Empire Falls

Author: Richard Russo (USA)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-09-09
Features: Pulitzer Prize winner, Amazon's Best Novel, Top Recommended Ten English Masterpieces by Time Magazine. American literary history is about to prove that Richard Russo has written the greatest novel of the 20th century. Empire Falls reflects the fading life of a small town with sharp and enlightening perspectives. This book inherits the tradition of America's greatest novels, capturing the interplay and fusion of the past and present, comedy and tragedy, and the impact of the nation on the individual。——Ron Charles, Christian Science Monitor After finishing the novel, you'll find the town in it feels like a country, with its dilapidated buildings symbolizing the seven-pointed house in Salem or the luxurious homes in East Egg Village, vivid and full of meaning. You'll also have the fortune of exploring this place with a friendly, witty, and talkative guide who knows all the local gossip and history, just as he knows the hilarious jokes. Only after you offer him a beer and shake hands with him to say goodbye will you realize that he is one of the greatest novels around us。——A.O. Scott, The New York Times Book Review Empire Falls portrays the life of the blue-collar class in a small town in Maine. In his forties, Miles Roby is the manager of "Empire Grill," running a fast-food restaurant for the town's wealthy woman, Francine Weyland, and being mentally controlled by her. His wife, Jeanine, has separated from him and soon marries her lover; his daughter, Daisy, is a sophomore in high school with independent thoughts and a talent for painting. Miles deeply loves his daughter and closely monitors her school life and friendships. Later, a shooting occurs on campus, and Miles takes his frightened daughter away from the town. Empire Falls is filled with suspense, and the reading experience is a process of gradual revelation: the beautiful yet sorrowful extramarital affair left by Miles's deceased mother; the abused childhood of the moody boy John Wirth and the mysterious disappearance of his grandmother; and the truth behind Cindy's car accident—all are mysteries lingering in the readers' minds.