Everybody's Fool

A Novel

By: Richard Russo

Narrated by: Mark Bramhall

Length: 18 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

Richard Russo, at the very top of his game, now returns to North Bath in upstate New York and the characters who made Nobody's Fool (1993) a "confident, assured novel" according to the San Francisco Chronicle back then. "Simple as family love, yet nearly as complicated." Or, as The Boston Globe put it, "a big, rambunctious novel with endless riffs and unstoppable human hopefulness".

The irresistible Sully, who in the intervening years has come by some unexpected good fortune, is staring down a VA cardiologist's estimate that he has only a year or two left, and it's hard work trying to keep this news from the most important people in his life: Ruth, the married woman he carried on with for years...the ultra-hapless Rub Squeers, who worries that he and Sully aren't still best friends...Sully's son and grandson, for whom he was mostly an absentee figure (and now a regretful one). We also enjoy the company of Doug Raymer, the chief of police who's obsessing primarily over the identity of the man his wife might've been about to run off with before dying in a freak accident...Bath's mayor, the former academic Gus Moynihan, whose wife problems are, if anything, even more pressing...and then there's Carl Roebuck, whose lifelong run of failing upward might now come to ruin. And finally there's Charice Bond - a light at the end of the tunnel that is Chief Raymer's office - as well as her brother, Jerome, who might well be the train barreling into the station.

Everybody's Fool is filled with humor, heart, hard times, and people you can't help but love, possibly because their various faults make them so stridently human. This is classic Russo - and a crowning achievement from one of the greatest storytellers of our time.

©2016 Richard Russo (P)2016 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Mark Bramhall’s gorgeous narration of this deeply satisfying novel makes me wonder what it would be like for a great symphonic conductor to play all the instruments himself. Bramhall is superbly skilled and has a beautiful voice with amazing range, but what astonishes here is his humanity, not to mention sense of humor, as he brings Russo's entire town of North Bath, New York, to madcap life." (AudioFile)

Perfect Follow Up to Nobody's Fool

Empire Falls, Nobody's Fool and Everybody's Fool are 3 great books. I've listened to all of them several times and enjoyed them each time. Richard Russo's books are must reads.

Perfect sequel

Best sequel possible.

For those who haven’t read “Nobody’s Fool”, the prequel, watch the movie; it’s perfectly cast (Paul Newman as Sully, and Bruce Willis as Carl).

Applause.

Grrrrrrrrrreat

Sassiest book I've ever had the privilege to read. Enjoyed it thoroughly. Russo can spin a phrase like none other. Had to read side by side with a dictionary. Starting Nobody's fool today.

Even better than Nobody’s Fool

Listened to this immediately on the heels of the first book in the trilogy. I was disappointed, as I often am when it happens, that a new narrator had taken it on. I soon came to prefer this one, despite the fact that the other was so good. Same feelings about the shift in emphasis in the story. It is filled with compelling, engaging characters and quirky, yet believable, tales. You can’t make this stuff up—but Russo does, creating a can’t put it down listening experience.

I enjoyed this even more than Nobody’s Fool, which I loved. Russo’s dependable wit and style seemed quicker and came even easier.

Can’t wait to begin Somebody’s Fool today.

Brilliant

As you might have come to expect from this New York turned Maine writer, this book is a wonderful and intricate story of a cast of characters that even with flaws are loved. Russo gives texture to both his characters and their exchanges. His story reflects the complexities involved in relationships. I do not know how the story will appear to those not familiar with the earlier book nobody's fool, but I cannot think of any better word for this book then brilliant.

A return to the world of Bath

Nobody's Fool, the prequel to this story, is one of my favorite audiobooks. The way Ron McLarty voices the characters and the story are a perfect capture of life and events in a small, wintery town. While Mark Bramhall does not use similar voices for the characters (Sully sounds less gruff, Carl more sleazy), he still does a great job, especially with Rub's stutter and portraying Raymer's "two voices." This book is a nice continuation and conclusion to the story, though there are some surprising inconsistencies. We never find out what happened to Rasputin, the dog Sully acquired at the end of Nobody's Fool, and there is a reflective part where it says that Sully's father died while Sully was away fighting in WW2, but Nobody's Fool clearly explains that Sully's father lived to be old and died in a nursing home long after Sully had returned from the war. However, Russo could be referencing Clive Peoples Sr., who did die while Sully was away, as Sully's "father." However, these are minor details that do not detract from the story at all. Roy Perdy returns as a great villain and the book contains some similar themes from the original book. There are some great new characters and a fun twist that make this an enjoyable listen.

Loved this book!

Another wonderful book from Mr Russo. Mr Bramhall did an excellent job narrating too. thanks

Strange story.
Did not care for this narrator nearly as much as the Nobody's Fool one.

I liked it

I liked these characters, enjoyable story and some good laughs . If I could change anything it would be to correct the part about Sully’s father . A bit of a continuity error between Nobody’s Fool and this book , something a good proof reader would have nailed, but didn’t. It was mildly annoying but in the end I just dismissed the new narrative as a slip of memory. It didn’t ruin the book but took me out of it for a minute.

Great story

Great character development. Here’s hoping Sully lives a few more years. Very good solid read.