Russo has removed himself from normal life to the world of faddy spoiled gits so completely that he lost all capacity to write about working people. His characters still dig ditches but they act rich. Money troubles are pre-empted by mysteriously appearing inheritances. Rich relatives come out of the woodwork. Lump-sum savings materialize unexpectedly. Hugely expensive works of art are accidentally found at scrap heaps.
Characters in Somebody’s Fool do mention “the recession” every once in a while but immediately get distracted and act like having a job is a whim you can drop whenever it suits you to have more leisure time.
This is a writer who really knew how to write about working people. He’s become a total “let them eat cake” type of person. It’s so sad.
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