Empire Falls by Richard Russo

Second reading; first read about 2003


What a treat it is sometimes to read a novel without any gimmicks or post-modern flourishes, without any pretentious exhibition of the author's scholarship and/or cleverness, without any deep philosophical musings. Sometimes it is refreshing to enjoy an interesting, well-told story about people who seem like the people you really know, all with faults and weaknesses, but most with some redeeming qualities, as well. If you would like to read a book like that, read Empire Falls.

The large cast of characters here includes Miles Roby, a mild-mannered and self-sacrificing manger of a restaurant who has dedicated his life to doing what is "right"; his soon-to-be ex-wife Janine; his bright 17-year-old daughter Tick; his reformed-alcholic brother David; his reprobate father Max; and, although she is dead when the novel begins, his mother Grace, who shaped his life. Many other of the townspeople are included, with each one being made unique and knowable through Russo's skill of characterization.

The setting is a smallish factory town in Maine after all the factories have closed.

This is small-town America, with all its drama and heartache and challenges, and all its people who will never be known beyond this small stage. And Russo writes in so true a voice that it seems he knows this place and these people intimately.

One might assume that the plot of such a novel as this might be formulaic, but Russo provides many surprises and twists. The expected never happens, and the unexpected does. But that's how life is, really, so it all seems authentic.

"Authentic" is indeed the word that best describes this novel. Other descriptive words would be "a page turner," and "heartfelt," and "compassionate." This won the Pulitzer Prize. A must-read. You will like it, I promise.