Mr. Russo supplies enough props, picture postcards and pratfalls to underscore the fragility of his latest venture. Its main character, the autobiographical-sounding Jack Griffin, feels adrift after having lived in the worlds of both moviemaking and academia and is no longer sure where his heart or his talents lie. This entertaining but facile book suggests that Mr. Russo is himself contemplating those same questions.

There's little doubt that vacationers will be enjoying "That Old Cape Magic," this August. And in Cape Cod communities like Truro and Martha's Vineyard this dead-on chronicle of both New England and academia is likely to resonate. And what more, this is one summer read that no one need hide behind a newspaper.

A warm novel whose comic bits blend seamlessly with weightier themes, That Old Cape Magic finds Russo on familiar turf as well. At heart a story of a midlife crisis, it quietly wages war against clichés, introducing characters who seem destined to serve functions they’re never actually called upon to perform, and relying more on sharply drawn pieces of everyday life than the sort of story formulas that helped lead its protagonist to flee Hollywood.

"That Old Cape Magic" is eminently filmable -- two weddings and two urns of cremains in search of release, if not a funeral. It boasts a tight single-year timeline, photogenic locations, lots of physical comedy and snappy dialogue. But readers looking for the warmth and complexity of that old Russo magic may prefer his harder-hitting, small-town novels.