Empire Falls by Richard Russo
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Book Reviews of Empire Falls
Book Review: Wicked good.
Summary: 5 Stars
Empire Falls is a beautifully crafted, inventive and substantive character-driven novel. Having lived in college for four years in a milltown in Central Maine, in places, the novel seemed almost more realistic than the actuality of dwelling in the fabric of the milltown. That's possible only because Richard Russo has a talent for making both his vividly sketched blue-collar and blue-blooded characters really come alive. The credible story line is unafraid to assume some creative risks and the result is breath-taking imagery that lingers. Russo really succeeds in building a small town of his unique characters and tells the story so that we see them realistically through the eyes of the fellow citizens of Empire Falls. The storyline holds more than its fair share of surprises with a truly inventive twist at the close of the novel. The author's sanguine sense of humor carries one along as the plot gathers steam and the different threads become entangled in realistic and usually satisfying resolutions. Russo may owe homage to Elizabeth Strout for his portrait of ordinary life in a Maine milltown. The river itself ultimately proves itself a formidable player in the cast of Empire Falls. Russo seems to sum-up the lives of his characters this way: "Lives are rivers. We imagine we can direct their paths, though in the end there's but one destination, and we end up being true to ourselves only because we have no choice." Empire Falls offers living proof that character is destiny. Perhaps, that's one of many reasons why this novel is so "wicked good" that it justly earned a Pulitzer Prize.Book Review: Small Town Life with Rich, Believable Characters
Summary: 5 Stars
I absolutely adored this book. It is set in Empire Falls, Maine ~~ a small town so typical of many (including mine) that have lost industry, jobs, and are dying a slow death. Richard Russo captures that decline with such rich, delightful characters you feel as if you know them. I loved the setting of the Empire Falls Grill and all the "regulars" who frequent and work there. The book shows complex, yet close relationships between mother and daughter, brother and brother, and, most importantly, father and son. I loved the character of Max ~~ he is so well written and just comes alive as "the character we won't ever forget" (we all know one!). Max lives his life without a care in the world, doing what he wants, answering to no one, much to the chagrin of his son, Miles. Yet, you fall in love with Miles and Max both. Miles, the always steady, dependable son and Max, always the ornery, frustrating and embarassing father. Yet the love between them is apparent. My favorite part of the book (without giving anything away) was Miles and Max's drive down a dirt road and coming upon a box blocking their way. It is a wonderful, laughable, well written segment and I was surprised Richard Russo left it out of the HBO sreenplay (as always, good ~ but never as good as the book)! I could rave on and on about this book; I highly recommend it to anyone who loves a good page turner with wonderful characters and the art of knowing how to live the small town life. It's been my favoite read of the year. It's well worth reading ~~~~ just to get to know Max! :-) Great job, Richard Russo. This one is a keeper!Book Review: "That's Not Supposed to Happen Here."
Summary: 5 Stars
Set in a small town of rural Maine, this story focuses on about a dozen of its citizens, young and old, most of whom work at or frequent its somewhat greasy spoon of a diner; and it is not an overstatement to say that the novel's appeal and strength derive from their attentive development by their creator. One needs only to read to a page midway before the key feeling hits, the feeling that you, too, are in the diner, and that you could easily contribute some dialogue of your own to the conversations, simply because you really are getting to know these people. Thus, this reviewer is in agreement with others who applaud the book's numerous characterizations. But I disagree with those reviewers who see the story's ending as rushed and indicative that Russo was unsure how to bring an end to his story. More, I suspect that a fine piece of craftsmanship was overlooked by these readers. Remaining outside the diner and community would make it appear that the ending is rushed and that the author is guilty of a terribly impatient act. But immerse oneself in the verisimilitude and the descriptive word becomes "surprising." And isn't that what the ending is to every character? Isn't that what similar events are to real people in real small towns? When Russo introduces the characters germane to the ending, its possiblity comes into play then and there. Moreover, the author switches tense from past to present in the chapters that empathasize these same people, as if to say that while there is lesson in the first, there is warning in the second. To miss this suggests a complacency of perusal.Book Review: Russo 's Poignant Tale of Small Town Life Is Rewarding Read
Summary: 5 Stars
This is my first novel by Richard Russo and I was captivated by his ability to breathe life into a diverse group of characters. From protagonist Miles Roby to his irascible father Max, his hauntingly sad mother Grace, his nemesis Mrs. Whiting, his touching daughter Tick, and many more, we are treated to people described so vividly they come to life and seem like the people we might know and want to either hang out with or avoid at all costs if we lived in Empire Falls.There are too many plot lines to detail, but they all are brought together nicely and no reader is left with unanswered questions thanks to an interesting epilogue.
All the problems of seeking a better life but being relegated to the blue collar life of a mill town whose mill has long closed, are embodied in Miles Roby, reluctant proprietor of the town's grill. In the opening pages he sees his teen-age daughter Tick walking home from school with a hunched back weighed down by her symbolic backpack representing all the problems she faces---the dissolution of her parents marriage, a stepfather she despises, a widening emotional gap with her mother, the dreaded loss of friends and social standing, and being coupled with the school's most tortured and disturbed student.
The story moves slowly but the characters are so richly drawn you will be totally engrossed and hard pressed to put this one down. When the story does reach its climax, there are plenty of shocks and surprises and a realization that life is not perfect and its flaws are with us forever to either cope with or be overwhelmed by.
Book Review: Wonderful and moving
Summary: 5 Stars
Miles Roby is a middle-aged father in the throes of a divorce from his wife of 20 odd years, stuck running a greasy spoon in Empire Falls, Maine. The once-booming company town is now in serious decline, as the company that sustained it has closed the textile mill and related industrial plants. Yet, the widow of C.B. Whiting and heir to the Company fortunes still owns the town and seemingly everyone in it.This novel is about Miles' predicament. He has promised to run the Empire Grill until Mrs. Whiting dies, at which time it will be his. Or will she out-live him? His soon-to-be ex-wife is engaged to be married to an insufferable egotist who is arrogant without cause. He would love to have his daughter, Tick, come live with him, but there is no privacy in the loft above the grill. Meanwhile, Miles is plagued by a neer-do-well father and the unrequited love of Mrs. Whiting's disabled daughter, Cindy. It seems there is no way out for Miles, even though the Grill has begun to show signs of a resurrection due to the ideas of brother, David.
Empire Falls is poignant, funny, literate and moving. It is truly an exceptional novel. The characters are beautifully rendered. Protagonist Miles is all too human as are most of us. Even the "villains" possess redeeming human qualities. The story is filled with twists, turns, flashbacks and insights into the human predicament.
This it not a thiller or a page turner. It is a meat and potatoes novel that will stay with you long after you have closed the last page.