Media Center: 'Elsewhere' by Richard Russo

WHO: Richard Russo

WHAT: ELSEWHERE, a memoir

WHEN:
Published by Knopf November 1, 2012

WHERE: Set in the author’s hometown of Gloversville, New York

WHY:
“A profound tribute…funny and moving.
“Richard Russo brings the same clear-eyed humanism that marks his fiction to this portrait of his high-strung mother and her never-ending quest to escape the provincial confines of their hometown of Gloversville, New York.
“All of her life, she clung to the notion that she was an independent woman, despite the fact that she couldn’t drive, lived upstairs from her parents, and readily accepted their money to keep her household afloat. She finally escaped her deteriorating hometown, which went bust when the local tannery shut down, by moving to Arizona with her 18-year-old son when he left for college and following him across the country right up until her death. His comical litany of her long list of anxieties, from the smell of cooking oil to her fruitless quest for the perfect apartment, is a testament to his forbearance but also to his ability to make her such a vivid presence in these pages.
“Part of what makes this such a profound tribute to her is precisely because he sees her so clearly, flaws and all. Russo’s many fans will be lining up.”
—Joanne Wilkinson, BOOKLIST

Media Resources:
About the book | Author bio | Download the jacket or the author photo | Listen to the RH Audiobook

Publicist for this title:
Gabrielle Brooks | 212-572-2152 | gbrooks@randomhouse.com