Empire Falls by Richard Russo Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Empire Falls
Book Review: A Sense of Personal Failure
Summary: 5 Stars
Empire Falls has been losing population due to the closing of the mills. Miles Roby runs a diner for the widow of the rich man and previous owner of the mills, C.B. Whiting. Miles is to receive the Empire Grill in the event of the death of Francine Whiting. Miles's father had been a house painter. School friends let him know that where he had lived had been labeled the joke house. Miles is separated from his wife. He has a daughter in high school, a brother who now helps out at the grill, and a father who still embarasses him. In the Key West the father, Max, is often mistaken for a local, a conch. Miles is forty two years old and, according to his brother, he is wasting his life. His mother-in-law, Bea, feels that he is the nicest, kindest man in town.
During Miles's childhood Max was jailed for being a town nuisance. The family's cars were repossessed so often he had once asked his mother if his father, who was absent frequently, had been repossessed. Miles had nearly failed driver's ed. because he had no car to practice on and had nearly killed the instructor. His mother's employer, Mrs. Whiting, had offered to be his coach and to use her Lincoln for practice. Miles knew there was a price--friendship with the socially-nil crippled Cindy Whiting. Over time the Whitings seemed to become his mother's other family.
At a football game Miles learns from a friend, the high school principal, his daughter's art work has been selected for a regional competition. Miles sees his mother's photograph in a newspaper column of the 'remember when' sort showing her in the shirt factory where she had been employed at the time. A catastrophe, I will leave to the prospective reader to discover and delineate, overtakes the characters just prior to the time Miles begins to discern some of the factors determining his personal circumstances and fate. The book invokes powerful emotion in the reader. If the ending seems too melodramatic for some tastes, assuredly the journey to that point is delightful.
Book Review: A Small Town American Great Expectations
Summary: 4 Stars
While I felt that this book perfectly captured the familiar feeling of small town America, I do have to agree with many of the reviewers and admit that the beginning of this novel is very slow. Russo spends the first third of the novel setting the tone, and the action picks up towards the end, where the book does hurtle to its conclusion. However, the comparisons to Charles Dickens' Great Expectations are there. Mrs. Whiting is the Ms. Havisham of the novel - in her gazebo, the mysterious patron of Pip - or Miles - who does squander the gifts she provides. David and Charlene- who else but Joe and Biddy? Herbert Pocket become the principal of the local high school in Otto Meyer. While I may or may not be off base here, I think that the novel is a worthwhile read.Book Review: A Terrific Book
Summary: 4 Stars
Richard Russo won the Pulitzer Prize for best fiction for Empire Falls in 2002. After examining other reviews on this book I discovered that whether Empire Falls was deserving of such an honor is highly debatable. Though my validity is lacking as to qualify me to make a claim on this matter, seeing as I have read few of the fiction novels published in 2002, I do believe Empire Falls to be a wonderful book filled with layers of understanding and excellent character development. One of Russo's greatest triumphs in Empire Falls is making the average man such an interesting person. The book centers on Miles Roby, a simple man who lives a fairly bland life. Russo's success is developing depth to such a bare character. Often characters become interesting because of events or dramas they experience, such as gruesome accidents, passionate affairs, or homicides. Russo creates interest by describing his characters in a way to involve such humanistic qualities. Miles becomes someone easily related to because of his personality not his dramas.
Another terrific quality of Empire Falls is Russo's use of metaphors. Throughout the book he plants seeds of understanding such that if they go unnoticed to the reader they will not be at a disadvantage yet if they happen to pick them up they add a great flavor to the text. Some are more obvious than others but each one adds something unique to the book. Also many are open to personal interpretation, such as Miles fear of heights which seemingly develops mysteriously when he matures into an adult.
Empire Falls is a book stocked with characters of the most tangible kinds, and a plot line to savor. When the book seems to be dragging it helps to attend to the character development and Russo's use of metaphors. Whether Empire Falls is worthy of the Pulitzer is beyond my speculation but it is a brilliant book worth the read.
Book Review: A Triumph
Summary: 5 Stars
The brilliance and depth of Russo's skill is best observed by a simple fact. Almost every chapter can easily stand alone as a wonderful short story. His character dance on the page with each other and the reader, presented in a way that makes them come alive with all their strengths and faults. His protaganist gripped my interest and emotions from the very begining and carried me through the novel.Further, Russo crafts fabulous subplots, pealing back layer after layer to reveal the depth of his work. We experience the small town. We feel their triumphs and mourn for their losses. The whole package comes together into a near perfect novel. In short, every lover of fiction will savor this momentous work and want to read it twice.
Book Review: A Very Engaging Read
Summary: 4 Stars
Empire Falls, like most Pulitzer Prize winners that I have read, is very place and plot centered. Russo is very adept at painting a picture of a small, blue collar New England town that is slipping from prosperity into oblivion. This slip portrayed in both the town and its citizens. Following the plight of the whole cast of charatcers was fascinating and engaging.
However, the plot was rather predictable. I was disappointed that so many of the twists were predictable, making them lose some of their punch. Also, the ending left me with an incomplete feeling - and then what happened?
I definitely recommend reading Empire Falls. It is a fast read and very well written. Unfortunately, for me, it left me feeling a bit unfulfilled.