Title: Kingsley Amis Meets John Irving
Product review: This very funny campus novel is the best I've read in the genre since some of David Lodge's early stuff. And even then, this comes close to matching Lodge. Russo captures his protagonist's voice perfectly: William Devereaux Jr. emerges as an endearing pain-in-the-ass, a wisecracker who always goes too far, but not without charm and humility.The story mostly revolves around Devereaux's mid-life crisis, which comes as the mediocre English department he chairs is under financial crunch. All the themes are there: sins of the father, fidelity in the face of temptation, importance of friendship (and enemies), worrying over the choices one's children make, and the work/home dialectic, to name but a few.
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