Chances Are . . .

A novel

De: Richard Russo

Narrado por: Fred Sanders

A NATIONAL BESTSELLER from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Empire Falls • Three men in their late sixties—old friends from college, each with a secret—come together on Martha’s Vineyard in this “gripping, wise, and wonderful summer treat.” (The Boston Globe).

“A cascade of charm…. Russo is an undeniably endearing writer, and chances are this story will draw you back to the most consequential moments in your own life.” —The Washington Post

One beautiful September day, three men in their late sixties convene on Martha's Vineyard, friends ever since meeting in college in the sixties. They couldn't have been more different then, or even today—Lincoln's a commercial real estate broker, Teddy a tiny-press publisher, and Mickey is a musician beyond his rockin' age. But each man holds his own secrets, in addition to the monumental mystery that none of them has ever stopped puzzling over since a Memorial Day weekend right here on the Vineyard in 1971. Now, forty-five years later, three lives and that of a significant other are put on display while the distant past confounds the present in a relentless squall of surprise and discovery. Shot through with Russo's trademark comedy and humanity, Chances Are . . . introduces a new level of suspense and menace that will quicken the reader's heartbeat throughout this absorbing saga.

Look for Richard Russo's new book, Somebody's Fool, coming soon.

A bit of a let down after bland build up

I feel it started out on a good note-you know something happened to the girl, each grown man is wondering what happened, how things could have turned out differently when they all were in college and in love with this girl. I kind of liked how the story went back and forth from when they each were growing up, to how things were in college and where they all went after graduation to present day as middle aged men. I liked how each person was shown with their vulnerabilities, where things took different turns in their lives. But that’s where my liking of this story ends. The ending is terrible in my opinion. I guess I shouldn’t be so harsh as each character is vulnerable and trying to figure it all out, especially in middle age. But how it all comes to a head just shows up. Here’s this big mystery with mediocre build up and it all kind of flops, taking forever to get there.

slow starter

This book took a few chapters before I was drawn in. once in did not want to put it down.

A Mixed Bag

There are great elements but parts of the story seem contrived. Character development is similarly uneven.

Possible answers to the questions of youth.

Fate or Free Will? Accident or Predestination?

Who we were then and who we are now? Who we thought we would be and what we expected we’d do vs who we turned out to be and what we did. All the questions we asked when we were young and asked again in later years.

All these issues addressed and maybe answered by three finely wrought characters during an island reunion fifty years and many page-turning scenes from their youth, later.

As all of Russo’s work, Chances Are . . . is an engaging piece that reflects on the thoughts and actions of old men looking back on the thoughts and actions of their youth. Without giving anything away, the reader walks away secure in the notion that survival and even renewal might be possible at any point in life. Might be possible.

A comforting to a gentleman of a certain age and an enjoyable read.

Brilliant.

The mystery unfolds slowly and deliciously. The characters are now old friends who I will miss hearing from for a very long while.