Richard Russo, the novelist, writes about his mother, Jean, and the small upstate New York town of Gloversville where he grew up. Jean was a driven, anxious woman who stayed close to her son and never quite accepted his independence, moving to be near him at every step of his life. Russo describes their complicated relationship, from childhood to her last years, when she was ill and difficult. He explores memory, the failure of the town's leather industry, his mother's obsessive-compulsive behavior and the love and resentment that bound them.
It suits readers who like memoirs about parents and caregiving, and those who know Russo's novels set in similar towns. It is candid and often funny.
Inward-looking and contemplative; a moderate read.
Best for readers like The Empathetic Explorer. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 2012
- Language
- EN
