Empire Falls

I owe a debt to Gayle. She introduced me to three authors that I hadn't read before. Richard Russo is one of the authors she recommended. His book "Empire Falls" won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2002. Can I make a complete jackass of myself and say that the book truly deserves the award?

The book moves along very slowly. I like slow-moving stories. They let me start and stop where I please, and grab a cup of tea along the way. The characters are well-developed. The town with it's dying textile mill reminds me strongly of where I live - another town that is shutting down quietly with it's businesses. The characters seem just like the people I meet around these parts with the same attitudes and the same ambitions.

A wonderful book. I'm sorry I waited so long to read it.