Summary of Everybody's Fool: by Richard Russo | Includes Analysis

By . IRB Media

Everybody's Fool by Richard Russo | Includes Analysis

Preview:

Everybody’s Fool, a novel by Richard Russo, is set in the fictional town of North Bath in upstate New York. There, over the course of one weekend, a crew of local eccentrics juggle long-standing grudges, acute crises, and surreal weather events to the best of their limited abilities. Along the way, readers learn about their troubled pasts.

At Hilldale Cemetery, Douglas Raymer, chief of police, arrives late for the interment of a local judge. The service is long, and between the heat and his emotional distress, Raymer’s feeling poorly. The setting is stirring up feelings about his late wife, Becka, who died in a freak accident the previous year. Raymer carries an object in his pocket: a garage-door opener that was found in Becka’s car. He thinks he can use it to track down the mystery man Becka had been seeing behind his back before she died. Suddenly, the ground quakes…

PLEASE NOTE: This is summary and analysis of the book and NOT the original book.

Inside this Instaread Summary of Everybody's Fool:

Summary of the Book

Important People

Character Analysis

Analysis of the Themes and Author’s Style

About the Author

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• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Jun 22, 2016
• ISBN: 9781683783459

. IRB Media

With Instaread, you can get the key takeaways, summary and analysis of a book in 15 minutes. We read every chapter, identify the key takeaways and analyze them for your convenience.

Book preview

Summary

Everybody’s Fool, a novel by Richard Russo, is set in the fictional town of North Bath in upstate New York. There, over the course of one weekend, a crew of local eccentrics juggle long-standing grudges, acute crises, and surreal weather events to the best of their limited abilities. Along the way, readers learn about their troubled pasts.

At Hilldale Cemetery, Douglas Raymer, chief of police, arrives late for the interment of a local judge. The service is long, and between the heat and his emotional distress, Raymer’s feeling poorly. The setting is stirring up feelings about his late wife, Becka, who died in a freak accident the previous year. Raymer carries an object in his pocket: a garage-door opener that was found in Becka’s car. He thinks he can use it to track down the mystery man Becka had been seeing behind his back before she died. Suddenly, the ground quakes. The mayor, Gus Moynihan, urges Raymer to investigate the cause. As Raymer sets off, he faints and falls into the judge’s open grave before the casket is lowered.

Meanwhile, a handful of locals gather at Hattie’s, a diner run by a woman named Ruth. Carl Roebuck, a disreputable businessman who’s having a problem with one of his developments, the Old Mill Lofts, is chatting with Donald Sully Sullivan, his friend and landlord of the house where Carl lives. Sully’s preoccupied with thoughts of his own impending death. He has a bum heart and

Reviews for Summary of Everybody's Fool

[lyndainoregon · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Follow-on to "Nobody's Fool", in which Sully and the other residents of Upper Bath deal with the vicissitudes of life and the oddities of the people in their world. Center stage this time is police chief Doug Raymer, whose monumental Bad Day includes falling into an open grave, being struck by lightning, capturing a bad guy armed with a deadly snake, figuring out a murder, and -- eventually -- letting go of his obsession with his late wife.

[doondeck · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This wonderful book is even better than "Nobody's Fool". I loved how Russo made all of these characters come alive 20 years later. A joy to read.

[sleahey_3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Once again Richard Russo brings a community to life through a few characters by describing their foibles and escapades and worries during the period of several days. Sully has been told he only has one or two years to live, the police chief's wife has died while trying to leave him, Sully's former lover Ruth and her husband don't get along and their daughter's abuser has just been released from prison, and so it goes. At times hilarious and slapstick, this book could make you weep with the underlying sadness in many people's lives and the evil underpinnings of a few. And Russo makes us care about all of them.

[vashonjim · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Sully and his cast of fools is back for your reading pleasure, and it's as if "Nobody's Fool" every stopped. Russo has a deft comedic touch even as he lays bare the human condition. This book is every bit the equal of his Pulitzer Prize winner.

