Book Title:

Empire Falls

Author:

Richard Russo

Reviewer:

 Andrew Rice

Summary:

 This novel by a Pulitzer Prize winning author takes place in the quiet town of Empire Falls, Maine. Most of the novel follows Miles Roby, a divorced father who runs a diner. The main character, Miles, is seeking more independence in a town that has defined him his whole life. He is devoted to his daughter, Tick, who throughout the book needs his advice to help her through high school and all of its pains. Most of the time, Miles is uncertain as of how to help her because he was not a girl growing up. During the course of the book, Janine, Miles' ex-wife, starts a relationship with a health-club owner. Francine Whiting, is another character and is the richest woman in town. Her family is what has kept the town running for most of its history. As the book moves along the characters are established more, especially the ones that frequent the Empire Grill, Miles' diner. The novel takes these characters and gives a 'soap opera' feel. However, it dives deeper than a soap opera because it gives history of the characters and how they came to be the people they are in the present time in the novel.

Opinion:

 Although at times compelling and at others interesting, Empire Falls isn't enough for me to call it a great book. Russo adds a lot of great background stories (which are in italics) with enough humor to keep the reader content for a little while. However, a paragraph later you are reading another boring set of pages. If you get past the mundane qualities of 200+ pages, there is still a glimpse of a good, entertaining novel. In conclusion, if Richard Russo did a final edit of his novel and extracted about 150 pages, it would definitely be worth the read.

Rating:

 3 out of 5 stars