# The Risk Pool

By Richard Russo

Profile: https://hahafiction.com/books/the-risk-pool-a8f0c05e/

Ned Hall grows up in the upstate New York mill town of Mohawk, caught between his estranged parents. His father Sam has spent years away from the family, drinking and gambling. Ned wants his affection all the same, and has to work out how much of Sam he wants to take after.

## What makes it funny?

Mohawk has a calendar of its own. The Fourth of July, the town fair, and Thanksgiving count as seasons in Ned’s account of the place. There’s a whole year in those local priorities, and only one season has anything to do with the weather.

### The comedy at work

Russo lets a dry bit of paperwork do some of the work of a character sketch. Sam ranks so badly with his auto insurer that the title can describe both the category he’s been put in and the way he goes through life.

### Try this if…

Ned remembers what made his father good company alongside the things that made him unreliable. The novel suits readers who like family stories where affection for someone leaves room for a clear account of the trouble they cause.

### Good to know

Russo returns to the fictional mill town of his earlier novel Mohawk, this time to follow the Halls. The book’s humor is tied to a boy’s difficult upbringing and his father’s drinking and gambling.

## What to expect

- Genre: Contemporary
- On the shelf: Coming of age · Family comedy
- Kind of humor: Dry wit
- The atmosphere: Irreverent
- Audience: Adult
- Format: Novel
- Published: 1988

## A few distinguishing details

- A mill town with its own unofficial seasons
- A father at the bottom of his auto insurance risk pool

## Sources & further reading

- Review: [Publishers Weekly](https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-394-56527-9)
- Publisher: [Publisher](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/159159/the-risk-pool-by-richard-russo)
- Library catalog: [Open Library](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL3351622W/The_Risk_Pool)