Throughout his life a case study underachiever, Sully-people still remarked-was nobody's fool, a phrase that Sully no doubt appreciated without ever sensing its literal application-that at sixty, he was divorced from his own wife, carrying on halfheartedly with another man's, estranged from his son, devoid of self-knowledge, badly crippled and virtually unemployable-all of which he stubbornly confused with independence.
Sully, a character portrayed in Richard Russo's novel "Nobody's Fool," exemplifies the concept of an underachiever despite his apparent cleverness. Throughout his life, he has been perceived as a man who is not easily fooled, a perception he likely values. However, at sixty years old, he finds himself in a troubled state, divorced from his wife and involved in a lackluster relationship with another man's partner. His estrangement from his son...