A Literary Life

Empire Falls (Richard Russo)

So a lot of time has gone by since I read this book, time full of a lot of shit and — at the same time — a lot of nothing. But suffice it to say that I haven’t had the mental energy to catalog my reading material lately. Because of the time gone by and my energy level, then, I will keep this brief.

I was recommended this book by co-workers, who enjoyed it, and I have to say I enjoyed it, too. Russo chronicles the story of a small town, once thriving thanks to a local textile factory owned by a local Kennedy-like “royal” family, but now shrinking and shabby due to the factory’s closure. We follow the lives of the “royal” family, the family of the man who runs the local diner and others in their everyday quest for, well, happiness. Basically, it’s a family- or town-based epic story, but without the simplicity and plot-driven characteristics of such stories. Every character is unique and carefully wrought, every plot point character-driven and interesting (despite the entrance of some hot-button issue twists, which I won’t reveal for those who want to read the book).

It was a fun book, one that read easily but without condescending to the reader, an absorbing book that took me away to a world just as complicated as my own, but more interesting. I suppose it took me to the place I needed to be when so much (and yet so little) was going on — a REAL place with REAL people who lent insight into the REAL world that I live in.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars - Book club selection

Award-Winning, Fiction, Repeated Author |