Empire Falls

In Empire Falls, published in 2001, award-winning author Richard Russo focuses his sharp observations on family, faith, and hope for the future in small-town America, where the factories have left, the populations are dwindling, and the prospects are shrinking. Miles Roby almost got out of Empire Falls, but his mother’s illness brought him back a semester shy of graduating college. Now he runs the Empire Grill, a landmark that still anchors the dying town, and takes care of his daughter, Tick. His soon-to-be ex-wife Janine is about to remarry, while Miles is harassed by a small-minded cop and the whims of his patron, Mrs. Whiting, whose wealth controls the town. Awarded the Pulitzer Prize and made into a Golden Globe-winning mini-series starring Ed Harris and Helen Hunt, Empire Falls showcases the trials and tribulations of a middle-aged man traversing life in middle America. All quotations in this guide come from the First Vintage Contemporaries Edition, published in 2002.

Plot Summary

Miles Roby works at the Empire Grill, fending off inane challenges from his soon-to-be ex-wife Janine’s new paramour, Walt Comeau (a.k.a. the Silver Fox) and worrying about his teenage daughter, Tick. At 42, Miles has settled into middle age with little fanfare or fuss, and others see him as reliable, steady, and—in the case of Janine—boring.