Empire Falls

Russo loves both men and women and savors their many flaws as well as their virtues, like a modern-day Tolstoy. He's effortlessly funny, and describes the human condition with marvelous acuity and tolerance. I'm going to read everything he has written.

Interesting what different people think after reading the same book, isn't it?
I really enjoyed Empire Falls. I found the characters wondefully developed, and the narrative pleasantly paced. I eagerly anticipated each reading session. OK, yeah, in retrospect perhaps the ending WAS a bit too melodramatic. But at the time, hey... I was [pulled] in and enjoyed every page.
Strongly recommended.

Incredible character development, description of life in a small town, and their dependency on a specific business for their survival. A story that is intricately, beautifully woven, whose characters are real people with real issues to confront.

You don't use watercolors on canvas...a little overtly self-analytical, a little too cleverly wrought ... otherwise much better than most novels, quite a bit better in fact. Just try writing one yourself and you'll learn to really appreciate Russo, tho this is not his best IMHO...

I loved the writing style and character development and Russo's deep understanding of human relationships. But nothing much happened for the longest time! It was kind of like a radio soap opera script.

I could identify with the location and characters but found it hard to like many of them. The story had lots of secrets embedded in it but it took a long time for the essence of it all to come out. I'm glad I read it but it will not be considered one of my favorites.

Loved and cared for the characters Tick and her parents. Laughed at many others. Wanted to care for priest, but the novel abandoned him. Still, this novel kept me wanting to get back to it. Thanks RR.

The setting for this novel is the dying mill town of Empire Falls, Maine. The protagonist, Miles Roby, briefly escapes to go to college, but returns for the sake of his dying mother to the same old friends, poverty and unresolved issues. The story proceeds at a snail's pace until halfway through. This reader had difficulty caring about any of the characters because they were all over the top: Mrs. Whiting and her cat were too evil, Max Roby, the patriarch, too much of a scalawag, Tick, the daughter, too timid, John Voss, the outcast, too weird, Grace Roby, the mother, too saintly and the list goes on. Written in 2001, this work secured Russo the Pulitzer Prize, but in this reader's opinion, NOBODY'S FOOL is a better constructed work.

I so enjoyed this story. Especially appealing was the depiction of such a array of characters, a sometimes biting portrayal that also allowed the readers to feel compassion for the people of the book.

This is a good novel to read, good characters, good description of town life in the US. However, it is quite long and can become tedious. Personal relationships is the main theme of the novel, but it turns it a bit static.

I previously owned this book in paperback and loaned it out. Didn't get it back and was alway looking to find it in hard cover anyway. I am delighted to have it in my collection of favorites. Thanks so much and in great condition. Love the store. Thanks

After reading other reviews, I'm getting the impression that the publishing house slipped up and printed some unrelated work to send me. I am in the middle of this book and finding it very amusing. Other reviewers seem to be focusing on the struggles of the characters and I am thoroughly engaged by the humor I see. (The scene in the diner with Max, Miles and Jimmy made me laugh at least 3 times.)
I was disappointed that we didn't learn more about Whiting men but that's OK.

The first several chapters are so slow, and I doubt the book would have been published if it wasn't for Richard Russo's previous successful novels. I am very glad that I continued because it is a superb book. Once I got past the opening chapters there is excellent character development with a narrative and tension that build throughout the book. Relationships intertwine in a small town, Empire Falls, with Russo using each chapter to focus on different individual's personality and community perspective. rspective, Tensions builds throughout the book knowing that a major event will occur. Each characters personal frustrations, need to vent, or act out bring color to the story. Through each character Russo manages to introduce discussions on religion and philosophy in a very natural manner. Building high expectations dropping ideas for how the story ends, Russo manages to deliver a realistic surprise ending.

I absolutely love this book! borrowed this book from my local library at first and after reading it I just feel like i have to have it in my book collection. It is not only worth buying and reading but also reread again and again!

Our book club was mixed on this. Many people did not attempt to stay with it. It's complex and if you stay with it, you will be rewarded. Russo covers many subjects with his characters. His characters are very "real" and you get to know them well. I understand what this won a Pulitzer prize.

Not Russo's best. The writing, of course , is wonderful, but the characters are rather ugly and not as endearing as in his other novels. He just got a lot better and a lot less angry, so that later books displayed much more compassion for the human condition. If you read this, read it before you read the rest.

Empire Falls gets better with each page. What a great study of human nature. The book may not be exciting for some because it is about small town life, but the writing is so clever it's well worth your time.

A good book with intrigue that evolves throughout the story line. Characters are believable in their context. Only downside comment is that it wasn't one of those books that you just can't put down.

The elegance of this 2002 Pulitzer Prize winning novel can be described best by one of his characters, teenager Tick, who decides "just because things happen slow doesn't mean you'll be ready for them." Miles, the central character of Russo's story, runs the Empire Grill in economically depressed Empire Falls, Maine. He ekes out a life hoping for parity: that his loyalty to the grill and to its wealthy owner Mrs. Whiting will result in his owning the business, that his patience with his daughter Tick will be rewarded with openness, that his soon-to-be-ex wife Janine will find what was lacking in him in her fiancé Walt, that his youthful failure to escape the town will have some redemption. But the complexity of Mrs. Whiting's interest in him remains out of his grasp, and the dynamics of Tick's life are largely hidden from him. Janine has a growing need for exactly what she hated so much about Miles. Worst of all, Miles sees himself as destined to remain a loser who gives and never gets. Russo explores the storylines of all these characters and others, allowing the reader intimate glimpses into their lives. In Empire Falls, relationships between husbands and wives and between parents and children are never simple. Russo's characters suffer in ways that are passionately ordinary - that is, until everything funnels into one explosive, extraordinary moment. I literally had to put the book down to absorb this climatic scene. That this scene was both prepared for and totally shocking speaks to the author's skill.
I cannot recommend this book highly enough. The characters are lively and sympathetic - even the ones that might be called villains - and despite the quiet nature of the narrative, it is a difficult book to put down.

Empire Falls was recommended to me by a literate friend. I no longer enjoy soap operas about dysfunctional characters in dead-end towns.
This a great book for readers who have trouble falling asleep. I sometimes nap several times during slow (really slow) sections.