Straight Man

For the straight man half of a comedy duo, see Double act

Straight Man (New York: Random House, 1997) is a novel by Richard Russo set at West Central Pennsylvania State University in Railton, PA. It is a mid-life crisis tale told in the first person by the interim chairman of the English department. Notable moments include the chairman's hiding in the rafters as the faculty come to a 2/3 vote (when a 3/4 vote was required) for his dismissal, the threat of killing a campus pond duck every day until the department receives a budget, flirtations between faculty and students, satires on academic scholarship and stardom, and love and health in the season of grace.