Empire Falls | Richard Russo

Empire Falls | Richard Russo | Mostly a bored...with a little wisdom here and there

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Empire Falls

	Empire Falls Richard Russo Vintage, 2002 - 496 pages average customer review:based on 477 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

With Empire Falls Richard Russo cements his reputation as one of America?s most compelling and compassionate storytellers.

Miles Roby has been slinging burgers at the Empire Grill for 20 years, a job that cost him his college education and much of his self-respect. What keeps him there? It could be his bright, sensitive daughter Tick, who needs all his help surviving the local high school. Or maybe it?s Janine, Miles? soon-to-be ex-wife, who?s taken up with a noxiously vain health-club proprietor. Or perhaps it?s the imperious Francine Whiting, who owns everything in town?and seems to believe that ?everything? includes Miles himself. In Empire Falls Richard Russo delves deep into the blue-collar heart of America in a work that overflows with hilarity, heartache, and grace.

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Thoughtful

On the surface this is a book about an average guy who is stuck in a rut in an average small town. But when you delve deeper, you see that the book is about how pivotal choices and events shape who we are and where we end up in life. The characters in this book are memorable, realistic, and well developed. They are masterfully woven together to create an engaging story. However, the story moves slowly because there are a lot of necessary details to the story. I would not recommend this book to anyone looking for a quick, entertaining read that requires no thought. Much like real life, some parts of the story were humorous while others were tragic and sad.

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Mostly a bored...with a little wisdom here and there

Reviewing this novel almost requires two rating systems-one for how much one enjoys this book, and one for the book itself. I give a 2/10 for the first, and a 7/10 for the second. From a casual reader's perspective, the 483-page textblock was a pain to read. I found myself losing focus multiple times during readings and by the time I finished I felt like I had just ran a marathon-one that I was forced to participate in. The main character Miles was one of the most aggravating characters I have ever met in fiction. Ironically, the character I sympathized most with was the one portrayed as the greatest villain in the story. I'm not sure whether that was the exact effect Mr. Russo was going for...

That being said, there were random bursts of humor here and there that made me literally laugh out loud. The dramatic/tragic ending did make me contemplate for about five minutes after I put down the book, but then I preceded to carry out the other mundane tasks of everyday life wjth little memory of what I had just read.

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Readable

Life in a derelict New England milltown. Readable? Yes, but not mesmerizing. Hard to argue with the Pulitzer Prize, but, frankly, the characters were weak-kneed and not particularly likeable; kept hoping someone would show a little spunk but it didn't happen.

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