Indeed it may run contrary to my own.' It runs decidedly against Richard Russo's approach in Straight Man, and the result is a hilarious and touching novel. Hank tries to explain to one class that comedy and tragedy don't go together, but finds the argument 'runs contrary to their experience. The fact that he is also wearing a fake nose and glasses and doing so in front of a TV camera complicates matters even further. Not least when he grabs a goose and threatens to off a duck (sic) a day until he gets his budget. Though Hank tries to apply William of Occam's rational approach (choose simplicity) to each increasingly absurd situation, and even has a dog named after the philosopher, he does seem to cause most of his own enormous difficulties.

Devereaux Sr., 'then and now, an academic opportunist,' has always been a high-profile professor and a low-profile parent. Then there are his possible prostate problems and the prospect of his father's arrival. It is April and fear of layoffs-even among the tenured-has reached mock-epic proportions Hank has yet to receive his department budget and finds himself increasingly offering comments such as 'Always understate necrophilia' to his writing students. William Henry Devereaux Jr., is almost 50 and stuck forever as chair of English at West Central Pennsylvania University. Straight Man is hilarious sport, with a serious side. First Jane Smiley came out of the comedy closet with Moo, a campus satire par excellence, and now Richard Russo has gotten in on the groves-of-academe game.

Richard russo novel straight man