[rglossne · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I admit it; I never read 'Nobody's Fool,' but I loved the Paul Newman movie and so the fictional town of Bath and its quirky inhabitants are known to me. You don't need even that much familiarity to enjoy this novel, though. It begins, auspiciously enough, in the town cemetery at the very boring burial of a judge, and follows our hero the police chief, Sully, his former lover Ruth, among others, through a very eventful Memorial Day weekend. Russo's affection and respect for the inhabitants of dying Bath NY is clear, and make this a charming read.

[addunn3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Take off about 10 years after nobody's fool. I bit slower, but finally picks up steam at the end.

[nivramkoorb · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Richard Russo is simply a great writer. I have read most of his novels and they are always entertaining, great page turners, and educational as they look at small town upstate New York and the people that live there. This novel is a sequel to "Nobody's Fool".I did not read that because I had seen the movie with Paul Newman. No need to have read that to enjoy this book. It stands on its' own. Quirky characters with great narratives and insights. It covers a few days in the town of North Bath in upstate New York. It is more character driven than plot driven. If you have never read any Richard Russo than you are missing out on one of our great writers. I have loved every novel of his and this one is among his best.

[mitchchabraja · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Everybody's Fool is like returning to visit old friends who you haven't seen in quiet awhile. Sully and Rub return from Nobody's Fool older and more nuanced. Russo has matured in passing years and it shows in the way he fleshes out characters, particularly those who are despicable. Their is an empathy and kindness in his understanding of human nature and all its faults.

[alphawoman_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I'm so happy that I have another book to read about these wonderful characters. I read from 11pm until 4am! Could nor pur it down. I tried reading Empire Falls years ago and couldn't get into it. Definitely will try it again.

[librarian1204 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The absolute joy in reading a book that you can savor page after page, this is what reading Everybody's Fool gave to me. I read Nobody's Fool many years ago and I wasn't sure I would remember characters, plot, details. I knew I'd remember location because I grew up in a small upstate NY village and I know the places and the people .As soon as I began the book I was right back in Bath only 10 years later. Things have happened to the town and the characters and things have remained the same. The story covers 48 hours and is so much fun to read. With some John Irving and Carl Hiaasen tossed into the truly great writing of Richard Russo, the reader will cringe and cry and laugh and even find themselves talking to the characters. And then be so sorry when the book is finished. Finding another book to read after this one will not be easy.

[tasker_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I remembered how much I enjoyed "That Old Cape Magic" about a fifth of the way into "Everybody's Fool". The characters, humor, dialog and the occasional soul-searching make me want to reread "Nobody's Fool" and then start "Bridge of Sighs" - so many books, so little time.

[jonimfisher · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Oddly funny and moving story

Oh, the humanity! From the bad stench, and unstable cemetery to the lowlife criminals, the small town of Bath is packed with memorable characters trying to stay one step ahead of disasters.

[tsmom1219 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

3.5 stars. Although the character studies are interesting, I'd have liked a little less internal dialog and a little more external. I could have also done without the snakes. That being said, it's extremely well written and evocative. Definitely worth reading.

[bookfest_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

What a hoot! It starts off with the hapless police chief of a small town in upstate NY fainting at a funeral for a judge (who he hated) and falling face first into the grave. He has recently lost his wife, who was about to leave him for another man. He spends a good deal of the novel trying to find out who, making a fool of himself in the process. In the meanwhile, there is a cast of mostly male, mostly ridiculous and sometimes lovable secondary characters to keep you amused with their antics. In spite of the laugh-out-loud humor, the intertwined relationships in this small town are often heartwarming (except for the wife beater).

[sigmundfraud · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Everybody's Fool: A novel by Richard Russo has been critically well received. I have read several of his other books and quite liked them, but I couldn't get into Everybody's Fool. I will try it again at another time. Time can make a difference.

[jphamilton-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

You know when you've been somewhere you absolutely loved, and you get a chance to return, life can be so very GOOOOOD. Nobody's Fool was one of my all time favorite books (as well as a fine movie) and this was a splendid follow-up, even if it did take Russo so long to return to the scene.