Empire Falls
Registered by 
bookczuk
of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA on 3/3/2004
This Book is Currently in the Wild!
bookczuk of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA on 3/3/2004 This Book is Currently in the Wild!
1 journaler for this copy...
This has been on loan to a friend, and I just got it back. It seems to have had a run in with a glass of wine since I last saw it, but came out the victor.
A great story. I remember being unable to leave it for long while reading it, and picked up a few of Russo's other books afterwards (though was not nearly as enchanted with them). I hear they are making a movie of this one...
Registered asss part of the BC Convention/Anniversary Challenge 2004. I am placing it on reserve in the hopes that a trade can be worked out with another bookcrosser who has this on their wish list.
From the Publisher
Richard Russo—from his first novel, Mohawk—has demonstrated a peerless affinity for the human tragicomedy, and with this stunning new novel he extends even further his claims on the small-town, blue-collar heart of the country.
Dexter County, Maine, and specifically the town of Empire Falls, has seen better days, and for decades, in fact, only a succession from bad to worse. One by one, its logging and textile enterprises have gone belly-up, and the once vast holdings of the Whiting clan (presided over by the last scion’s widow) now mostly amount to decrepit real estate. The working classes, meanwhile, continue to eke out whatever meager promise isn’t already boarded up.
Miles Roby gazes over this ruined kingdom from the Empire Grill, an opportunity of his youth that has become the albatross of his daily and future life. Called back from college and set to work by family obligations—his mother ailing, his father a loose cannon—Miles never left home again. Even so, his own obligations are manifold: a pending divorce; a troubled younger brother; and, not least, a peculiar partnership in the failing grill with none other than Mrs. Whiting. All of these, though, are offset by his daughter, Tick, whom he guides gently and proudly through the tribulations of adolescence.
A decent man encircled by history and dreams, by echoing churches and abandoned mills, by the comforts and feuds provided by lifelong friends and neighbors, Miles is also a patient, knowing guide to the rich, hardscrabble nature of Empire Falls: fathers and sons and daughters, living and dead, rich and pooralike. Shot through with the mysteries of generations and the shattering visitations of the nation at large, it is a social novel of panoramic ambition, yet at the same time achingly personal. In the end, Empire Falls reveals our worst and best instincts, both our most appalling nightmares and our simplest hopes, with all the vision, grace and humanity of truly epic storytelling.
A great story. I remember being unable to leave it for long while reading it, and picked up a few of Russo's other books afterwards (though was not nearly as enchanted with them). I hear they are making a movie of this one...
Registered asss part of the BC Convention/Anniversary Challenge 2004. I am placing it on reserve in the hopes that a trade can be worked out with another bookcrosser who has this on their wish list.
From the Publisher
Richard Russo—from his first novel, Mohawk—has demonstrated a peerless affinity for the human tragicomedy, and with this stunning new novel he extends even further his claims on the small-town, blue-collar heart of the country.
Dexter County, Maine, and specifically the town of Empire Falls, has seen better days, and for decades, in fact, only a succession from bad to worse. One by one, its logging and textile enterprises have gone belly-up, and the once vast holdings of the Whiting clan (presided over by the last scion’s widow) now mostly amount to decrepit real estate. The working classes, meanwhile, continue to eke out whatever meager promise isn’t already boarded up.
Miles Roby gazes over this ruined kingdom from the Empire Grill, an opportunity of his youth that has become the albatross of his daily and future life. Called back from college and set to work by family obligations—his mother ailing, his father a loose cannon—Miles never left home again. Even so, his own obligations are manifold: a pending divorce; a troubled younger brother; and, not least, a peculiar partnership in the failing grill with none other than Mrs. Whiting. All of these, though, are offset by his daughter, Tick, whom he guides gently and proudly through the tribulations of adolescence.
A decent man encircled by history and dreams, by echoing churches and abandoned mills, by the comforts and feuds provided by lifelong friends and neighbors, Miles is also a patient, knowing guide to the rich, hardscrabble nature of Empire Falls: fathers and sons and daughters, living and dead, rich and pooralike. Shot through with the mysteries of generations and the shattering visitations of the nation at large, it is a social novel of panoramic ambition, yet at the same time achingly personal. In the end, Empire Falls reveals our worst and best instincts, both our most appalling nightmares and our simplest hopes, with all the vision, grace and humanity of truly epic storytelling.
On loan to a friend.
At the advice of several live journal bookcrossing buddies, and against my better judgement, I am posting this entry I made to my live journal last week:
Flashback to May 2001:
"Bumma! I just read a fantastic book! Would you like it before I return it to the library?" I hold out a brand spanking new copy of Richard Russo's Empire Falls.
"No thank you." She emits a heavy sigh...(Bumma's about as big as a sparrow, but her sighs sound like they come from a sumo wrestler...on steroids.) "Not now. I am re-reading Emma."
("Yeah, I think, for the 3 millionth time! Emma's a good book, I'm not knocking it, but even Jane Austen read other things once in a while!)
April 2002:
"Bumma! Lookit what Mr czuk got for me while we were up in Chapel Hill! Empire Falls!!! It's out in paperback! Would you like to read it?
(heavy sigh from the tiny one and she glances at the cover.)
