Recommendations based on Everybody's Foolby Richard Russo

* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans

  1. Nobody's Fool

    by Richard Russo
    Sully, a 60-year-old handyman, navigates life in a small town, dealing with family drama and personal struggles.

    Richard Russo's slyly funny and moving novel follows the unexpected operation of grace in a deadbeat town in upstate New York—and in the life of one of its unluckiest citizens, Sully, who has been ... (Goodreads)

  2. Empire Falls

    by Richard Russo
    A small town's citizens struggle to find meaning and find their place in a rapidly changing world.

    Set in the decaying, nearly bankrupt, small town of Empire Falls, Maine, this is the story of the unassuming manager of the Empire Grill, Miles Roby, who has spent his life in the town. The town, and ... (Wikipedia)

  3. Straight Man

    by Richard Russo
    A university professor's humorous journey of self-discovery as he navigates campus politics.

    William Henry Devereaux, Jr., spiritually suited to playing left field but forced by a bad hamstring to try first base, is the unlikely chairman of the English department at West Central Pennsylvania ... (Goodreads)

  4. A Great Reckoning

    by Louise Penny
    A murder mystery set in a sleepy Quebec village, uncovering dark secrets and hidden dangers.

    Instant, New York Times, bestseller:,#1 in Hardcover Fiction,#1 in E-book Fiction,#1 in Combined Print and E-book Fiction,"Deep and grand and altogether extraordinary....Miraculous.",—,The Washington ... (Barnes & Noble)

  5. Commonwealth

    by Ann Patchett
    Intertwining story of two families across multiple generations, and how their lives become intertwined.

    It started at Franny Keating’s christening party. Bert Cousins wasn’t even invited, but looking for an excuse to get out of the house, away from his three noisy children and pregnant wife for a few ... (Wikipedia)

  6. A Prayer for Owen Meany

    by John Irving
    A boy's search for faith, set against a backdrop of unlikely events.

    The story is narrated by John Wheelwright, a former citizen of New Hampshire who has become a voluntary expatriate from the United States, having settled in Toronto , Ontario , Canada and taken on ... (Wikipedia)

  7. Miller's Valley

    by Anna Quindlen
    A coming-of-age story of Mimi Miller, who grows up in a small town that is slowly being flooded.

    For generations the Millers have lived in Miller’s Valley. Mimi Miller tells about her life with intimacy and honesty. As Mimi eavesdrops on her parents and quietly observes the people around her, ... (Goodreads)

  8. Another Brooklyn

    by Jacqueline Woodson
    A poetic story of four teenage girls growing up in Brooklyn in the 1970s.

    The story starts with August, an adult anthropologist, returning to New York to bury her father. On the subway, she encounters an old friend, and begins to reminisce. She remembers being an 8 year ... (Wikipedia)

  9. A Banquet of Consequences

    by Elizabeth George
    A gripping whodunit set in England, as a detective unravels a complex web of secrets.

    Inspector Lynley investigates the London end of an ever more darkly disturbing case, with Barbara Havers and Winston Nkata looking behind the peaceful façade of country life to discover a twisted ... (Goodreads)

  10. Our Souls at Night

    by Kent Haruf
    An elderly couple's exploration of love, loneliness, and companionship.

    A spare yet eloquent, bittersweet yet inspiring story of a man and a woman who, in advanced age, come together to wrestle with the events of their lives and their hopes for the imminent future. In ... (Goodreads)

  11. My Absolute Darling

    by Gabriel Tallent
    A teenage girl's extraordinary journey of personal growth and transformation.

    Julia "Turtle" Alveston, age fourteen, lives in California with her sociopathic father, Martin. He is convinced of impending catastrophe, forcing her to learn survivalist skills. Turtle is thus ... (Wikipedia)

  12. Sing, Unburied, Sing

    by Jesmyn Ward
    A family's journey through the Mississippi Delta, confronting a traumatic past.

    It is Jojo's thirteenth birthday. To step into his new role as a man, Jojo tries to bravely help his grandfather, Pop, kill a goat. Jojo ends up throwing up at the sight although Pop is sympathetic. ... (Wikipedia)

  13. The Sympathizer

    by Viet Thanh Nguyen
    Vietnam War refugee returns to his homeland and struggles to reconcile conflicting loyalties.

    It is April 1975, and Saigon is in chaos. At his villa, a general of the South Vietnamese army is drinking whiskey and, with the help of his trusted captain, drawing up a list of those who will be ... (Goodreads)

  14. The Thirst

    by Jo Nesbø
    Detective Harry Hole investigates a series of murders related to a sinister new drug.

    The novel features a killer who returns from Harry Hole's past and whom he failed to apprehend previously, but with a frightening new method of killing his victims by biting the victim's body with ... (Wikipedia)

  15. Class Mom

    by Laurie Gelman
    A humorous take on the life of a class mom, navigating the challenges of organizing school events and dealing with parents.

    Laurie Gelman’s clever debut novel about a year in the life of a kindergarten class mom—a brilliant send-up of the petty and surprisingly cutthroat terrain of parent politics., Jen Dixon is not your ... (Barnes & Noble)

  16. The Corrections

    by Jonathan Franzen
    A family drama exploring the complexities of relationships, aging and life’s choices.

