I write these book reviews to remind myself what the book was about. Without these little reports, the book would be gone from my mind within minutes. I did not write this review in a timely fashion, so guess what? I resort to plagiarism to recall the story. After I get the basics down, I will comment from my jogged memory.This part is complete plagiarism:The Risk Pool, by Richard Russo, is a coming of age novel narrated by the main character, Ned Hall. The story takes place in the small town of fictional Mohawk, New York.The entire book is divided into four parts, which correspond to the four seasons of Mohawk (according to Ned's grandfather): Fourth of July, Mohawk Fair, Eat the Bird, and Winter. Winter is capitalized because it is by far the longest season in the town. Ned's parents, Sam and Jenny, have a tumultuous relationship. Sam has recently returned from World War II, and he wants to celebrate life. Jenny tries to go along, but when she becomes pregnant, she is ready to settle down and get to the business of real life. Sam abandons the family shortly after Ned's birth, but he returns later and tries to insert himself back into their lives at various times.Ned Hall lives with his father for two short years after his mother has a nervous breakdown, and when she recovers, Ned moves back in with her for his high school years. Ned manages to grow up into a fine young man, in spite of being raised by two less than ideal parental figures. His father is a first-class drifter who is always stuck at the bottom of the auto insurance risk pool because of his bad driving habits. His mother develops severe psychological problems that keep her in hospitals and nursing homes for several years. Ned is also raised by a large number of minor characters in town who keep an eye on him, but not too closely.And now some comments from me:1)tNed’s father may have been unstable due to his experiences in WWII, but Russo did not take the book in that direction at all. He left that up to the reader’s own sensibilities regarding veterans. 2)tMohawk NY was very reminiscent of the city of Empire Falls (in the book of the same name). Indeed, both Russo novels spent a lot of time in local diners. 3)tIf Mohawk NY indeed had winter from Thanksgiving until the Fourth of July, I wish all inhabitants would move away as Ned Hall ultimately does. Also, I felt sorry for Ned for the long winter that was his emotional upbringing. Thinking that this book is autobiographical in that regard, I want to know more about Russo. 4)tIf many Russo novels are going to be set in diners, I may be tempted to move away from his writing myself. However, I so loved That Old Cape Magic, (NOT set in a diner) I may continue to give him more chances. Also, he has written a nonfiction, autobiographical book that I look forward to reading. I LOVE to get to know an author’s fiction and then read his autobiographical work to see where all that “fiction” came from. (I’m thinking Paul Auster here and Kurt Vonnegut and Jonathan Lethem.) 5)tSince I am a mom myself, I took offense at the true love Ned showed for the flaky father and the disdain or tolerance or whatever it was that he exhibited toward the mother who was there for him until she was literally at her wit’s end. Come on, guys, cut us moms a break. Also, at the end of the book, Ned’s wife and child needed him and Ned’s father needed him. Ned chose the father. Hence the cycle of wayward father – and mother left alone with child – gets ready to repeat itself. Argh!!
This is probably my favorite Russo book. Granted, I have only read three, but between Empire Falls, That Old Cape Magic, and The Risk Pool, this one really stands out. I live in upstate New York, quite a bit further west than the Mohawk Valley, but its close enough put pictures of Leroy or Olean in my mind when the once flourishing now dilapidated town is described. And although my life was nothing like that of Ned Hall's, I easily identified with the people in his life and the fears that he nurtured.And you know what, by the end of the book, just like Ned, you come to love Sam. For all his faults he held down a job, and for the most part supported his son, giving him some important life lessons along the way. His strength of will was admirable, something that seems endemic in Sam's generation, diminished in the baby boomers, and faded in my generation and sorrowfully absent in the post-college crowd, today.As he lies in a hospital at the end, unwilling to "trouble" his son with his maladies, you empathized with him and the cards that life dealt him during and after the war. Most frighteningly, there is that part of your mind that can imagine that if your cards turned up the same as his, that you too, could have easily ended up Sam Hall.
What do You think about The Risk Pool (1998)?
At first I just found this story interesting -- and wondered how I could like someone who is a jerk (the father, Sam). But by the end of the story, I realized how deep this book is on so many levels. (1) I thought the story was going to be about Ned and his mother (she raised him for the most part). But it wasn't...it was more about Ned and his father, and what a profound impact his father had on Ned's life, even though he wasn't around most of the time. (Don't let the fact that the book was written around those few times that Sam was around fool you. He lived with his dad for two years and the other days he was around him, you could add up on two hands). And yet Sam was much more important to Ned than his mother. Because of gender? Because of genetic traits that made them 'simpatico'? This saddened me because I was under the illusion that being the custodial parent -- doing the hard job of raising the child -- would create a deeper relationship between that parent and the child. Is that usually the case and it's just because the mother in this story was so dysfunctional that it didn't work this way for Ned? (2) In the story, it was brought up numerous times that the characters would grow up to be just like their gender parent (girls like their mothers, boys like their fathers). Although it appeared Ned broke this -- because he was so aware of it? (3) and what about Drew? That could be a whole other discussion! It wasn't a book that I couldn't put down (in fact, it took me a couple of months to read) so didn't get 5 stars, but it definitely made me think (which is why I gave it 4 stars). I'd love to hear what you think about this book!
—Becky
Richard Russo is great. I've now read three of his novels and really enjoyed all of them. The characters stand out from the page, and I get lost so easily in the narrative. This book is a coming-of-age and beyond story about a boy/young man in an upstate New York town with two separated parents who are neglectful yet still loving in their own ways. Most interesting is watching how their relationships with their son shapes who he becomes. The focus is clearly on the father-son relationship, and the father in this story defines the word "character" as a descriptor for an individual. Relating the plot is not the point here, although it certainly pulled me along. More so, is the pleasure of spending time with these people, learning to know and to love them, despite some of their despicable, but oh so human, characteristics.
—Cari
This is a richly complex story that carefully develops the characters living in a small town (Mohawk) in upstate NY. The main character is Ned Hall with the constant involvement of his father Sammy, a sometimes absent Dad, a drunk and someone who both holds Ned back and brings out the best in him. Through Ned and Sammy, we meet what might seem like small town people living in Mohawk, but they are anything but small. Russo's character development is excellent---so well done that it's hard to put the book down. The best quality of this novel is the dialogue. It's easy to imagine Ned as a young boy to a thirty-something. Great read!
—Nancy Doerrer