"I don't think so- not now"
May 2002
"Bumma, I'd like to lend this copy of Empire Falls to a friend. Would you like to read it first, or should I go ahead and lend it."
Heavy sigh (remember? I told you about those!) "Go ahead- I don't think it's my cup of tea."
Book travels through 6 friends, and acquires a hefty wine stain before returning home to me.
March 2004
Book home and registered at BookCrossing.
August 2004
"Bumma! Liz asked if we had a copy of Empire Falls. I'm gonna lend her my copy. OK?"
(no comment from the parental unit. Her hearing aid was turned off, I think, or she was ignoring me.)
Book was returned, and is now somewhere in the house, with wine stain. In the meantime, I found a second copy of the book, for my pc at a booksale. Which of course I show to my mother, which of course, she ignores...
Cut to this morning, and I am cleaning up the house. On the table in the family room is a copy of, you guessed it, Empire Falls. From the library. Slowly I turn....
"Bumma! You reading this?" I hold the book aloft.
"Yes! It's a wonderful book! Your cousin Peter recommended it to me, so I checked it out of the Library the other day. You should read it. I think you'd like it."
Ack!!!!!!!!!!!!! Pardon me while I go check to see if I am invisible
Flashback to May 2001:
"Bumma! I just read a fantastic book! Would you like it before I return it to the library?" I hold out a brand spanking new copy of Richard Russo's Empire Falls.
"No thank you." She emits a heavy sigh...(Bumma's about as big as a sparrow, but her sighs sound like they come from a sumo wrestler...on steroids.) "Not now. I am re-reading Emma."
("Yeah, I think, for the 3 millionth time! Emma's a good book, I'm not knocking it, but even Jane Austen read other things once in a while!)
April 2002:
"Bumma! Lookit what Mr czuk got for me while we were up in Chapel Hill! Empire Falls!!! It's out in paperback! Would you like to read it?
(heavy sigh from the tiny one and she glances at the cover.)
"I don't think so- not now"
May 2002
"Bumma, I'd like to lend this copy of Empire Falls to a friend. Would you like to read it first, or should I go ahead and lend it."
Heavy sigh (remember? I told you about those!) "Go ahead- I don't think it's my cup of tea."
Book travels through 6 friends, and acquires a hefty wine stain before returning home to me.
March 2004
Book home and registered at BookCrossing.
August 2004
"Bumma! Liz asked if we had a copy of Empire Falls. I'm gonna lend her my copy. OK?"
(no comment from the parental unit. Her hearing aid was turned off, I think, or she was ignoring me.)
Book was returned, and is now somewhere in the house, with wine stain. In the meantime, I found a second copy of the book, for my pc at a booksale. Which of course I show to my mother, which of course, she ignores...
Cut to this morning, and I am cleaning up the house. On the table in the family room is a copy of, you guessed it, Empire Falls. From the library. Slowly I turn....
"Bumma! You reading this?" I hold the book aloft.
"Yes! It's a wonderful book! Your cousin Peter recommended it to me, so I checked it out of the Library the other day. You should read it. I think you'd like it."
Ack!!!!!!!!!!!!! Pardon me while I go check to see if I am invisible
Journal Entry 4 by bookczuk at LFL- Oak Island in Folly Beach, South Carolina USA on Thursday, August 27, 2020
bookczuk at LFL- Oak Island in Folly Beach, South Carolina USA on Thursday, August 27, 2020
Released 3 yrs ago (8/27/2020 UTC) at LFL- Oak Island in Folly Beach, South Carolina USA
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
To the finder of this book:
Welcome to BookCrossing, a unique community of book lovers, sharing their libraries with the world. This book is now yours to read, enjoy, keep or pass on to another reader. The BookCrossing ID, which you entered in the "Enter a BCID" box on the website, is unique to this copy of this book. If you make a journal entry (either anonymously, or as a BookCrossing member) all previous readers of this actual book will be notified by email, and can follow the book as it travels. BookCrossing is free to join, completely confidential (you are known only by your screen name and no one is ever given your e-mail address) and a heck of a lot of fun. Be on the lookout for other books left in the "Wild"!
If you find yourself liking BookCrossing, there may be local BookCrossers who meet regularly in your area. Come join us! I've been a BookCrosser since 2003 and have found books left by others, discovered new authors to read, watched my books travel all over the world, and discovered a delightful group of readers online through BookCrossing.
Welcome to BookCrossing, a unique community of book lovers, sharing their libraries with the world. This book is now yours to read, enjoy, keep or pass on to another reader. The BookCrossing ID, which you entered in the "Enter a BCID" box on the website, is unique to this copy of this book. If you make a journal entry (either anonymously, or as a BookCrossing member) all previous readers of this actual book will be notified by email, and can follow the book as it travels. BookCrossing is free to join, completely confidential (you are known only by your screen name and no one is ever given your e-mail address) and a heck of a lot of fun. Be on the lookout for other books left in the "Wild"!
If you find yourself liking BookCrossing, there may be local BookCrossers who meet regularly in your area. Come join us! I've been a BookCrosser since 2003 and have found books left by others, discovered new authors to read, watched my books travel all over the world, and discovered a delightful group of readers online through BookCrossing.
