Reviews

Mohawk by Richard Russo

madameroyale's review against another edition

I’ve heard Russo is a fantastic writer and that this, his first book, is especially masterful. Well I was bored to tears. I simply cannot find anything interesting in contemporary lit.

timpeck's review against another edition

medium-paced

2.75

krobart's review

4.0

See my review here:

https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2022/08/19/review-2012-mohawk/

hopecaldwell's review against another edition

3.0

Not sure Russo is a writer for me. Some in my book club found this charming and funny. To me, it was depressing and bleak. To each her own.

cbendixe's review against another edition

3.0

Russo concentrates on characters & has a great way of creating a sense of place--I feel like I've been to this town called Mohawk. As is typical with Russo's books, the 1st half of the book is very character & place-centric, but then a series of dramatic events push the plot into overdrive. Well-done, but I like some of his other books better!

bianca89279's review against another edition

4.0

Mohawk is only my second Richard Russo novel. It felt familiar though, as it's very similar to Everybody's Fool with its myriad of characters, small-town setting and domesticity.

It gave me that feeling you get when coming across an old friend you lost contact with, but when you meet again the spark reignites as you had never been apart.

The characters are as varied as they come - a diner owner, retired men and their wives, a beautiful woman who married the wrong guy and who is in love with her cousin's husband; a policemen, and a multitude of many other characters. They're all very realistically depicted. Richard Russo has a knack for explaining people's actions and motivations in a non-judgemental way.

I'll be reading more Russo.

jeffmauch's review against another edition

4.0

Apparently this is Russo’s first novel, which I didn’t know until after I finished it. You’d never know this was his first effort as this reads like it was written by a veteran writer. There’s a lot to like here, setting, fascinating characters, interesting conflicts, and multiple intertwined plots. I think one of the things I like most about Russo is his use of setting to create conflict. Like many of his stories we are once again in a dying town that has clearly seen better days. In this case its set during the Vietnam era as factories are shuddering and business is rough. I also really enjoy how Russo gives us a glimpse into the life of the town and characters without setup, it’s as if we are just thrown into an ongoing story as opposed to a bunch of set up, we get to learn as we go. I really enjoyed Russo’s novel Empire Falls and this reminds me a lot of it. While Empire Falls is clearly more pulled together and refined, that’s expected of a later work, but it still shows a lot of the grit that I’m seeing in this novel. At first this book has almost too many characters to keep track of but it soon comes together and becomes much less confusing. We have characters that are young and old, of both sexes, and from different lots in life, all resulting in a story that contains murder, infidelity and redemption, which results in one very good novel.

magmae's review against another edition

3.0

One of my favorite friends and voracious readers has been trying to get me to read Richard Russo for years, starting with this one. I finally got around to it and stayed up all last night finishing 'Mohawk.' I've missed true, full-on storytelling, and Russo does that masterfully here... with themes of class and place and change that are just my speed.

mscherer's review against another edition

challenging dark funny reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

jbenningfield's review against another edition

2.0

More than passable first novel, but tough to read! Easier to go back to if you've read Mr. Russo's later works.