    The novel shifts back and forth through the late 20th century, intermittently following spouses Alfred and Enid Lambert as they raise their children Gary, Chip, and Denise in the traditional ... (Wikipedia)

  17. Lonesome Dove

    by Larry McMurtry
    Epic tale of two former Texas Rangers on a cattle drive from Texas to Montana.

    It is the late 1870s. , Captain Woodrow F. Call and Captain Augustus "Gus" McCrae, two famous retired Texas Rangers , run the Hat Creek Cattle Company and Livery Emporium in the small Texas border ... (Wikipedia)

  18. Twisted Prey

    by John Sandford
    Lucas Davenport investigates a political assassination plot, but the suspects are elusive and dangerous.

    Lucas Davenport confronts an old nemesis, now more powerful than ever as a U.S. senator, in the thrilling new novel in the #1 , ,, New York Times, , ,-bestselling Prey series, Lucas Davenport had ... (Goodreads)

  19. Anything Is Possible

    by Elizabeth Strout
    An exploration of the interconnected lives of a small town's inhabitants, and the power of redemption.

    Short story collection Anything Is Possible explores the whole range of human emotion through the intimate dramas of people struggling to understand themselves and others. Here are two sisters: one ... (Goodreads)

  20. The Nix

    by Nathan Hill
    A middle-aged man's quest to discover the truth about his mother and his own identity.

    The Nix is an American epic novel in 10 parts that follows community college professor of English, Samuel Andresen-Anderson who is struggling to find meaning in his life in the years following his ... (Wikipedia)

  21. Slade House

    by David Mitchell
    A supernatural thriller involving mysterious doorways that lead to a mysterious house with a sinister secret.

    In 1979, Nathan Bishop and his mother are invited to the house of the respected Lady Grayer. Nathan is quickly acquainted with her son Jonah, and the two spend the afternoon in the garden of Slade ... (Wikipedia)

  22. My Oxford Year

    by Julia Whelan
    A young woman from America travels to Oxford to study and falls in love with a charming British man, but must confront unexpected challenges.

    Major Motion Picture Already in Development with Temple Hill Entertainment One of the Best Books of April for Brit + Co and Liz and Lisa! Set amidst the breathtaking beauty of Oxford, this sparkling ... (Barnes & Noble)

  23. My Name Is Lucy Barton

    by Elizabeth Strout
    A woman's journey of self-reflection, uncovering secrets from her past.

    Lucy Barton is recovering slowly from what should have been a simple operation. Her mother, to whom she hasn't spoken for many years, comes to see her. Her unexpected visit forces Lucy to confront ... (Goodreads)

  24. Lethal White

    by Robert Galbraith
    Private detective Cormoran Strike and his partner Robin investigate a blackmail case involving a government minister.

    At Robin Ellacott's marriage to Matthew Cunliffe, Cormoran Strike's capture of the Shacklewell Ripper the night before is already widely known, except by Robin. When Strike tells her that he had been ... (Wikipedia)

  25. Caramelo

    by Sandra Cisneros
    A Latina girl's story of growing up and coming to terms with her cultural identity.

    Every year, Ceyala “Lala” Reyes' family—aunts, uncles, mothers, fathers, and Lala's six older brothers—packs up three cars and, in a wild ride, drive from Chicago to the Little Grandfather and Awful ... (Barnes & Noble)

  26. Regeneration

    by Pat Barker
    Story of WWI soldiers & their experiences of trauma, set amidst the backdrop of a psychiatric hospital.

    The novel begins as Dr W. H. R. Rivers , an army psychiatrist at Craiglockhart War Hospital , learns of poet Siegfried Sassoon 's declaration against the continuation of the war. A government board ... (Wikipedia)

  27. Holy Ghost

    by John Sandford
    Virgil Flowers investigates a string of murders in a small Minnesota town with a religious revival.

    Wheatfield, Minnesota - a metropolis of seven hundred souls. The word "moribund" might have been invented for Wheatfield. Nothing ever happened there and nothing ever would—until the mayor of sorts ... (Goodreads)

  28. The Memory of Running

    by Ron McLarty
    A man embarks on a journey of self-discovery, learning to come to terms with his past.

    Every decade seems to produce a novel that captures the public's imagination with a story that sweeps readers up and takes them on a thrilling, unforgettable ride. Ron McLarty's The Memory of Running ... (Goodreads)

  29. The Secret History

    by Donna Tartt
    A small group of misfit college students uncover a sinister secret and their lives become entangled with dangerous consequences.

    Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at an elite New England college discover a way of thinking and living that is a world away from the ... (Goodreads)

  30. City of Thieves

    by David Benioff
    Two young men embark on a perilous mission in the besieged Leningrad of WWII.

    The story is introduced as the recollections of the narrator's grandfather Lev Beniov, a contemporary Russian Jewish émigré. It is set in the first week of 1942, with the 17-years-old Lev trying to ... (Wikipedia)