I talked The Queen into seeing Spirited Away, and she loved it even though she doesn’t much care for anime. She returned the favor by convincing me to read Empire Falls, even though it appeared to be exactly the kind of book I try and avoid. Set in the tiny burg of Empire Falls, starring Mr. Nice Guy, and written by an author with a long string of “relationship novels” to his name, this looked, to me, to be little more than a novelization to some “Hallmark Feelgood Family TV Special”. But it did win the Pulitzer Prize, and I reckoned that the entire Pulitzer Prize committee and my wife couldn’t both be wrong. So I decided to give it a whirl.
The first third, however, seemingly confirmed my fears. As the story opens, we are introduced to Miles, a put-upon, heart-of-gold sad-sack who is in the midst of a divorce, father to a teenage girl, and indentured to the town matriarch. He also runs Empire Falls’ only diner, which means that he (and the reader) is in constant contact with the city’s zanier denizens, including The Silver Fox (owner of the local health club and fianc
Yeah, that book does manage to hook you, but I hated the ending. I felt let down when Miles didn’t ever get to confront the old woman.
By the way, thx for indirectly recommending Spirited Away to me. Excellent movie. Though I thought the ending was rather abrupt. Maybe I just missed sthg…..
After reading Independence Day and The Shipping News I made a resolution to never read a Pulitzer-prize winning novel again. I don’t think I’m gonna break it for this one.
What, are you kidding?! That part in Independence Day where the aliens blew up the White house was AWESOME!!!
Hey, great review. I read the book a couple months ago and would also highly recommend it but I’m not as eloquent in my reviews as you are. Instead I’ll be like “Dude, this book rocked!” and leave it at that.
I read empire falls and apprecite your review. But for a faster, funner read try russo’s Straight Man. Now *that* book rocked!