Empire Falls

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It's a hit!

Excellent! After struggling through the opening (I don't enjoy reading long pages of italics--but after awhile, I got used to it. They are necess... (show more)

Excellent! After struggling through the opening (I don't enjoy reading long pages of italics--but after awhile, I got used to it. They are necessary for the mythos of Empire Falls too) I was able to coast through this book.

What's so strange is that the bulk of these characters (primary and secondary) are trapped and unhappy. But the soft humor and heart behind the humor allows for a compelling read.

I love Tick.

Miles is a fantastic character too. I identified strongly with him (which is a little alarming since I'm half his age).

I live in a small town in the Midwest right now, and there are just as many parallels to be found here as in Maine.

The ending is striking and kind of juts from the rest of the --but it's not jarring or out of place. I didn't see it coming.

It's funny, heart-warming, and disturbing. Makes me want to sit with longer novels again--I've been reading a lot of poetry and short fiction lately. This was a great novel to enjoy this summer. I'll have to check out the rest of Russo's writing now. (show less)

 

 

by Facebook User

No, it's a flop!

I approached 'Empire Falls' knowing that it was the 2002 Pulizer Prize winner, but this one falls short of its award. However I'm not entirely tra... (show more)

I approached 'Empire Falls' knowing that it was the 2002 Pulizer Prize winner, but this one falls short of its award. However I'm not entirely trashining the novel. Russo does some good things. From what I've read, he is a master of writing about small town, blue collar America. And I would have to agree...reading Empire Falls is like living in a small town. You generally dislike the locals, but after spending so much time with them, you grow to accept them, if not like them. The novel moves slowly and characters deepen well enough. There are some surprising plot twists that keep the story interesting.

My main issue is with the writing. It was generic. And cliched. This point I understand though...sophisticated writing would be inappropriate for the story....Russo writes the way uneducated hard working Americans talk. Still, he could have elevated his language a bit more in descriptive or distant narrative passages.

The dialogue felt forced. It helped develop character (as it should) but manyof them seemed too general and stereotypical. I consistently crossed passages that I couldn't buy...it didn't seem believable. People don't speak realistically in this book. The characters don't seem like real people at times.

'Empire Falls' kept my attention throughout and I enjoyed learning about the town, its history, and people. It kept me guessing. Still, I found the generic stereotypical writing and characters very distracting. (show less)

 

 

by Joseph Dunn

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  Enjoyable but not satisfying. Clearly Russo wants this to be a
  "big book" or an "important book" by delving into character analysis and issues of why we are they way we are. But it just falls short (at least for me). There are lots of characters in his world and each plays a key role in his story and his effort to analyze the human psyche. But the time spent on these philosophical issues feels forced and distracts from the story (even though in the end they are integral t... (show more)

  Enjoyable but not satisfying. Clearly Russo wants this to be a
  "big book" or an "important book" by delving into character analysis and issues of why we are they way we are. But it just falls short (at least for me). There are lots of characters in his world and each plays a key role in his story and his effort to analyze the human psyche. But the time spent on these philosophical issues feels forced and distracts from the story (even though in the end they are integral to the story). His insight into human nature is accurate but never deep. The Nature vs. Nurture argument is consistent but predictable. Poor families with bad or inattentive parents produce weak kids who can't handle moral dilemmas, etc... All of this comes around and plays a role in how the story resolves itself, so it is justified. My complaint is that it is awkward, obvious and rudimentary. A good book that could have been a great one if he had only dared to go deeper. (show less)

   

   

  by Andrew Silver on Dec 16, 2009 at 06:27PM

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  Who am I to argue with the Pulitzer people? I kept thinking I *should* have liked this more, but the truth is that although there were parts I enjoyed a fair amount, overall I found the characters depressing, the use of italicized flashbacks distracting, the timing sometimes plodding (sometimes actually skipping entire paragraphs, maybe pages) without missing a thing, and the ending completely and awkwardly out of left field with no time for real resolution.

  The characters were the most dif... (show more)

  Who am I to argue with the Pulitzer people? I kept thinking I *should* have liked this more, but the truth is that although there were parts I enjoyed a fair amount, overall I found the characters depressing, the use of italicized flashbacks distracting, the timing sometimes plodding (sometimes actually skipping entire paragraphs, maybe pages) without missing a thing, and the ending completely and awkwardly out of left field with no time for real resolution.

  The characters were the most difficult part for me. There was not one person in the book that I would want to hang out with -- not one. No the stereotypically gay priest (another set of plot events with no resolution), not the Bitch of the Year Ex-Wife, not the avenging town-owner all about power and control (another unsettled resolution and out-of-left-field character disposal), not the waitress-with-a-heart-of-gold-and-great-cleavage....see, even writing about these people lessens me, brings out the worst tendencies of sweeping generalizations and bitterness.

  The further I get away from this book the more I wish I hadn't read it. Life is short with only enough room for excellent books. This isn't one of them. (show less)

   

   

  by Facebook User on Oct 13, 2009 at 12:58PM

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