Straight Man
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 First edition | |
| Author | Richard Russo |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Campus novel |
| Publisher | Random House |
Publication date | 1997 |
| Media type | Print (hardcover) |
| Pages | 391 pp. |
| ISBN | 0679432469 |
| 813/.54 | |
| LC Class | PS3568.U812 S77 1997 |
Straight Man (New York: Random House, 1997) is a novel by American writer Richard Russo set at the fictional West Central Pennsylvania University in Railton, Pennsylvania. A campus novel, the book was inspired by Russo's experiences teaching at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Southern Connecticut State University, and Penn State Altoona.[1]
Straight Man chronicles the mid-life crisis of William Henry Devereaux, Jr., the unlikely interim chairman of the English department at the fictional West Central Pennsylvania University in Railton, Pennsylvania. Notable moments include Devereaux hiding in the rafters as the faculty vote on his dismissal, and his threat to kill a duck in the campus pond each day until his department receives a budget. The novel discusses flirtations between faculty and students, satirizes academic scholarship and stardom, and portrays love and health in the season of grace.