My New Friend "EMPIRE FALLS" By Richard Russo

 

The hardcover edition of "Empire Falls" by Richard Russo. Note: This could just as easily be a picture from my hometown. 

Hello. My name is Bobby Keniston, and my only friends are books. Today I would like to tell you about a new friend of mine, "Empire Falls" by the author Richard Russo. I have been focusing on making a lot of new friends from my home state of Maine lately, and though Mr. Russo wasn't here in my home state, he has lived here a long time, and "Empire Falls" is set here--- and the two-part television adaptation was filmed here as well, which I will discuss more later on. 

A LITTLE BIT ABOUT MY NEW FRIEND:

"Empire Falls" was published in 2001 by Alfred A. Knopf, fine publishers indeed. It tells the story of a fictional Maine mill town after the industry has disappeared. This is not an unfamiliar story to anyone who lives in Maine, and especially not for someone who lives in Dover-Foxcroft, Maine. Our protagonist is Miles Roby, a man in his early forties recently separated from his wife Janine and on his way to a divorce. He runs the Empire Grill where he serves local regulars (including Walt Comeau, the "Silver Fox" his wife left him for), and where his brother David, who lost use of one hand in a DUI accident that changed his life, works as a cook, expanding the menu and the clientele. Miles, who never expected to return to Empire Falls until his mother was dying of cancer, goes through his life with a feeling like he has given up something, just as he knows his mother had gone through hers (Miles stayed on in Empire Falls and at the Empire Grill after his mother's death), and understands that the cause of this feeling likely has to do with the hold Mrs. Whiting has on him. Mrs. Whiting, the widow of C.B. Whiting, heir to the Whiting fortune made from the industries established in Empire Falls, owns more than half the town and seemingly half of the people within it. She has a special "fondness" for Miles, which has nothing to do with the fact that her daughter Cindy, disabled after being run over as a child, is head over heels in love with him. In fact, Mrs. Whiting's "fondness" for Miles is a mystery to him, and the reader for a good portion of the book. And though Miles suffers the trials of his deadbeat father Max, as well as the local bully cop Jimmy Minty, he takes comfort in his talks with Father Mark, a progressive priest, and finds his greatest joy in being the father of Tick, his 16-year-old daughter who means the entire world to him. He is determined that she will not repeat his fate of being stuck in Empire Falls. 

My new friend "Empire Falls" won the Pulitzer Prize and, as stated earlier, was adapted into an HBO two-part miniseries with an all-star cast including Ed Harris, Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Helen Hunt, Robin Wright, Aidan Quinn, Dennis Farina, William Fichtner, and Danielle Panabaker--- and that's only naming the top principals! Russo himself adapted his novel into a screenplay, and Mr. Newman won an Emmy, a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award for playing Max. 

HOW I MET MY NEW FRIEND

I had heard of the novel, Russo's fifth, soon after it won the Pulitzer. A group of my literary pals were shocked that it won the award, claiming that Jonathan Franzen's "The Corrections" should have swept ALL the awards that year (as if a National Book Award and an Oprah scandal wasn't enough). 

Later on, I was working at the historic Lakewood Theatre during "the summer of the Empire Falls..." Much of the movie was filmed in Skowhegan, Maine (in fact, a restaurant called "The Empire Grill", where many scenes were shot, remained open for a number of years, but eventually went out of business and was replaced by a different restaurant), and a good number of my theater friends got involved. Many were extras. One friend was a stand-in for Danielle Panabaker, who played Tick. Another friend worked in the costume department. In fact, one day as I was working in the box office at Lakewood Theater, this friend stopped by. She had been sent to pick up Ed Harris's jean jacket from his camp and was on her way back. I should be embarrassed to admit this, but, what the hell--- a picture exists somewhere of me wearing Mr. Harris's jacket. And if I knew where it was, I would share it here. 

I remember watching bits of the movie when it premiered, but don't believe I ever watched it straight through, though, perhaps I did. It was a while back. 

I met my new friend the latest time because I have been reading a lot of Maine authors, and decided to read this one after watching an interview between Sanford Phippen and Richard Russo that was made for Maine Public Television. You can watch that interview by CLICKING HERE

MY THOUGHTS ON MY NEW FRIEND

I am not surprised that my new friend "Empire Falls" won the Pulitzer Prize. Mr. Russo is easy to read, a genuine pleasure to read. Though there are many dark topics--- abuse, violence, and a spoiler-esque act I won't mention here--- Russo's style is friendly, and he humanizes even his most distasteful characters. He cares about them. It is this caring that seems to tell the reader, even in the dark moments, that, hey, friend, everything is going to be all right. And you almost believe him, even though the book really focuses on people who have wasted so much time and tossed away so many chances at happiness. 

Still, it's nice to have an authorial voice every once in awhile that doesn't shy away from the dark, but still somehow seems to make you feel okay. 

MY FAVORITE THINGS ABOUT MY NEW FRIEND

"Empire Falls', though set in Maine, is not about place so much as about class, as Mr. Russo says in the interview I linked above. We need more books about class in America, especially if we are to understand what the hell is going on in our divisive politics today. 

My absolute favorite thing about my new friend, however, are all the scenes with Tick. She is well drawn and believable, and it is impressive how real many of the scenes with her in the high school feel. 

A favorite quote:  "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?"

LEAST FAVORTE THING ABOUT MY NEW FRIEND

My new friend is a little long-winded, and maybe could have stood to lose about 10,000 words. Though it is hard to fault a book that is trying to enrich itself at every moment. 

FINAL TAKEAWAY

I am glad I made this new friend, and would recommend you meeting them either at your local library, independent bookstore, or online. 

That's all for now. 

I'm off to make a new friend.