Rating: 
Summary: Too Much Action in the last 100 pages
Review: This book was selected for me as part of a book club, primarily because it was named on a number of lists last year as one of the better novels published. Overall I liked it very much. I especially enjoyed the depth of the characters and the way the layers of the past slowly were revealed throughout. We increasingly live in a time where relationships, even family ones, are transient due to geography, time, or our own need to move on psychologically. Russo illustrates how relationships, good and bad, endure over time and even generations. Although some of the characters were almost cartoon like (the Fox for example), others were quite complex. I found myself pulling for Miles, but at the same time wanting to slap him silly for his passive doormat like approach to life. My main problem with the book was the way it all was tied into a neat package at the end, right down to the wicked witch being washed down river. After spending hundreds of pages telling us how life is full of compromises, regret, and even fate, Russo spends the last 50 making everything all right for everyone. I was waiting for Tick to win the lottery! I don't really agree with the comparisons to Conroy, Prince of Tides had a lot more action. Conroy's ability to tell a story within a story (the turtle in the bed for example)was not matched in this book. None the less, it is a good and interesting read that takes the reader to a place where fewer and fewer of us go - the land of consequences for decisions made.
Rating: 
Summary: Wrapped up for the screen?
Review: This was my first Richard Russo book and probably won't be my last, because he's a skilled storyteller and does a good job capturing the Maine mill town. (I live in one myself.) The story, the humor and the characters, especially Miles, carried me right along and I took the book with me virtually everywhere I went. But I was disappointed in the ending, which seemed strained and designed to make the book more appealing to Hollywood. Close to the end, I also started to notice Russo's tendency to lapse into cliches. That's too bad because until then, it was a great read.
Rating: 
Summary: Summer Read 2002: George Bailey meets Pat Conroy
Review: With the paperback edition scheduled for release in May, Empire Falls is well-positioned to be the summer read of choice for 2002.Russo's tasty, saccharine prose digests easily in crowded airport waiting rooms or on noisy beaches. The stock, made-for-TV characters will not distract the reader from the joys of sun-bathing. You've met them all before: George Bailey, Alexis Carrington, Roscoe P. Coltrane, Flo the waitress and even Garfield the cat all appear in Empire Falls disguised as rustic New Englanders. Have you forgotten the plot of The Prince of Tides, your summer read of 1988? Not to worry, Russo has taken Pat Conroy's well-worn formula of drunken father/suffering mother/neurotic son and dressed it up with a Maine accent. As you settle in to your vacation, the plot of Empire Falls lumbers along like a lazy afternoon at the beach. As your holiday draws to a close, the story obligingly gains momentum to a dizzying, Hollywood-style ending. Vacationers in Martha's Vinyard will be especially pleased by the mythic qualities that the book assigns to the Island. Perhaps the MV Chamber of Commerce will develop a walking tour: "...and on your left folks is the cafe where Miles Roby discovers Max." The Empire Falls punch-line: read it for what it's worth and enjoy it as you would any pleasant vacation diversion. And when you head for home, leave it on the nite table of your bed and breakfast.
Rating: 
Summary: A great read; it has a place among my all time favorites
Review: Beautifully written; great story; believable characters; true to life. Russo has an amazing ability to capture the nuances of his characters and their life circumstances - and do so in a way that is at once funny and poignant. A very satisfying read!
Rating:
Summary: Vivid Characters but a Sketchy Plot
Review: I will heartily recommend this book to almost everyone because Iloved the book's characters who so vividly come to life. Main protagonist Miles Roby, manager of the Empire Grill, is someone you just have to love even if he can be his worst enemy. The other characters in the book are also vivid and memorable from the dislikable Mintys, to Miles' drunk and disheveled father, to the powerful Whiting family that owns most of Empire Falls including the Grill. For more than 300 pages I was captivated by the characters in this book and yearned to read more. Most of the action takes place at the Empire Grill owned by Ms. Whiting and along a backdrop of decades of history that tie the Roby and Whiting families together. Along the way, Russo makes some very profound observations regarding the decay of communities and relationships and their eventual renewal. The links are impressive and it's great writing. My only complaint is that the plot failed to provide much in the way of action and conflict. While the people hooked me, the entire premise for the story, conflict, and eventual climax and conclusion was somewhat weak. In the end, I almost felt that Russo had to create an ending just to finish what he had started. In short, he created wonderful, unforgettable characters that were all dressed up with no plot or story to play out. It won't be the first time a prominent author has done it (Grisham and Tom Wolfe have had the same problems with multi-million dollar bestsellers. . .) Overall, I'm impressed by Mr. Russo and look forward to future books.
