"Bridge of Sighs" by Richard Russo

Where do you start with an author like Richard Russo? He won the Pulitzer Prize in 2002 for 'Empire Falls,' a book many authors would gladly sacrifice their entire bibliographies to have written. His 1993 'Nobody's Fool' was made into a critically acclaimed movie, directed by Robert Benton and starring Paul Newman. Honestly, it's rare that I am at a loss about what to write, but I am such a fan of Russo's work that I looked forward to the arrival of 'Bridge of Sighs' the way another woman might look forward to a new pair of Manolos.

Reviewers agree that this new novel set in the real town of Thomaston, NY is Russo's most ambitious and most multifaceted work to date. I just call it a transporting and transforming experience. While you're reading Russo, you're in safe hands. That is not to say that those hands are always gentle. Russo has such a magnificent writer's heart that he is able to show hard truths without lapsing into cliche.

Several critics have noted that with this book as in his others, the one thing he doesn't often do is describe sex. However, he does write often and beautifully about sexuality -- and his characters are so tenderly realized that you don't need graphic sex scenes in order to understand them.

Meeting Russo was terrific -- he is as warm, funny, smart, and interesting as anything he's written, and that is not always the case with authors. He was so smart and interesting that we've decided to offer this week's interview in two parts -- more of Richard Russo to enjoy.