danchrist's review
4.0
When the truth is found to be lies....
Great story. Excellent characters. Page turning delight from a writer I’ve enjoyed since “Empire Falls.”
Four stars? Just an impression, how I see this lined up against other books, other things I’ve read.
The themes of friendship and how we truly know or don’t know one another are universal. The coincidences, or the magic about how it all hangs together after the magician pulls back the curtain, ask a bit too much to be accepted at face value, almost like the truth we’re shown is too good to be true so you know there has to be something else you’re not told.
How Delia finds Mickey is one of those points. Also what Jacy does for a year after she leaves him and how she manages to find her way back to him only to perish the next day; almost too neat and compact.
Yes, those are nits picked. An impression, right or wrong, but mine.
Great story. Excellent characters. Page turning delight from a writer I’ve enjoyed since “Empire Falls.”
Four stars? Just an impression, how I see this lined up against other books, other things I’ve read.
The themes of friendship and how we truly know or don’t know one another are universal. The coincidences, or the magic about how it all hangs together after the magician pulls back the curtain, ask a bit too much to be accepted at face value, almost like the truth we’re shown is too good to be true so you know there has to be something else you’re not told.
How Delia finds Mickey is one of those points. Also what Jacy does for a year after she leaves him and how she manages to find her way back to him only to perish the next day; almost too neat and compact.
Yes, those are nits picked. An impression, right or wrong, but mine.
erin_janda's review against another edition
1.0
I can confidently say that this will be the first and last book written by Richard Russo that I will read. I think it is safe to assume that as a 36 year old lesbian woman that I am not the ideal or even intended reader for whom Russo wrote this story. I was committed to reading the book completely for my book club, and I did my best to remain open to the story as it unfolded. To be perfectly blunt, I just found the story to be rather dull and pointless. I didn’t feel drawn into the plot nor towards any of the characters.
There were also some problematic themes throughout the book that weren’t fully explored and left me wondering, “why did you decide to bring that up in the first place, Mr. Russo?” For instance, there were several references to secondary characters who were Black or People of Color and some of the racism and classism they faced. To me it felt like Russo wrote these scenes in a way that further perpetuates white privilege. I understand that in this work of fiction perhaps he didn’t intend to tackle the weighty subject of racism in America, but I think at the very least he could have prevented further harm. For example the character of Andy (Jacy’s biological father) is only introduced towards the end of the story, and he tragically dies from a neurological disorder. The only page time that he gets is told through memory of Jacy and her mother via Mickey’s retelling. It’s as if the life of this character isn’t even worth being told from his own perspective. Instead his story is told through the white characters. Likewise the character of Theresa who dates Teddy for a while is seemingly only written to serve as a love interesting for the pitiful and self-deprecating man.
Other troubling themes that cropped up included toxic masculinity and homophobia. Again, the subjects are broached but never explored beyond a surface level, which only furthers harmful stereotypes. I think this lack of empathy for the minority characters is very telling. In my opinion, only someone benefitting from their privilege could concoct such a self-indulgent and tone-deaf story.
There were also some problematic themes throughout the book that weren’t fully explored and left me wondering, “why did you decide to bring that up in the first place, Mr. Russo?” For instance, there were several references to secondary characters who were Black or People of Color and some of the racism and classism they faced. To me it felt like Russo wrote these scenes in a way that further perpetuates white privilege. I understand that in this work of fiction perhaps he didn’t intend to tackle the weighty subject of racism in America, but I think at the very least he could have prevented further harm. For example the character of Andy (Jacy’s biological father) is only introduced towards the end of the story, and he tragically dies from a neurological disorder. The only page time that he gets is told through memory of Jacy and her mother via Mickey’s retelling. It’s as if the life of this character isn’t even worth being told from his own perspective. Instead his story is told through the white characters. Likewise the character of Theresa who dates Teddy for a while is seemingly only written to serve as a love interesting for the pitiful and self-deprecating man.
Other troubling themes that cropped up included toxic masculinity and homophobia. Again, the subjects are broached but never explored beyond a surface level, which only furthers harmful stereotypes. I think this lack of empathy for the minority characters is very telling. In my opinion, only someone benefitting from their privilege could concoct such a self-indulgent and tone-deaf story.
dfwsusie's review
4.0
3.5 rounded up to 4 - This is not my favorite Richard Russo book. Considering his name is attached to some of my favorite novels ever (Empire Falls, The Risk Pool, Nobody's Fool) that means it's still probably better than 90% of the things I read. I fear the thing that changed this one for me is a generational and gender gap. The Vietnam era for men and the lifelong tremors that causes in their lives are important to know, but it's not going to kick in my feelings of relatability. That's no fault whatsoever of the book, purely me. If my father were alive I would give him Chances Are... and he'd find his head bobbing along in recognition I'm sure.
sam0hopkins's review
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
timmens59's review
4.0
Usually I sink right into a Russo novel, but this one was bit of a struggle at first. Not that it wasn't well-written or peppered with Russo's insights, many of them humorous and ironic, about life's puzzle and our oftentimes futile attempts to fit all the pieces together. It's just that I struggled caring for his characters and wondered why should I keep going. But never doubt Russo. His character rotation by chapter leads the reader to get to know each of them better with each turn of the page. By the end, I was rapt and felt for each and every one of this threesome of college friends, who at 66, reunite for a weekend together on Martha's Vineyard to catch up on the past 40 odd years. What evolves is what first appears to be a superficial mystery of the whereabouts of Jacy, the girl all three men fell in love with during their college days as Vietnam, the draft, and Canada loomed large. This mystery, however, is anything but superficial as Russo deftly leads his reader along some serious twists and turns. How different, right? But so many of us do have these mysteries in our lives and Russo recognizes this in a powerful story about life and our search for meaning.
kmccolgan's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
cook_memorial_public_library's review
5.0
Recommended by Jo. Read her review on the Cook Memorial Public Library blog, Shelf Life: https://shelflife.cooklib.org/2019/06...
Check our catalog: https://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore/search/C__Schances%20are%20russo__Orightresult__U?lang=eng&suite=gold
Check our catalog: https://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore/search/C__Schances%20are%20russo__Orightresult__U?lang=eng&suite=gold
thebrownbookloft's review
4.0
The selection for my book club, August 2021.
I liked it. It was a believable story about 3 men in their mid-60's who met while in college. They decide to have a reunion, one last fling before one of them sells his family vacation home. Once there, they are haunted by memories of a woman they all loved.
I liked it. It was a believable story about 3 men in their mid-60's who met while in college. They decide to have a reunion, one last fling before one of them sells his family vacation home. Once there, they are haunted by memories of a woman they all loved.