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Aug
14
My evening with Richard Russo…
2009 at 11am Posted by Rebecca Joines Schinsky
Last Wednesday night, I met up with two of my best friends (and about 300 other sweaty booklovers) and crowded into Washington, D.C.’s Politics and Prose Bookstore to hear Richard Russo read from his latest novel That Old Cape Magic and discuss his work. The night was warm, the signing was standing room only by the time we arrived, and the air conditioning could have been better, but I didn’t care. I’ve read and loved all of Russo’s books—he is easily among my five favorite authors—and I couldn’t wait to meet him.
The evening began with a quick introduction provided by one of the Politics & Prose managers, then Mr. Russo gave a bit of background information on his characters and proceeded to read an entire chapter. It was delightful. A full half hour of one of my favorite authors reading his work, inflecting the voices with emotion, chuckling at the jokes, and giving added depth to a story I already loved. What more could a girl ask for?
I’ve hosted more book signings for work than I’ve attended for fun, and this is the first one I’ve seen where the author did such an extensive reading. I’m accustomed to 10-15 minutes of reading, another 15-20 minutes of Q & A, and then an hour or so of signing. I’ve also seen some authors skip the reading/booktalk altogether and take a full hour of Q & A, which is pretty great. For me, Russo’s approach was a nice change of pace, and his reading of the chapter made me wish he had chosen to narrate the audiobook. I would have bought it then and there.
After the reading, Russo opened the floor to questions. One fan asked about Russo’s relationship with his editors. Another asked about his favorite characters in his own books (Lucy Lynch, among others) and literature in general (Huck Finn, ’nuff said).
And then I got brave and asked about his response to the recent Newsweek review (if you can even call it that) in which the writer accused him of being a misogynist. I’ve read a few elegant refutations of that claim by other members of the literary community, but I wanted to hear it straight from the horse’s mouth, as it were. I said I was very surprised by the article, and he quipped, “You were surprised!”
Russo’s response to my question was very interesting. He spoke about his experience teaching young writers and the fact that, even when it was fourteen against one and their stories were being torn about during a workshop, he did not allow them to defend themselves. He said that a writer gets one chance to make his argument about how the world works and that once a book has been published, you can’t go running around behind it. You have to hope and trust that you’ve done a good job and that it will stand as a defense of itself.
That wasn’t what I was expecting, but I think it makes a lot of sense, and I respect Mr. Russo’s refusal to respond to Newsweek’s provocation or jump into the fray.
And I’m not going to, either, because others have done a very nice job of describing and defending Russo’s work, and I don’t need to reinvent the wheel. But I will say this.
Russo’s books are not about women. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t explore his treatment of female characters, but it is an important thing to keep in mind. Russo writes about men. His protagonists are universally male, usually middle-aged, and more than a little flawed. They are often bewildered by women in a “can’t live with ‘em, can’t live without ‘em” sort of way, and they experience a range of emotions in response to and because of the women in their lives.
They are frustrated by women. They get angry at women. They find women confusing and mysterious and impossible to understand.
But they never hate women. In fact, they often find themselves in loving awe of women. Not exactly the definition of misogny, now is it?
(And where the hell does the Newsweek writer get off attacking Russo but exonerating Philip Roth? Answer me that.)
If you want a taste of the Richard Russo awesomeness, check out this video of his recent sit-down with fellow author (and friend) Pat Conroy. In the last 7 or 8 minutes of the video, a member of the audience asks a question very similar to mine, and his response is almost identical to what he said Wednesday night. I imagine he’s already tired of talking about it. (Mr. Russo, if for some reason you’ve found your way to The Book Lady’s Blog, thanks for answering my question. *waves*)
Stay tuned next week for my review of That Old Cape Magic and mark your calendars for August 25th, when The Book Studio will air Bethanne’s (you might know her as @thebookmaven) recent interview with Richard Russo. You should also check out this podcast interview by The New York Times’ Paper Cuts book blog and this interesting interview.
Tell me, have you been to any great book signings lately? And what do you make of this misogyny dust-up?
This is where I make my embarassed confession that I haven’t read any of Russo’s work and ask you for a recommendation of one to start with.
No great book signings for me lately. I live in the middle of nowhere. I am having a local author speak at our library next month, but Richard Russo he is not. Sounds like Russo is hadling the review like a gentleman. Too many of these situations get ugly and petty. I think reviewers do have the right to say what they think – and be wrong about it. I also think most people who read reviews aren’t going to base thier decision to read the book or not on one review. And Russo is probably getting a lot more readers at the moment who want to see if the reviewer is right.
I have Richard Russo’s new book: That Ols Cape Magic as my next book to read. I LOVED Empire Falls, an earlier book (the movie was good too).\\
Great post; thanks so much
Empire Falls is a no-fail (it won the Pulitzer, after all), but I love Straight Man for great laughs. Or you could start at the beginning with his first book, Mohawk. They’re all good, if you ask me.
Very interesting. I can see his point about not running around after your book trying to explain yourself. I’m curious though, in Bridge of Sighs, what did you make of Mr. Marconi and his relationship with his wife? I know there was more to that relationship than what was spelled out, but he certainly seemed to hate her.
My book group talked about the Newsweek article too and they felt that his treatment of women is questionable. I really didn’t see that myself, other than the way Marconi treated his wife. Sarah was a strong character as was Tessa (who was even employed and keeping the family afloat).
It’s been more than a year since I read Bridge of Sighs, so I don’t recall the relationship you’re referring to in great depth. I think some of Russo’s characters do resent women, though I wouldn’t go so far as to say that any of them hate women. And even if he did, that doesn’t mean we should conflate an author with his characters or assume that the character reflects Russo’s personal feelings. I think that’s my main problem with the Newsweek article. If you don’t like the way an author treats certain characters, it’s possible to discuss that without accusing the author of being a misogynist. (Philip Roth has written more than a few women-hating characters, and the Newsweek writer lets him off the hook…)
Alas, I have never been to a book signing. Ridiculous, I know. To see Richard Russo and hear him read- what a dream come true.
I still haven’t read the Newsweek article, and I’m not sure I will, because I know I don’t agree with it. I always feel as if Russo’s women have such a quiet, secret power over the poor befuddled unhappy men in their lives…they often seem the only characters who have it together.
I’m really looking forward to another Russo epic
Becca, I think you put it perfectly that the women in Russo’s books “have such a quiet, secret power over the poor befuddled men.”
Cape Magic is sitting at my library as I speak, waiting for me.
I LOVE his response to your question and I do think it was very brave of you to ask
It takes a lot of self control by an author to not defend his or her book with every criticism.
Well then what are you doing reading blogs? Go get it!
Confession to make: I’ve never really been to a book signing. I attended my first reading this last year as an assignment for a fiction writing class I was taking. But reading this post makes me definitely want to keep my eye out for whatever authors visit bookstores in my area. I loved Russo’s response to your question, if I ever make it as a writer, I want to have that kind of confidence in my work (because lets face it, not everyone will love what you write no matter how brilliant it might be!). Great post, thanks for sharing your experience and your wonderful insights.
What fun that you have the opportunity to see authors like that! I think his answer to your question is really interesting. Could be bravery, could be arrogance, but clearly reflects complexity in him and in his work!
I haven’t been a book signing period!!! But this one sounds great. I’m embarrassed to tell you that I haven’t read Russo. Where should I start?
You can’t go wrong with Empire Falls, for which he won the Pulitzer, but I also really love Straight Man, which is (in my opinion) the funniest.
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