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kessler21's review against another edition
3.0
Empire Falls is a small, dilapidated town in Maine. The whole town is owned by one lady, Mrs White. Miles Roby, who runs a grill owned by Mrs. White, is getting a divorce because his wife left him for the fit, older, obnoxious gym owner. His daughter is trying to cope with all of this along with her own school problems. Miles brother is a recovering rebel who works at the grill with him.
This story reminds me of [b:A Spool of Blue Thread|22501028|A Spool of Blue Thread|Anne Tyler|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1451435883s/22501028.jpg|41711673] but instead of just a family dynamic, its a whole town that is plagued by the decisions of each member and the decisions of the past.
I didn't like any character. At time I felt for Miles but overall it feels as if Russo tried so hard not to make his characters one dimensional that he made them all too imperfect. I didn't like the portrayal of women and the fact that almost everyone in the town has been or is getting a divorce and then the story seemed to stand still at times. I felt as if this has been discussed before. Russo built his relationships then went back and rebuilt them again and again.
It was okay and I think the problems with Miles daughter were powerful but ended in an unbelievable way.
I would vote for this book to be cut in half or at least by a third. Not horrible, buy not great.
This story reminds me of [b:A Spool of Blue Thread|22501028|A Spool of Blue Thread|Anne Tyler|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1451435883s/22501028.jpg|41711673] but instead of just a family dynamic, its a whole town that is plagued by the decisions of each member and the decisions of the past.
I didn't like any character. At time I felt for Miles but overall it feels as if Russo tried so hard not to make his characters one dimensional that he made them all too imperfect. I didn't like the portrayal of women and the fact that almost everyone in the town has been or is getting a divorce and then the story seemed to stand still at times. I felt as if this has been discussed before. Russo built his relationships then went back and rebuilt them again and again.
It was okay and I think the problems with Miles daughter were powerful but ended in an unbelievable way.
I would vote for this book to be cut in half or at least by a third. Not horrible, buy not great.
doctorwithoutboundaries's review against another edition
3.0
Winner of the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
My displeasure with this book is the fault of my expectations. I went into this expecting an indictment of capitalism, a realisation of Luddite fears, a portrait of a hollowed-out middle America that has crumbled under the enormous weight of globalist greed. But the town of Empire Falls, with its empty shell of a factory, once the provider of jobs and purpose, is backdrop and not the pulsing heart of this story. In other words, I thought that this would have that something extra that Nick Drnaso’s ‘Sabrina’ lacked. However, my anticipation of a novel that speaks to the great frustration and rage amongst the working class was thwarted.
What I got instead, and I don’t know how else to put this, was the whitest book I’d read in a long time. For a while after that, I couldn’t stop telling people just how glaring the lack of diversity felt! It may be because it’s 2023 or the kind of fiction that I now appreciate, but the book seemed extremely out-of-touch with reality. Despite that, I’ll confess (and the power of confession/redemption is a strong theme throughout the book) that it had many staples of small town life. To the writer’s credit, these are wrought masterfully, with characters so alive that they jump off the page and will remain far more memorable to me than characters from other Pulitzer winners that I have loved better but remember less, such as [b: Olive Kitteridge|57765917|Olive Kitteridge|Elizabeth Strout|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1618687907l/57765917._SY75_.jpg|3263906].
Russo draws out their internal conflicts, their softness, shows us how they became who they are. So, while you’re bound to empathise with the do-gooder protagonist Miles Roby, he also makes you pity the unlikable characters of Jimmy Minty and John Voss. I use the word pity in the Biblical sense, as an extension of grace, because the book is unquestionably a meditation on Christian values, if not overtly so. To me, the denouement was unearned in the narrative, but by going there, Russo enables conversation on poverty and disaffection in the US heartland. This is apart from all the nuggets of wisdom you’ll find about marriage, family, love, resisting passivity and defying inertia. Most of all, the book is about crawling out of a quagmire of disappointment and missed opportunities. This particular passage hit home, and how:
“After all, what was the whole wide world but a place for people to yearn for their heart’s impossible desires, for those desires to become entrenched in defiance of logic, plausibility, and even the passage of time, as eternal as polished marble.”
