family, Ned vacillates between his nervous mother and his reckless father, struggling to win his father's affection.
Paperback, 496 pages
Published
June 30th 1998
by Vintage
(first published 1988)
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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...more
"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...more
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
- chara...more
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
- chara...more
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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
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...more
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...more
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...more
"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 P...more
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 ...more
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 b...more
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 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 b...more
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, ...more
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 ...more
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 observat...more
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
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 neit...more
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 bo...more
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 ...more
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 ...more
First up: If you've read anything by Russo before, you'll be satisfied here. The is my fourth, and I believe three have been set in small town NY state (his own background). This story is very much character driven. Sam Hall and son (and narrator) Ned Hall form the center, and the cast of often quirky folks moving in and out scene to scene add spice. What I like about Russo is he doesn't necessarily draw a fine portrait of each character, with every angle and blemish. He allows the reader to fi...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...more
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...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 ar...more
Kendall
added it
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...more
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
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 w...more
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 ...more
this is a meandering book about a father and a son and that kind ...more
I am a huge fan of Richard Russo. That started with Empire Falls, the first of his novels that I read, which was a rich and wonderful read that won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. Ever since I've made a point of reading through his book shelf and I'm just about caught up. His novels fall into two categories for me -- upstate New York novels and academic novels. As a native of upstate and a sometimes sojourner in academia, I know both settings very well, and he captures them beautifully. The Risk...more
A solid coming-of-age tale with a few twists in classic Russo style. Not his best, but he's still in top form here, telling a sprawling story of rural, small American town upbringing, complete with broken families, tragedies, and mental illness. Despite all the perceived darkness, Russo manages to keep a sense of humor alive, albeit not quite as deathly comical as he was in Empire Falls.
Richard Russo is an American treasure. He creates characters
that encapsulate the fading of a particular working class milieu
the dying industrial towns of upstate, the struggles of the
regular working folk who are just on the edge of defeat
He makes me care about these people and the poignant
circumstances of their lives.
This book was a deeply engaging father and son chronicle
that encapsulate the fading of a particular working class milieu
the dying industrial towns of upstate, the struggles of the
regular working folk who are just on the edge of defeat
He makes me care about these people and the poignant
circumstances of their lives.
This book was a deeply engaging father and son chronicle
The low-key, small town-warts-and-all theme is forefront in this book. Not as good as Empire Falls, but an intriguing examination of several members of the town of Mohawk. Especially fascinating is the shifting relationship between rather shiftless Sam Hall and his estranged son Ned hall. Russo's supporting characters are just as interesting and well-developed -- his trademark.
At times, the witty, verbal judo between the characters was justification enough to read this book, but this story pales in comparison with Russo's Pulitzer winning Empire Falls. I've probably read six or seven books since I started The Risk Pool; I'd discard it, or intentionally set it in some obscure spot, but whenever I found it, I was compelled to finish it. The characters are so well developed, they become familiar and real. As always, Russo does a remarkable job humanizing and romanticizi...more
I can barely tell you what this is about, and I find it hard to say why I loved it. It took me a long time to read it, but I was never bored. It is not difficult to read. It is like being with people you enjoy. Not people like me, per se, but people I really liked being "with". It's a quiet book, but masculine. Loving, tragic and rough. I recommend it to anyone.
This was a very good read. I'd read his "Empire Falls," and just been depressed by it. That story was about losers in a depressing place. This book takes place in at least as sad and dilapidated a town as Empire Falls, but the people have a better outlook that makes the book a pleasure to read. Still not any kind of uplifting, but good writing and a good story that doesn't make you want to jump off a bridge.
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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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“And so began my final stage of my boyhood in Mohawk. Later, as an adult, I would return from time to time. As a visitor, though, never again as a true resident. But then I wouldn't be a true resident of any other place either, joining instead the great multitude of wandering Americans, so many of whom have a Mohawk in their past, the memory of which propels us we know not precisely where, so long as it's away. Return we do, but only to gain momentum for our next outward arc, each further than the last, until there is no elasticity left, nothing to draw us home.”
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