Firmament

In Nobody’s Fool, chance trumps choice. Richard Russo tenderly brings up-close the entanglements of long-time inhabitants in a small not-upscale town in upstate New York. We learn their hurts (divorces, strokes, falls, cancer, shoplifting, stammering) and fierce attachments (working, drinking, children, friendships, love). The novel begins with bad luck (chances for worse) and leaves with good (towards significance).