Nobody's Fool

By: Richard Russo

Narrated by: Ron McLarty

Length: 24 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

From the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Empire Falls, this slyly funny, moving novel about a blue-collar town in upstate New York—and about Sully, one of its unluckiest citizens, who has been doing the wrong thing triumphantly for fifty years—is a classic American story.

"Remarkable.... A revelation of the human heart." —The Washington Post

Divorced from his own wife and carrying on halfheartedly with another man's, saddled with a bum knee and friends who make enemies redundant, Sully now has one new problem to cope with: a long-estranged son who is in imminent danger of following in his father's footsteps. With its uproarious humor and a heart that embraces humanity's follies as well as its triumphs, Nobody's Fool, from Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Richard Russo, is storytelling at its most generous. Nobody’s Fool was made into a movie starring Paul Newman, Bruce Willis, Jessica Tandy, and Melody Griffith.

Look for Everybody’s Fool, available now, and Somebody’s Fool, coming soon.

©1993 Richard Russo (P)2003 Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Remarkable.... A revelation of the human heart." —The Washington Post

"Russo is a master craftsman....Nobody's Fool is a big, rambunctious novel with endless riffs and unstoppable human hopefulness." —The Boston Globe

"Simple as family love, yet nearly as complicated, Richard Russo's confident, assured novel sweeps the reader up in the daily life of its characters." —San Francisco Chronicle

Russo is a master storyteller

I read several of the reviews here and wasn't sure if I was willing to commit to such a long book about "nothing". I can tell you now that I'm very glad I DID commit to it.

I had no expectations for this book other than wanting to hear a good story. This IS a good story. The characters are well-defined and very easy to picture in your mind. The story itself is basically about people in a small town and what their daily ups and downs are. No, it's NOT boring! You will be drawn into the lives of these people, and I promise you that you will laugh and cry and become completely sucked into this book.

Donald "Sully" Sullivan is the main character and his interactions with various people - from old Hattie at the diner to his ex-wife's new husband, Ralph, to his narcissistic boss, Carl and his hilariously stupid, best friend, Rub - Sully is man who can be gentle or sarcastic or loving or downright hilarious. I don't know why another reader said they didn't like Sully. I sure do. I suspect you will as well.

If you are looking for something that simply provides a good story in every sense of the word, this is the book for you. It's true, there is no murder mystery or crime (other than petty theft, illegal parking and one domestic issue), there isn't a lot of blood and gore, there isn't even really any sex. To be honest, it's something special to come across a gem like this without all that stuff.

Are you serious? He's the main character?

How was I going to possibly relate to or care about Sully, a 60 year old, unmotivated, self-focused boor and his small town - seemingly so different and removed from my life - for a 24 hour "read"? I was told in one these reviews that Russo writes like Wally Lamb, one of my favorites - so I launched in. Not a bad comparison of authors. Russo takes us on a pleasant, meandering journey through the town of North Bath, New York and by the end of the story we get to know the characters of this town intimately, and guess what? I like this blue collar town; it reminds me a lot of my own. And as for Sully; he reminds me alot of me.

Long but easy listen

My favorite thing about this book is how easy it is to "fall into" and listen to the story. The reader has a slow speed which makes it simple to follow along. His tone of voice is gruff, matching how I envision the lead character to be.

My least favorite thing about this book is that nothing really ever happened. I had a constant feeling that something big was going to happen, but it never did.

Its still a good, simple story if you have the patience.

A beautifully written story.

The people are flawed and ordinary, the town so plain. The story unfolds slowly yet somewhere along the way the characters become so real that by the time it was over I didn't want it to end. Ron McLarty's reading was outstanding.
I realized during the story that I had seen the movie years ago and the only thing I could clealy recall was Melanie Griffiths breasts. Listening to the book was an experience I doubt I will ever forget.

My Candidate for Great American Novel

Would you consider the audio edition of Nobody's Fool to be better than the print version?

Absolutely! I would listen to anything Ron McLarty reads and anything Richard Russo writes and that about says it all.

What did you like best about this story?

Real people living real lives good and bad. I have known them all.

Which scene was your favorite?

The last "download" of the three. Buy the book and the listener will know why.

If you could rename Nobody's Fool, what would you call it?

Once In Love With Sully

Any additional comments?

Having lived in upstate NY and rural PA all my life, these people are as genuine as it gets. Sully is your annoying neighbor, uncle and yes, perhaps father. One moment you think of strangling him and the next you want to bring him in and fry a hamburger. Warning! If you do not understand men and love them stay away from this book. Richard Russo has their banter down to a fare thee well.

Wonderful book; beautifully narrated.

I was reading the book on Kindle and bought the audio so that I could listen while driving. The narration was so good that I soon found myself just listening.

Very entertaining. Very similar to Empire Falls

Nobody can write a book about a dying North Eastern town where nothing exciting happens like Richard Russo. He finds a way to make mundane life in small towns entertaining. The only negative of this book is its very similar in feel and characters to Empire Falls. They are different books but one gets a sense of the characters being recycled a bit. However, if you like Empire Falls then you're going to love this book. Not faced paced but not slow for more than a few hours. I found it to be a great commute listen.

Best Storyteller Alive

You'll love anything by Richard Russo--in audio or in writing. He's probably one of the best storytellers living in America. Nobody's Fool was made into a fine, fine movie. But hey, I think the book is better.

My Favorite Audio Book

My favorite audiobook to date. Great story, and the narration by Ron McLarty was spot-on.

Enjoyed book

I like the raspy voice of the narrator. Works well w/Sully’s (heavy drinker & smoker), also for the elder characters, ones voice tends to get taspy as we age.
2 things I didn’t care for were Sully slapping Vera to bring her to her senses (she was having a meltdown fir heavens sake), & the indifference a
& cruelty to the Doberman Pincher for comic relief.
All in all I enjoyed all the characters Sully, as we all are pretty much, a product of our upbringing & how we try to be better.