Miles Roby is a soon-to-be divorced father who seems to have lost all passion for life. He has been working at the same restaurant, the Empire Grill, for twenty years. He suffers through constant, obnoxious reminders that his wife is marrying someone else as soon as his divorce from her is final. He tolerates a mischievous, thieving father who is always telling him how not to be a loser. He squirms under the thumb of a woman who has ruled him, his family and the entire town of Empire Falls for generations. Miles's only solace is in his daughter, Christina (Tick, as she is affectionately known by everyone). Despite everything Miles has going against him throughout the story he remains a graceful, if not tragic, hero.
Even though Miles Roby is the main protagonist of Empire Falls the entire town comes alive by Richard Russo's artistic and skillful writing. Like any small community Empire Falls has its fair share of quirky people and Miles Roby's personal life is not only know by everyone else, but is commented and cared about by all. ( )

Miles Roby lives in the small town of Empire Falls, Maine. Once a thriving textile mill town, Empire Falls now suffers from lack of economic development. Miles runs the Empire Grill, a job he has held since leaving college to care for his dying mother. He is separated from his wife Janine, who is about to remarry. Miles and Janine share responsibility for their teenage daughter Tick (a nickname for Christina), who is having a hard time with Janine's new relationship. Miles' elderly father, Max, is a ne'er-do-well who rarely has two pennies to rub together and is always looking to Miles for a handout.

The Empire Grill is actually owned by Francine Whiting, wealthy widow of textile magnate C.B. Whiting. Francine holds a strange power of Miles, having made vague promises that the grill would become his upon her death. And it turns out Mrs. Whiting has exerted power of Miles most of his life. Why would Mrs. Whiting care about Miles? How did their lives become intertwined? As Miles goes about his daily routine, the answers to these questions gradually become clear.

The novel unfolds at a slow pace, with Russo first painting detailed portraits of all the major characters. Then there are occasional chapters in which Miles remembers events from his past. These episodes are retold from Miles' point of view at the time. Memories of a childhood vacation, or of learning to drive, are described with the perspective of a child, who may not always understand the intricacies of adult relationships or of "real life." Yet it's through these episodes that the reader begins to see how and why the Roby and Whiting families have become intertwined.

While Miles' relationship with Mrs. Whiting provides the central tension in the novel, there are several equally rich sub-plots that are explored in similar depth. The residents of Empire Falls have grown up there together; high school friendships and rivalries play out in adulthood. And for Tick, that cycle is only just beginning, as she learns to navigate the sometimes painful paths of adolescent relationships.

Reading Empire Falls, I began to feel as if I knew these people. I found myself thinking about them when I wasn't reading; they were very real to me and will likely linger in my memory for some time. ( )

Nice story. One of those 'feel good' reads. ( )

I'm ambivalent about this book, the Pulitzer Prize winner for Fiction for 2002. On the one hand the writing is skillful & has a rambling, easy quality that's admirable & a pleasure to read. On the other hand not a lot happens until the final 50 pages of the book when the author unaccountably (& almost literally) blows everything up for no apparent reason. On the one hand there are some wonderfully written characters here, particularly Tick - one of the most effective portraits of an adolescent that I've read in recent fiction. On the other hand there are also some dreadfully caricatured people who never rise beyond their cardboard cutout outlines - Janine, Tick's mother comes immediately to mind.

This book is deeply satisfying when Russo focuses on his characters & their relationship to each other & to this dying small town & its history. It is deeply disappointing when he strays into sensationalist ripped from the headlines territory. The ways that it is deeply satisfying make the ways that it disappoints that much more disappointing, of course.

Having said all of that, I'm glad I read it & I enjoyed large chunks of this enormously. I'll definitely look for more of his work. ( )

The story of Miles Roby and his daughter, Tick, the Whiting family, and the decline of the town of Empire Falls.

After finishing the book, I thought it would make an excellent book for a compare and contrast paper for school. Nearly any two people in the book could be taken together and compared or contrasted or both on their points of view, personalities, and themes in the book. Another paper could be written on the power each character has and how it affects their positions relative to one another. One could also write about the town of Empire Falls, which is almost a character itself in the book. The descriptions decline of the structures and characters during their slowly detailed lives were immersive. I felted like I could stand in Empire Falls as much the same as any abandoned mill town on a river in New England. ( )

Follows the movie very closely. Kept picturing Ed Harris and Paul Newman, which isn't bad. ( )

Empire Falls is the story of a one-industry town that has lost its industry. The people who live in the town are the real focus of this book, and I was drawn into their lives as if I, too, were a resident.

For most of the book, it appeared that it wouldn't be driven by plot. The story didn't build towards one seminal event, much as real life rarely does. Rather, it is a series of events, some major, others less so, and it's not always immediately clear which are which. I liked that aspect of the book very much.

