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Title: Empire Falls by Richard Russo ISBN: 0-375-72640-3 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 12 April, 2002 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.97 (356 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Real Life, Warts and All
Comment: This is the first Richard Russo book I have ever read. A friend told me, between fits of giggling, how funny some of the scenes were in "Straight Man", one of his previous works, and convinced me to give Russo a try. I picked up a copy of "Empire Falls" and recently finished it just before it won the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for fiction. At first, I was very surprised at this award, but the more I've thought about it, this does make sense. Russo in "Empire Falls" has perfectly captured a snippet of real, everyday life. There are what appear to be character development flaws, loose ends, unaddressed questions, and plenty of the mundane aspects of daily life that are open to criticism. However, despite what Hollywood shows us, THIS is what 98% of reality is like for all us "regular folks" and Russo has described this imperfection superbly.
The central character in this book is Miles Roby. He grew up in the dying fictional mill town of Empire Falls in central Maine and has never quite been able to escape from it. He is now 42 and running the Empire Grill hoping to succeed enough by hanging on to allow his beloved daughter nicknamed Tick to escape completely like he almost did. The cast of everyday characters unfolds from this common premise. Some are annoying (the Silver Fox), some endearing (Bea and David), some downright disturbing (John Voss), and some all-too-familiar (Max). You will feel anyone of them could be your neighbor, co-worker, or even a relative! Some metaphor's are obvious like the "weight of the World" in the form of Tick's huge school backpack, Miles' ever suffering mother's name of "Grace", or even Francine Robideaux as the Devil. Some are puzzling like the waitress-for-life Charlene or the banished to the boonies liberal Roman Catholic priest Father Mark. Small (all?) towns all have their little secrets and Empire Falls is no exception. Most of the details Russo so ably describes link together the inhabitants of this town in some way over the years leading to a not so surprising explosive conclusion. You can almost feel it coming through the pages as we bob and bump along in the current of life together.
There are many things the reader could initially want to criticize about "Empire Falls", not the least of which would be the seeming obviousness of the title. Upon thinking about some of these gripes, I couldn't help but notice that many of them are things that bother me about my own experience in life. I realized I wanted to get on Miles' case at times for the same character issues that occasionally dog my own character! It takes one to know one, let him who is without sin cast the first stone. Russo can cut alarmingly close to the bone! Keep this in mind when you read through this fine book as I believe it will help you in seeing beyond what appear to be flaws in "Empire Falls". I'm not saying this book is pure literary perfection, but it sure is a great read! Highly recommended!
Rating: 4
Summary: This book makes me hungry
Comment: When I started this book I kept expecting some kind of exciting plot twist or huge event to occur and, in that light, this book left me dissatisfied. I eventually discovered that the genus in this novel was not the story itself but in the interaction between the characters. Empire Falls is appealing because of Russo's amazing ability to create lifelike and interesting characters. I found myself easily relating to many of the characters because Russo's talent for describing human emotions had me engrossed. Russo is very good at writing humorous but realistic stories within the plot. For example, when Miles was twelve, his father, after bring pressured by the neighbors to repaint his house, took all the leftover paint from a variety of paint jobs and used them all on his residence creating a multi-colored home. Russo filled the book with these kinds of humorous stories which kept my interest.
This book is about people living in a small abandoned mill town, in Maine. Most of the people in the town have lived there their whole lives. Their families go back for many generations. You not only learn about the characters themselves but about their families which helps the reader know why the characters are the way they are.
The characters Russo developed reminded me of real people. People I know. For example everyone knows a Max Roby, an old dirty judgmental drunk, or a Miles Roby, a man too nice for his own good, a Janine Roby, self-centered woman in her mid-life crisis, or Tick Roby the quiet artsy teen who avoids interaction with adults, on and on. To some degree the characters were very stereotypical but he portrayed them very well. I found myself laughing out loud especially when it reminded me of my own acquaintances.
I had a hard time holding my attention to this book even though I enjoyed it while reading it; I was never held in suspense and found it hard to pick up. Even thought this really isn't my type of book, it was very well written and I found myself falling in love with the characters. This book also made me hungry for burgers.
Rating: 1
Summary: Hit me with this book!
Comment: Why did I buy this tome??? It was shallow and pedantic.
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Title: Middlesex : A Novel by Jeffrey Eugenides ISBN: 0312422156 Publisher: Picador USA Pub. Date: 16 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: Bel Canto: A Novel by Ann Patchett ISBN: 0060934417 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 16 April, 2002 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: Nobody's Fool by Richard Russo ISBN: 0679753338 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 12 April, 1994 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Straight Man : A Novel by RICHARD RUSSO ISBN: 0375701907 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 09 June, 1998 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon ISBN: 0312282990 Publisher: Picador USA Pub. Date: 25 August, 2001 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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