What do You think about Empire Falls (2002)?
This is one of those rare occasions when I wish GoodReads were to offer half-star ratings, because then I could give "Empire Falls" four and a half stars. It was almost a five-star novel in my estimation, but I had a few quibbles with it. It's nevertheless an excellent book, and one I don't feel much need to review at length; my friend Jennifer, who both recommended the book to me and lent me her copy, has already written a brilliant assessment. Her review is at http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...So what are my quibbles? They're not many, really, but I felt that, at times, Russo laid too much out for his readers. There is, for example, a scene in which David Roby details for his brother Miles the personality traits each sibling got from their father and which he received from their mother. It felt like something Russo should have allowed us, his readers, to figure out for ourselves. I wanted Russo to have more trust in his audience. Also, the book seemed to wrap up a bit too neatly; the lives Russo depicted were certainly messy, and they seemed to demand a less tidy conclusion.Still, the book, overall, is a staggering achievement. Russo has an amazing eye for the human condition -- how the way our parents raise us often determines our directions us for the rest of our lives, even if we think we're smart enough to see those risks and do our damnedest to choose our own paths anyhow. (The novel feels, at times, like a book-length meditation on the poem "This Be The Verse," by Philip Larkin: "They fuck you up, your mum and dad. / The may not mean to, but they do. They fill you with the faults they had / And add some extra, just for you.") On a personal note, it was interesting to read Richard Russo's book at the same time I read George Eliot's "Middlemarch." Both, by depicting the lives of tightly knit communities -- the births, deaths love affairs, marriages, educations, careers and dreams both failed and accomplished of the members of those communities -- get at the bigger truths of all our lives. Both Eliot and Russo have a gift for the sardonic, and make us develop an affection for characters who, objectively speaking, we should not like. There's no way we should want to spend time with Russo's Max Roby, yet Russo is such a talented writer that we not only suffer him but develop as much begrudging affection for him as his sons Miles and David have.I've already written more about "Empire Falls" than I intended to. Jennifer nailed it, and you should read her review instead. Then read the book.
—Daniel
After a bit more than four chapters: I continue to have a hard time with this. I find it extremely depressing. There is humor, but it is not the kind I like. It is sarcastic, mean humor where you are supposed to laugh at the stupidity or crude behavior of people. I protest; I like to laugh with people in happiness, not at people for our weaknesses. There is a priest that is demented and he wants to hear confessionals so he can hear what is going on and then he tells others. Now I don't think that is nice. Sure it might happen in the real world but how often? There is Miles' alcoholic father who continually throws out cruel, snide criticisms of his son and others. Miles' mother has died of cancer and her death was painful and horrible for all. I find this depressing. I am not avoiding the reality of life, but what is the purpose of sinking myself into the worst of man's behavior.Mid-life crises kind of bore me. None of this is a spoiler since I have not gone far into the book.Neither have I even mentioned the prologue which was utterly disgusting. I don't find it appetizing to read about a decomposing moose, even if it leads C.B. to make a foolish decision - BTW, here I am just guessing. Let me point out that I never shy away from gruesome events in history, but what is the point here in reading about how people behave so cruelly to one another? What does that teach me? There is absolutely nothing exceptional about the writing; the author's ability to depict an emotion, a place or an event is just plain ordinary. This received a Pulitzer. Would somebody who loves this book explain to me why I should continue reading. I just do not understand. SHOULD I continue? I need advice.*****************************After 14 chapters(about half of the book):So I continued; several said that Tick is a fabulous character. She plays a larger and larger role starting in Part Two. She cannot save this book for me. I find the humor not to my taste. I find the characters black or white - cardboard characters. It is simple to make two piles, the good ones and the bad ones. I cannot accept such characterization. People are complicated; they cannot be sorted in this manner. And the dialogs sound like those perfect for a popular weekly television series. Perfect sitcom dialogs.In desperation I went and read spoiler reviews...... No, what is coming is not up my alley either. Enough is enough. I will be reading no more books by Richard Russo. This is my third and last try. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Ron Mclarty. That was the only thing that was exceptional. Great narration. His intonation perfectly matched the lines. So if you want to read this book don't hesitate to choose the audio format and this narrator.
—Chrissie
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.
—David Lentz
