"Straight Man"

Straight Man (Richard Russo)

I really don't know what to make of this book. I think that it's supposed to be funny, but the jokes were so feeble that I honestly couldn't even tell when the author was trying to make me laugh. Russo's picked out an area that should be full of comedic potential (our protagonist is an aging literary professor struggling with his colleagues), but does nothing with the concept; The author's other characters are paid a compliment if they are described as being barely one-dimensional stereotypes, and we just end up following our hero around on a boring, lifeless, pointless, tedious journey filled with boring, lifeless, pointless flashbacks and asides. At least this book isn't filled with the sad flop sweat of a truly painful unfunny comedy book, so it's boring instead of actively repulsive. Not much of a compliment, I know, but I'm trying to say something nice, and at the end of the day, this isn't repulsive, just a boring and forgettable lump of mediocrity.

Grade: D+