Empire Falls

Pulitzer Prize 2002. It is possible that in the history of American literature Richard Russo will remain as the author of the last great novel of the 20th century. The Christmas Science Monitor Miles Robie has been preparing burgers in the Imperial Grill for twenty years, this work cost him higher education and a fair amount of self -esteem. Miles is a good guy, but in his character there is one tragic flaw - he is not capable of decisive action. And his kindness is sometimes not distinguished from the readiness to swim with the flow. That"s just the currents in the town of Empir Falls are very intricate. Even the Knox river here makes a loop, nullifying to the shore everything that was collected above. So Miles, who, from his youth, tried to break out of the stuffy hometown, circles around his own life. Maybe here he is kept by a smart thin -skinned daughter of Tick, who, without his father’s support, cannot survive at a local school? Or Zhanin, without five minutes, the ex-wife of Miles, who twisted the romance with a hopelessly narcissistic owner of a fitness club? Or the powerful Francin Wating, the owner of everything in the city - and, it seems, this "all" covers Miles himself? Or maybe the need to look after the old man father, too lively in his unbearable escapades? Or is it still the secrets of the past, which determined the life of Miles and many others in the city? In Empire Falls" Richard Russo immerses the reader into the world of little life, where oddities, intrigues, passions, funny and tragic events are seething. "Empire Falls" is a human novel, full of humor, sympathy, sadness and joy.
In 2002, the book received the Pulitzer Prize. Richard Rousseau practically did not translate into Russian (a couple of stories in the journal not counted), and this is a big miscalculation, because Rousseau is not only a large writer, who was crowned with bonuses and beloved by readers, but his books should be especially close Russian reader