Empire Falls

Rating:
Summary: Pulitzer Prize Committee..."You're Fired!"
Review: So saddened and disappointed by the fact this was chosen as a Pulitzer. Not entertaining. Boring. Kept thinking, this has to get better, doesn't it? Nope, it didn't. Empire Falls...Down.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful novel
Review: Like the main character of Empire Falls, I am a middle aged male. That may prejudice me in my review but I am widely read and can spot a good book when I read one. I haven't enjoyed a novel this much since "The Corrections." These two novels couldn't be more unlike, however. Empire Falls deals with simple, working class stiffs who have modest intellectual and financial resources. "The Corrections" deals with sophisticated twenty/thirty-somethings and is sure to appeal to the phony NPR/Starbuck's crowd. "The Corrections" is written with a very weary eye and spirit. "Empire Falls" is written with an open heart and some openness about matters of faith. Franzen confirms my cynicism. Russo seems to be saying, "Hey, pal, give us all a chance again." It is so refreshing to read a male writer who can hold my interest with a book as good as "Empire Falls."

Rating:
Summary: Humorous, Poignant, True
Review: Writing reviews is an enjoyable pastime and can often be quite fun, particularly when one comes across something awful and can gleefully tear it to pieces. Even minor flaws leave one with a great deal to discuss. That is why it has been so difficult to write a review of this great novel. There is simply nothing wrong with it.

It is the story of Miles Roby, the struggling owner of a small diner in small-town Empire Falls, Maine. His wife is divorcing him for a wealthier, more slender man. The fourteen year-old daughter he loves is going through typical teenaged travails. His ne'er do well father appears and disappears always leaving chaos in his wake. His brother is a kind-hearted, recovering alcoholic. And as time goes by he learns things about his past, and his deceased mother's connection with the very wealthy, dominant family in town that both enlighten and sadden him.

Everything in this novel works. The author is in firm control of his characters, who are richly portrayed, complex and believable. The plot crackles along and is propelled by the personalities of his characters. The prose is clear and straightforward and resonant.

What sets this novel apart from the rabble though, is the maturity--the wisdom--of the narration. This is not an angry or offended narrator, or a sarcastic or ironically detached narrator, or a narrator who holds his characters in contempt. It is instead a narrator who views his characters compassionately, but it is a compassion which never stoops to sentimentality. It is a narrator who genuinely likes them, and who views their situations through the prism of gentle humor and bemusement. Indeed, much of this is laugh-out-loud funny, but the humor is such that it allows us to laugh with his characters, not at them.

But it is a story of humans, after all, and no story about humans would be complete without the inevitable sadness and regret that loom in all of our lives. In the end, that would be the simplest way to describe this novel: it is very human. It is a superb piece of literature.

Rating:
Summary: Empire Falls Soars
Review: Few books that win the Pulitzer Prize for fiction are truly engaging stories written in a simple literary style. Let's face it... many are filled with dense or downright difficult language and plots filled with fantasy and/or deranged behavior - in a phrase, they are tough to read.

Russo has managed to construct a highbrow book for the common man. In many ways Empire Falls is a mirror of Thomas Wolfe's, A Man In Full. Each is a facinating peek into the mind of a middle aged man who still has more questions than answers about life. And both authors wrap these well developed characters around compelling human stories. Some reviewers might say that this book is boring... that nothing happens. Well that is a better summary of Empire Falls the place, than Empire Falls the novel. This book is really a coming of age story... only it happens to a divorced man with a high school aged daughter and not a fifteen year old boy.

If you are interested in reading a story with amazingly deep and real characters you will enjoy Empire Falls. You may also enjoy it if you are interested in "literature" but feel intimidated by the classics. If you want for adventure or action - don't look here.

Rating:
Summary: Loaded with characters!
Review: Generally, I prefer character-driven stories to plot-based, but there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. Richard Russo illustrates this in EMPIRE FALLS. Ostensibly it's about the trials and travails of Miles Roby, a restaurant manager, who's worried that the town dowager, Francine Whitney, will go back on her promise to leave him the restaurant when she dies. Empire Falls is a dying mill town and Francine owns everything including most of the people.
Things get complicated when we discover that Miles's mother had an affair with Francine's husband, the owner of the defunct mills, and that she's taking it out on him.
Miles also has a daughter named Tick, the epitome of teenaged angst, who is having difficulty dealing with her father's impending divorce. Then there's Miles's younger brother David, who may or may not be the dead mill owner's son; Miles's reprobate of a father, Max, who steals from his son every chance he gets; a gay priest, who functions as Miles's confidant; a town cop with a low self image; Janine, Miles's soon-to-be ex and former fat person; and Janine's fiancé, Walt Comeau, a gym owner who is constantly challenging Miles to arm-wrestle.
Most of these characters are given their own viewpoint and there lies the problem. Russo gets inside their heads and stays there for pages at a time, telling us what they're thinking, and just when we get interested in one of them, he switches perspectives. The pace is glacial. It took me over two weeks to read the thing.
That said, EMPIRE FALLS can be hilarious at times. For instance, Tick's art teacher teaches a low-level class that she divides into different colored tables. When the blue table acts up, she says, "Why can't you people act more like the green table?" Two of the students at the green table are absent; one is asleep, and another is studying algebra. As a former teacher, I can really relate. Then there's Miles's father Max. He's a hoot. At one point he decides he wants to go to the Florida Keys, but he has no money, so he cons the senile parish priest into stealing money from the collection box.
There is a violent climax that I have to admit I did not see coming, although Russo practically tells the reader what's going to happen. If you have the time and patience, Empire Falls may be a good one to dip into.

Rating:
Summary: Deserves the Pulitzer
Review: Empire Falls is reminiscent of The Great Gatsby. Although tragic, there are tones of hope and redemption. The many sub-plots are worked expertly and his characters are vibrant and personal.
This isn't a typical small town book, but it has the charm and simplicity of one. However, it ties in well to today's culture, addressing various issues such as divorce, dieting, religion, and a Columbine-like tragedy. His tone does not dwell on the miserable decay of society, but rather on the endurance and continuance of life.

Rating:
Summary: Good - not great
Review: Interesting book - however, you just wanted everyone to wake up and LIVE! It seemed to me that everyone was existing without living. I suppose that was part of the point - but it was so sad.
This book made me want to eat with my hands, dance in the rain, sing out loud in public - just break through the boredom and DO something.

Rating:
Summary: Don't ever loan out your copy!
Review: Foolishly, I loaned mine out and I would love to read this again. It is a story full of grit and truth and the amazing class structure that remains in place in this country. Living in a small mill town I can see every nuance inside this book. The characters are fleshy and full blooded. It's not often that a book comes along that you are willing to read over and over and then pick apart all the new things you notice. I can't recommend this book enough it's enjoyable and enlightening-not just fluff!

Rating:
Summary: Russo is a brilliant writer
Review: Empire Falls gets better with each page. What a great study of human nature. The book may not be exciting for some because it is about small town life, but the writing is so clever it's well worth your time.

Rating:
Summary: Wow!
Review: It never ceases to amaze me when an author is able to take an everyday subject (such as life in a small town) and turn it into a masterpiece. I am rarely impressed with popular fiction, but this is the best fiction I have read in a long time. This is a book you should own, because you can read it again and again.