Empire Falls

Richard Russo

Nov 2011 · Sold by Vintage

About this ebook

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • PULITZER PRIZE WINNER • The bestselling author of Nobody's Fool and Straight Man delves deep into the blue-collar heart of America in a work that overflows with hilarity, heartache, and grace.

“Rich, humorous ... Mr. Russo’s most seductive book thus far.” —The New York Times

Welcome to Empire Falls, a blue-collar town full of abandoned mills whose citizens surround themselves with the comforts and feuds provided by lifelong friends and neighbors and who find humor and hope in the most unlikely places, in this Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Richard Russo.

Miles Roby has been slinging burgers at the Empire Grill for 20 years, a job that cost him his college education and much of his self-respect. What keeps him there? It could be his bright, sensitive daughter Tick, who needs all his help surviving the local high school. Or maybe it’s Janine, Miles’ soon-to-be ex-wife, who’s taken up with a noxiously vain health-club proprietor. Or perhaps it’s the imperious Francine Whiting, who owns everything in town–and seems to believe that “everything” includes Miles himself.

Look for Richard Russo's new book, Somebody's Fool, coming soon.

Ratings and reviews

Miles Roby represents half of the men in this country. He is a good guy – to a fault. He works hard, loves deeply, helps people whenever he can and patiently waits for his “turn” in life. He is a “nice” guy who is finishing last. This novel tells the story of every man who get sup every morning and goes to a job he hates, gives of himself constantly, never asks for anything in return and lives quietly, without complaint. Mile Roby is a nice guy. I can relate. I too am a nice guy. Nice guys surrender, over the course of their lives, the ability to identify, recognize or fulfill their own needs. We live in reaction to those around us – to their needs, wants, crisis and desires. We seek love by giving love. There is irony in this equation – it does not work, because we give so much, we lose ourselves. People lose interest in us because we become shells of our former selves. We spend all of our time feeding others, desperately seeking love and acceptance, and we fail to feed ourselves. Our failure is in looking for others to feed us – to approve of us, to affirm us and to encourage us. No one can give you (or me) what you do not already have – they can love what you don’t and they can’t believe in what you don’t. This is a reality that the “givers” of the world have a tremendous difficulty accepting. We can’t believe that all this giving won’t get us what we desire most. So, what do we do? I don’t think we should stop being nice – the world is short on nice and needs all we have to spare. But, we must create some boundaries. We must clarify for ourselves what we value, what we desire and what we aspire to - to generate this entirely from within, based on no external value base – and pursue these things. We must not allow ourselves to be used, to be taken for granted or to be de-valued. You can still be nice, sensitive, supportive and caring – but with clear boundaries you will cease to attract those who prey on the “nice guys.” You have to become nice – with a backbone. Nice guys don’t finish last because they are nice – they finish last because they never ask that their needs be met by others. These are men who live, as described by Thoreau, “in quiet desperation.” They long for something different but they fail to take any steps to realize their dreams. They live in a state of hope, believing that “someone” will recognize how nice they are, what a good person they are, and reward them for their goodness. The dark truth is, with the exception of the movies, this never happens. These are good people who live, work, then die with their dreams locked inside their hearts. Read Empire Falls, pay close attention to Miles Roby, see yourself in him – change the things that scare you – today! Peace & God Bless!

About the author

RICHARD RUSSO is the author of eight novels; two collections of stories; and Elsewhere, a memoir. In 2002 he received the Pulitzer Prize for Empire Falls, which like Nobody’s Fool was adapted to film, in a multiple-award-winning HBO miniseries.