Empire Falls Book

"Lives are rivers. We imagine we can direct their paths, though in the end there's but one destination, and we end up being true to ourselves only because we have no choice. People speak of selfishness, but that's another folly, because of course there's no such thing."

I've been pondering this quote for some time now after having finished Richard Russo's Pulitzer Prize winning novel, Empire Falls. Is it true that we have no choice in where our lives take us? Do we only perceive that we have choices and opportunities, whereas in fact our paths are predetermined? Or does believing such a precept just mean that one is placing blame on circumstances that can in fact be overcome? The message may be found within the pages of this extraordinary novel.

Empire Falls centers on the lives of those characters that live in this small town of Maine. During its glory days, the town flourished due to the logging and textile industries run by the all-powerful Whiting family. Nowadays, the town is run-down, yet many of its inhabitants remain hopeful that some day it will once again prosper. This is due largely to the fact that the mill and the factory remain intact, a vision of what used to be and what could be if someone would only grasp the opportunity. What does remain and stands as the focal point of the actual happenings in the town is the Empire Grill.

"The Empire Grill was long and low-slung, with windows that ran its entire length, and since the building next door, a Rexall drugstore, had been condemned and razed, it was now possible to sit at the lunch counter and see straight down Empire Avenue all the way to the old textile mill and its adjacent shirt factory. Both had been abandoned now for the better part of two decades, though their dark, looming shapes at the foot of the avenue's gentle incline continued to draw the eye."

It is here that we meet Miles Roby, manager of the Empire Grill. What fascinates me about small towns is the fact that many of its people really never get away. Despite economic instability, there is a core of folks that seem to stick it out - perhaps they don't perceive a means of escape or maybe they see the town for what it once was and that memory eclipses any sense of hardship. Miles Roby, with a major push and the support of his mother, did get out only to return once again due to circumstances that seemed out of his control. Now under the thumb of Francine Whiting, reigning heiress to the Whiting fortune, Miles seems to have reached a dead end, much like the town itself. He lives in a shabby apartment over the grill, is soon to be divorced, and has responsibilities to his teenage daughter, Tick, his deadbeat father, Max, and his recovering alcoholic brother, David. Through him we also meet a wealth of other complex individuals - some good, some not so good, and some downright cringe-worthy. And yet, under the masterful pen of Russo, each character is written in a way that completely absorbs your full attention. However mundane each person appears on the surface, he or she still manages to throb with life on each page. The interactions and dialogue in this book are superb - believable, gripping, sometimes sad, and often humorous.

The novel is at heart a character-driven story. There exists a plot that is very slowly and deliberately revealed - a couple of turns that I did not fully anticipate. Don't expect quick action - you will be disappointed. And yet, I found myself nearly holding my breath towards the end of the book; I was that entangled with the lives of the characters. I was hopeful for the future of the town and its people. There was something in nearly each person that I could relate to and understand. What I came to realize in the end is that we should each grab hold of our dreams, take control of our circumstances, and in fact change the direction of that river. We may not end up exactly where we imagined, but neither do we need to flounder and succumb to its currents.

I think it would be safe to say that even though this is my first (I know right, where have I been?!) Richard Russo novel, he will be on my list of favorite authors! This book has those elements I adore in my books - memorable and extremely well-drawn characters, brilliant writing, and surprising plot twists. 5 stars

"After all, what was the whole wide world but a place for people to yearn for their hearts' impossible desires, for those desires to become entrenched in defiance of logic, plausibility, and even the passage of time, as eternal as polished marble?"