My displeasure with this book is the fault of my expectations. I went into this expecting an indictment of capitalism, a realisation of Luddite fears, a portrait of a hollowed-out middle America that has crumbled under the enormous weight of globalist greed. But the town of Empire Falls, with its empty shell of a factory, once the provider of jobs and purpose, is backdrop and not the pulsing heart of this story. In other words, I thought that this would have that something extra that Nick Drnaso’s ‘Sabrina’ lacked. However, my anticipation of a novel that speaks to the great frustration and rage amongst the working class was thwarted.
What I got instead, and I don’t know how else to put this, was the whitest book I’d read in a long time. For a while after that, I couldn’t stop telling people just how glaring the lack of diversity felt! It may be because it’s 2023 or the kind of fiction that I now appreciate, but the book seemed extremely out-of-touch with reality. Despite that, I’ll confess (and the power of confession/redemption is a strong theme throughout the book) that it had many staples of small town life. To the writer’s credit, these are wrought masterfully, with characters so alive that they jump off the page and will remain far more memorable to me than characters from other Pulitzer winners that I have loved better but remember less, such as [b: Olive Kitteridge|57765917|Olive Kitteridge|Elizabeth Strout|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1618687907l/57765917._SY75_.jpg|3263906].
Russo draws out their internal conflicts, their softness, shows us how they became who they are. So, while you’re bound to empathise with the do-gooder protagonist Miles Roby, he also makes you pity the unlikable characters of Jimmy Minty and John Voss. I use the word pity in the Biblical sense, as an extension of grace, because the book is unquestionably a meditation on Christian values, if not overtly so. To me, the denouement was unearned in the narrative, but by going there, Russo enables conversation on poverty and disaffection in the US heartland. This is apart from all the nuggets of wisdom you’ll find about marriage, family, love, resisting passivity and defying inertia. Most of all, the book is about crawling out of a quagmire of disappointment and missed opportunities. This particular passage hit home, and how:
“He’d meant to forgive his brother, maybe even imagined he had. He’d also meant to learn to trust him, but instead merely fell into the habit of waiting for him to fuck up again.”
bookworm_713's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
kathieboucher's review against another edition
hopeful
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Richard Russo excels at world-building. This story weaves together multiple generations of multiple families in Empire Falls, Maine, with deep character-building that makes it all so real. This is a book to move into and stay for a while, and I sure did--took me nearly three weeks to plow my way through.
m_klevenberg's review against another edition
3.0
The story of a few generations of families in Empire Falls, Maine. I enjoyed the story, it was unpredictable and the characters were great. I feel as though the book could have kept going, but I suppose that’s the beauty of it.
erickibler4's review against another edition
4.0
I liked Bridge of Sighs better.
I think I’d have liked a better ending or epilogue to tie up loose ends. Whatever became of John Voss? Did Cindy Whiting find her happiness? Did David and Charlene’s relationship work out? What bequests were in Mrs. Whiting’s will? Was Miles ever able to buy that bookstore?
I felt as though the story set up such questions to be answered, at least partially.
Still, a very solid read.
I think I’d have liked a better ending or epilogue to tie up loose ends. Whatever became of John Voss? Did Cindy Whiting find her happiness? Did David and Charlene’s relationship work out? What bequests were in Mrs. Whiting’s will? Was Miles ever able to buy that bookstore?
I felt as though the story set up such questions to be answered, at least partially.
Still, a very solid read.
cfw27's review against another edition
emotional
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
A well-observed small town story. The characters are extremely well-written, although the plot is slightly predictable.
kaylin_means's review against another edition
4.0
A book club pick, I'm not sure this is a book I ever would have heard of or picked up, but I'm so glad I did. It was warm and atmospheric and the characters were complex and you just wanted to know how things would end up for them. 4 stars.
shanniecakes's review against another edition
2.0
The novel progresses very slowly but concludes at a frenetic pace, which didn't bother me as I was tired of the small town melodrama by page 200. A beach-read Pulitzer.