MOHAWK by Richard Russo

Finished Sa 9/1/18

This was a trade paperback that I got at last June's library book sale.

The first novel by Russo, and I remember reading 'EMPIRE FALLS' a few years ago. He won the Pulitzer Prize for literature for literature for this novel.

Mohawk, New York is a fictional town in northwest New York state south of the Adirondacks. The main economic generator are leather factories. Since the early sixties, these companies have relocated overseas.

This is the story of 'the working poor'. Most of the men were employed in these factories. Not only did they leave them with no jobs, but the water table has been poisoned and now they are faced with drastically increased rates of sickness and cancer.

Harry- owner and operator of The Mohawk Diner. This is a central meeting place for the town; coffee and cigarettes and conversation.

Wild Bill- mentally damaged man who is protected by Harry. Bill is the son of Rory. This man was a corrupt, yet powerful figure at the tanneries. Rory stole leather for the mills.

Wild Bill was severely beaten by his father. Bill was in love with Anne and he was always following her around.

Dallas is a kind of 'jock' character. Always a teenager, no real job or prospects. Divorced from Anne, but still friends.

Anne has always been in love with her cousin Diane's  husband, Dan. Dan is in a wheelchair from an accident many years before.

Dallas is in love with his brother's wife, Lorraine. Dallas's brother, David had died of cancer many years before. Lorraine has a young daughter, Dawn. Dawn contracts a deadly disease later in the novel.

Mather Grouse- Anne's father and 'the patriarch' of the novel. He's moral and stands against the cheating at the leather works. He's dying of breathing problems. His wife objects to the oxygen tanks in the house. She see's it as against how she sees her husband. He's a fine strong man and nothing should be wrong with him.

Many characters, but not too hard to remember. I like these kinds of novels.