Empire Falls

by Richard Russo

English language

Published March 17, 2002

ISBN:: 978-0-375-72640-8

(16 reviews)

Empire Falls is a 2001 novel written by Richard Russo. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2002, and follows the story of Miles Roby in a fictional, small blue-collar town in Maine and the people, places, and the past surrounding him, as manager of the Empire Grill diner.

1 edition

Bridgman reviewed Empire Falls by Richard Russo

Review of 'Empire Falls' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Have you ever read a book that everybody loved and that won many awards yet it did nothing for you so you went online to look for negative reviews to see if anyone else, preferably a professional book critic, felt as you do?
That's what I did with Empire Falls, Richard Russo's Pulitzer Prize-winning 2001 novel (how it could beat Jonathon Franzen's The Corrections for that is beyond me) about the goings on of a Maine family in Empire Falls, an economically depressed town in the central part of the state.
I didn't find many. Critics called it wryly humorous, compassionate, good storytelling. I enjoyed reading it but ... I didn't attack it with the zest I do with books I truly love; I had no trouble putting Empire Falls down. The most negative thing I found on it was a passing review of the book by a critic …

Eduardo Santiago reviewed Empire Falls by Richard Russo

Review of 'Empire Falls' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Does the word 'bleak' exist in Spanish? That's what I found myself thinking while reading this immediately after [b:2666|63032|2666|Roberto Bolaño|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170614502s/63032.jpg|3294830]. The parallels are few, but the contrast in tone is great. Russo's world is one of quiet desperation, with a tension and disappointment resulting from failed lives. Bolaño's has many of the same situations yet a very different form of acceptance... but I digress.

I savored this book. There was much I recognized. Russo's warm voice imbued these sad lives with grace, much the way twilight -- and the shadows it casts -- lets us see our lives in different ways.

Mark Anderson reviewed Empire Falls by Richard Russo

Review of 'Empire Falls' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

A surprisingly gripping read, the author provides just enough fodder for enjoyment, slight contemplation, and memorable characters. However, I sometimes wondered just how much compassion the author has for his own characters.