This is the story of MIles Roby, who runs the Empire Grill with his brother David. Miles is about to be divorced from Janine, who in turn is about to be married to a youth-obsessed fitness guru. Miles' daughter, Tick, is in high school, and her story about being popular (or not) is very well told.

Towards the end, the book becomes more plot driven, but doesn't lose its focus on Miles' character, which is its real strength. ( )

Russo paints a vivid, if bleak, picture of small town USA and embraces the reader, drawing them in to his narrative of the lives of two families at different ends of the income spectrum. The novel ambles on for most of the time and is a good read, taking a dramatic turn at the end, which seems slightly out of kilter with the rest of the novel. ( )

Enjoyed the book but it got a little drawn out in the middle. I had been forewarned that something unexpected happens at the end so I was reading with that in mind and trying to figure out what it was going to be. I wasn't right....the story didn't go where I thought it was going to ...which was actually a good thing. ( )

Great book that deserved the praise and awards it received. Touching and funny with fully formed characters and a well-paced plot. I would highly recommend this book to all. ( )

This book is not only a wonderful study of small town life, with expertly crafted characters, it is the type of story that slowly creeps up on you as the book progresses, leaving you pleasantly surprised at the end with just how good it was. ( )

The best things I can say about this book are: an interesting and real main character and a well-written description of a small town past it's decline.

Otherwise, the book is full of mostly predictable events, all the "secrets" are obvious, and the end of the antagonist is brought about by the trite hand of fate. ( )

As someone who grew up near where this book loosely takes place, Russo really hit the mark with this one. Loved the book--and even the movie! ( )

Gripping tale of life in a small town with well rendered characters, and the overreaching impact of one woman. ( )

This is a big story of a small town. Russo captures a story and your heart in this novel about every day life. It is hard to describe this intimate book. The characters are so real. I would note that the HBO series did a good job to capture the essence of this story. ( )

8.5

Empire Falls by Richard Russo, took me by surprise. It was not just a well-told story, but a rich, layered treat, like an English trifle for the mind. It's about a mill town without a mill, struggling to survive and dependent on the stingy favors of a rich widow who owns most everything worth owning.

Critics (I read a bunch of one-star reviews on Amazon) suggest that the plot is slow-moving, lacking real action. One reviewer objected that "the hero is weak" and "the climax reveals no victory."

Well, in some ways, they're right: this is definitely not the book you should take off the shelf if you're looking for Ludlumesque action and intrique, or a Tom Clancy-type hero that starts out like a normal guy but ends up diving out of the path of speeding bullets and rescuing the president from Basque terrorists.

The protagonist, Miles Roby, is weak, in the same way that many of us are weak: (read the rest of my review here: http://greenroomthoughts.blogspot.com... ) ( )

Empire Falls is a small town in Maine struggling to stay afloat in the face of a poor economy, closed industrial plants, and failing businesses.

The story revolves around Miles Roby who runs the local greasy spoon and his family; his teenage daughter Tick, his ornery old father Max, his ex-wife and her crude obnoxious boyfriend. Other important characters are the all-powerful Mrs. Whiting who controls most of Empire Falls and just happens to own the greasy spoon (the Empire Grill), and her fragile daughter who just happens to be in love with Miles, several of Ticks violate classmates, and a variety of other small town colorful personalities.

This is the first book I've read by Richard Russo and what a treat! His characters are so real. Not always likable, but....so human.

The plot starts out slowly. In fact, I wasn't sure I was going to like the book. It seems to meander from past to present and from one end of town to the other, with no indication what direction it is headed, but then, it picks up speed and grabs a hold and doesn't stop until the very end; humor and drama, twists and turns and sub-plots, and a big bang ending. ( )

This book was so full of rich characters, how could anyone fail to love them? It was the first Russo book I've read, and certainly not the last. ( )

enjoyed by all, also enjoyed watching the movie together

A sensitive and accurate portrayal of small town life in a dying town. ( )

This book pretty much bored me to death. It's slow and full of itself. As is generally the case when I cannot trudge through fully and the movie is available, I watched a section of the movie miniseries on HBO or Showtime...I turned it off so many times just to get away from it that it took a week. ( )

No doubt about it -- what makes this novel something special is not the plot or the characters -- it is Richard Russo's detailed, sharp, deep writing. This is not a book to be hurried through (that would be like slurping fine wine), but it is a book to be savored. The writing shows the details not only of the physical surroundings of the small town in Maine where it takes place but also the details and emotions of each of the characters. I give this a "brilliant" rating! ( )

Very good! ( )

Yawn. Wake me when it is over. ( )