Rating: 
Summary: Good, but hardly Pulitzer material
Review: This is the first book I read from Russo, and of course I bought it because of the Pulitzer prize win. I enjoyed the read, but by the end of the book I was somewhat disappointed, in part probably because of the high expectations I had. I was left with the feeling that there were two books in Empire Falls. One great, the other... well...
I loved the setting, the dialogue, and the characters (Roby and Tick were wonderful). The plot though, and the ending in particular, was just not believable. I know, part of it was symbolic and all, still, the book didn't need the Dallas-esque aspects. Anyway, it's still worth recommending and reading, just don't expect the "last great american novel of the century" as some reviewers called it.
Rating: 
Summary: If only it had been longer.
Review: I was in love with this novel almost all the way through. There were moments that made me be the weird girl in the metro who laughs out loud at her book. I loved the vivid and complete world Russo created in Empire Falls and fine, deft lines with which he drew his characters and their relationships and interactions with each other. I couldn't stop reading it, and yet I couldn't bear to finish.My two problems with the books are these: a) I wish it had been longer. Okay, so this isn't a fault of Russo's. b) The story was mainly about Miles' relationship with the vile Whiting woman, but just as he's going to confront her, the story derails into a silly slapstick fistfight, a brief exchange with Francine in which she again comes out on top, and then the school business which came pretty much out of nowhere. Then everything wraps up quickly with an everybody-gets-his neatness which surely is beneath Russo's talents. It's a shame that such a rich book should go down this way.
Rating:
Summary: Richly woven characters, great reading
Review: Richard Russo's Empire Falls is a wonderful tapestry of ordinary people in a small Maine town. The beauty of Miles Roby who is not a dashing hero performing incredible deeds. He is a very human. A man who like so many people have never developed their true potential in life and look back with regret at who they might have been if they had made the choices they wish they had. Russo's characters posess the petty selfishness, the resentments people can harbor over the years. I enjoyed Russo's use of flashbacks in italics mixng Miles's and Charlie Whiting's past and present together. Max, his self serving freeloading father and Grace, his mother's good hearted guilt ridden life intertwining and the mainipulative Francine Whiting, like a spider pulling enveryone's strings with her money and power. His selfish, self centered ex-wife Janine whom he married to avoid the entanglements of facing his unrequited love of Charlene and avoidance of poor lamented Cindy, provides comic relief gets her comeuppance. Far be it for me to know whether Russo's wonderful book is Pulitzer Prize material. While not a page turner, the story develops slowly and in my opinion Russo using humor and irony manages to tie up all the loose ends that so many writers seem to run out of gas before they finish their tale. With a suprerior twist of an ending that isn't really a shock, everyone seems to get their just desserts, though sadly a few good people are destroyed. I was sad to see it end and I'm going to read the rest of Russo's books very soon.
Rating: 
Summary: My least favorite Russo
Review: I've loved Richard Russo novels since 'Mohawk', but perhaps I've finally OD'd. This one was an awful slog and I almost gave up, reading several other books in between attempts. Time for a new formula; Russo has worn out the poor schlemiel just barely making it through life in some northeast backwater theme. Perhaps if you haven't already read 'Nobody's Fool' and 'The Risk Pool' and 'Straight Man'...?
Rating:
Summary: Falls Flat
Review: Sorry, I have to be the dissenting voice here. It is an extremely rare occurence that I give up on a book and I am dangerously close to putting Empire Falls back on my roommate's book shelf. There may be a good story somewhere in the next 300 pages, but it'd really have to be something spectacular to justify plodding through the vapid writing.
Russo likes to hit the reader over the head, tell you instead of show you, and repeat the obvious three and four times. Perhaps a real character will develop by the second half of the book, but thus far I am looking at a cast of caricatures painted with broad strokes, engaged in conversations that sound nothing like natural human dialogue.
I have a feeling that Empire Falls' popular acclaim is largely attributable to its willingness to tackle a difficult issue of concern to many in this country -- school violence. It will not survive as a classic, and, less importantly, it will not survive as the book I read on the subway for the rest of the week.
Rating:
Summary: How on earth did this book win a Pullitzer?
Review: True to most formerly intelligent things in this country, it appears we've dumbed down our standards once again. In my opinion this book is one step above Steven King. True the characters are well defined, but the dialogue is terribly written, and the plot is utterly predictable. If you're looking for award winning fiction that will challenge you intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually, this is NOT the book for you. The Pullitzer people should take some lessons from the Booker people, and pick out some real literature for the prize, not brain candy like this book.
Rating:
Summary: russo blows the layup
Review: i like richard russo and i liked this book, which is more ambitious than his other books, but the ending, as other reviewers have noticed, is really unsatisfactory. the trouble is he uses too many characters. some are really good, like max and the senile priest, but others are not so good. in particular, the murderous repressed boy just goes down like a rock in the middle of your oatmeal. mostly, the story wants to be about the clash between miles and mrs. whiting, about the meek little good guy vs the wicked witch of the west, and he never does get there. instead, as miles is going to confront mrs. whiting in what should be the climax of the book, russo gets diverted into the slapstick of a fistfight with the book's most overwritten and cliche-shaped villain, the crooked cop. i like russo but he'll write better books.
Rating:
Summary: A good read, but a Pulitzer?
Review: Most of the members of my bookclub enjoyed Empire Falls. Russo's characterization is flawless -- he manages to bring out minor characters as well as major ones. The book moves along well, and tells a believable story for the most part. The most realistic part of the book may be the end, which leaves us, much as real life, knowing how some things resolve, but not others. Real life doesn't tie everything up in a neat little package and neither does Russo -- will there be a sequel? I would read it!
Rating:
Summary: A small town not so small
Review: Richard Russo's book Empire Falls was one of those books that once you start readign it you cant ever put it down. The tone in which the author writes is somewhat mysterious and leaves you in awe. He makes good comparisons between the characters and real life which helps the reader to understand better. He did a great job of describing the setting and what Maine is like. I think it made it easier for the reader to find something in common with the descriptions. Russo also did a great job of making the characters seem realistic. They were confronted with many of the same problems as people today. For example, while Tick is growing up, she is faced with real life problems such as school. Her dad Miles, is also faced with problems too, being a divorced father with a daughter that is quickly growing and maturing into a young adult. It's not always easy for him trying to raise her alone with a not very helpful ex-wife. Even though this book had a few low points where the book got baring, I think it was a pretty good book wit han interesting story line. I enjoyed the writing style, and encourage you to read this book and experience it yourself.
Rating:
Summary: Enough is Enough!
Review: After over a month of trying to finish this book, I've decided to put an end to it. No doubt Russo is a talented writer for this story is written in clear, near flawless prose which doesn't pose much of a challenge to the reader. However, the story simply did not engage me to the extent that I felt compelled to finish it. The novel revolves around the residents of Empire Falls, Maine, formerly a thriving industrial town that appears to have fallen apart when its primary employer closes his plants. The characters and story line are only marginally interesting. I decided on three separate occasions to dump the book, but each time I vowed to give it one more chance - after all it did win the Pulitzer. After 333 pages I simply cannot keep going. It is clear to me that the story is as boring as the residents of the fictitious town. The story offers a laugh here and there but it doesn't make up for page after page of uninteresting characters. While Russo does offer some note worthy insight on human interactions by delving into the psyche of the various characters, it is not sufficient to compensate for a story line that lacks momentum. Can't recommend this one, but I will check out some of Russo's other work.
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