Do you have a friend you haven’t seen in years, yet when you finally get together, you fall into a comfortable conversation as though you had seen each other just yesterday? Good friends are like that.
In Richard Russo’s Chances Are... three college friends reunite on Martha’s Vineyard after years apart, and find they connect as they had years earlier, with an easy camaraderie but haunted by the ghost of the woman they all loved. The old Johnny Mathis song in the book title creates the theme for Richard Russo’s latest story of relationships as Lincoln, Teddy, and Mickey struggle through a long weekend of memories and surprising revelations.
I always imagine Paul Newman as one of Russo’s character, reprising his role in the movie adaptation of Russo’s “Nobody’s Fool.” None of the three main characters in Chances Are seem to have Newman’s charisma but together they present a dazzling composite. Lincoln is a successful realtor in Las Vegas, who has inherited the house on Martha’s Vineyard from his mother, and is now considering selling it. Teddy is owner of a small publishing house in upstate New York, who suffers from debilitating episodes. Mickey, who went to Canada for a few years to avoid the Vietnam War draft, is a musician living on the island.
As their pasts are revealed, fathers figure prominently in their influence, all strangely different for each man, from Lincoln’s strict Calvinist father who tolerated no one, to Teddy’s pseudo intellectual father who had no time for anyone, to Mickey’s father of a large family who expected his youngest child and only son to follow his lead. But the key character and major influence on the three college boys who bonded over working as hashers in a sorority house on campus was one of those sorority sisters – Jacy. A seemingly free spirit, Jacy was the mascot to their group – their fourth Musketeer.
The mystery of Jacy’s disappearance years ago provides the suspense as the story evolves around the discovery of what really happened. Russo delivers a surprising solution in his big reveal at the end of the novel, but the satisfaction of reading how each man developed and maintained a sense of community overwhelms the finale.
Russo, with acerbic wit and irreverence balances stories of his characters coming of age after college with their inevitable struggles as they are entering old age years later when they meet again. Their bond seems to have been the girl but Russo confirms they still have a strong connection beyond their youthful adoration of Jacy. They were there for each other as young men and Russo refreshes their connection years later. Can their friendship last after all the secrets are revealed? Chances are their chances are awfully good…
The No Charge Book Bunch 
My husband and I were both excited when we heard about a new book from Richard Russo. It didn’t disappoint. Doug recalled the heavy weight of the Vietnam draft – he got #37. It was just very evocative of that time period for people who lived it.
My favorite of his is Empire Falls and I thought of it as we were visiting my hometown region in upstate New York last week. Many factories that were thriving in the mid 60s are abandoned brick buildings or if lucky have been turned into restuarant complexes.
I remember that time too, and I’ve always thought of Cape Cod as a special place, so the book evoked lots of memories. I’m a Russo fan too and like how his description reveal the place and become part of the story. One of my book clubs (small one of only four people) discussed Chances Are after I wrote my review and we all decided we liked it as a man’s story with a male point of view. So many of the books we read are about and by women. We were trying to list other male authors we enjoy but it was tough to come up with a long list.
I don’t know this author but the book sounds well worth adding to my wishlist.
Russo has other good books too – Nobody’s Fool is one of my favorites.