Straight Man is a novel by Richard Russo, published in 1997. It follows the story of William Henry Devereaux Jr., a professor of English at a small, cash-strapped college in Pennsylvania. The book is a humorous and satirical exploration of academia, family relationships, and the mid-life crisis.
The story is narrated in the first person by Devereaux, who is in his fifties and going through a rough patch in his life. His wife has left him, his daughter is pregnant, and his famous writer's father is dying. On top of that, Devereaux is the chair of the English department. It is facing pressure to make budget cuts, deal with a group of radical feminists who want to ban all-male writers from the curriculum and deal with a colleague who has gone missing and may have been murdered.
The novel is divided into three parts, each of which focuses on a different aspect of Devereaux's life. The first part deals with his professional struggles as the English department chair. He is a self-proclaimed "straight man" who enjoys being a calm, rational, and unemotional leader. However, as the pressure mounts, he begins to crack and becomes more and more irrational and erratic.
The second part of the book focuses on Devereaux's personal life. He is estranged from his wife, who has left him for a woman, and his relationship with his daughter is strained. He starts to have a mid-life crisis and begins to act out, having an affair with a colleague and engaging in other reckless behavior.
The book's final part deals with Devereaux's reconciliation with his family and his acceptance of his own mortality. He realizes that his father, who has always been distant and critical, actually loves him and that his daughter needs him more than ever. He also begins to understand that he cannot control everything in his life and must let go of his need for order and rationality.
Straight Man explores several themes that are relevant to contemporary society. One of the major themes is the struggle to maintain personal and professional identity in the face of societal pressures. Devereaux is torn between his desire to be a good father, a respected scholar, and a competent department chair, but these roles often conflict with one another. The novel highlights the difficulties of balancing competing demands and the toll this takes on an individual's mental health. The book also explores themes of masculinity and gender politics. Devereaux is forced to confront his privilege as a white male academic and the limitations of his perspective. The novel portrays the struggle of marginalized groups to have their voices heard and to fight against dominant power structures.
In terms of tone and mood, Straight Man is a witty and satirical novel. Russo's writing is characterized by sharp wit and humor, which lightens the otherwise weighty themes of the book. The tone is sardonic and cynical but also empathetic and humanizing. Devereaux's struggles are presented with a sense of irony and absurdity, but the novel never loses sight of his character's emotional depth and complexity. The novel's mood is often melancholic and introspective, but there are also moments of levity and joy. Russo's novel strikes a delicate balance between humor and pathos.