Rating:
Summary: Certainly the best piece of fiction this year...
Review: I picked up Russo's latest with fairly high expectations. "Mohawk" and "The Risk Pool" proved that he knew how to tell a story. "Nobody's Fool" (my personal fav) packed in more understanding of the human condition, compassion for characters making frustrating choices, and humor in every page than most modern American authors can muster for their collected works. And "Straight Man" had me laughing out loud (my roommate thought I was losing my mind- waking her up at two in the morning to listen as I recited passages from the book probably didn't help). When I first cracked "Empire" it was with skepticism. How long could one writer's streak last? Well, it ain't over yet. "Empire" is akin to "Mohawk" in structure and style, but the former is the promise of the later fulfilled. Russo doesn't tell you about the town, he invites you to live there. His introduces you to people, not mere characters upon which he hangs his plot, but living, breathing people who allow you to see the world through their eyes. Though epic in scope, Russo never allows the book to feel less than completely personal. The inhabitants' stories engaged me and turned the pages for me. It wasn't until the end of the book that I was able to gain any persepective on the story as a whole and, in my oppinion, that is the mark of a truely great writer. Like Toni Morrison and Russell Banks, Russo understands how to balance descriptive prose with a well-paced plot. His writing engages me emotionally without descending into a series of thematically important capital-M Moments that is the burden of so many modern authors (Grisham, Crichton, Rice, Roth, Atwood). Added to all of this is Russo's excellent sense of humor, which is no less evident in "Empire" than in any of his other novels. Like Thomas Pynchon, Russo gives you the full absurdity of life but, unlike the "Vineland" scribe, it's an absurdity that doesn't feel too far removed from reality. I always find it difficult to finish a Russo novel. I know that I'm leaving behind people I've grown to care for. "Empire" was no different. But, like all of the others before, Russo found an ending without finality. He allows the populace of Empire Falls to live on in the imagination of the reader. At the risk of sounding corny, I will be returning to Empire Falls again and again, just as I often revisit Mohawk and Bath. One final note: I'm sure the pulitzer commitee could care less what I think but THEY NEED TO GIVE THIS BOOK A PRIZE.
Rating:
Summary: Good right until the end
Review: Empire Falls reminded me of early John Grisham works, great stories but he didn't know how to write an ending. This is the case with this book whose abrupt ending left me fuming. One differnce though is that Grisham wrote bad endings that had closure while Russo's ending is bad without clossure. Why take all the time to develop characters and then leave them hanging when we most want to find out what they have learned? This was my first Richard Russo book and now I have no desire to read any others.
Rating:
Summary: I didn't want it to end
Review: I enjoyed STRAIGHT MAN, Russo's previous novel, but EMPIRE FALLS just absorbed me completely. This author knows how to tell a story, and how to make you care about characters. Don't miss it.
Rating:
Summary: Another Russo Success
Review: Russo succeeds here in bringing us another character-driven, bitterly humorous, and heart-wrenching tale of "town color" that could reaffirm anyone's belief in contemporary fiction. The book is a joy to read, and you'll find yourself alternating between shaking your fist at the world's imperfections and laughing out loud at Russo's sharp-edged wit.
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Summary: Russo's reality
Review: I bought this book because it is a best seller in Maine, and having just moved here, I was interested to find out why. Russo tells a good story, although I found the scenery to be a bit on the "bleak" side. His main character, hero Miles Roby, is likable enough, but the true gems of the story are the Whitings. If the book slows down at times, do not stop -- the ending is worth the entire read.
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