Book Review #26

Empire Falls by Richard Russo

What is going on with the Pultizer Prize judges? It seems like the flatter and bleaker the story, the more they like it. I puzzled over The Shipping News for weeks. The only thing I can figure is that it was a character study, like Empire Falls.

I like this sentence from Amazon.com about The Shipping News. I think it sums up the protagonists in itand Empire Falls perfectly: "He's not attractive, he's not brilliant or witty or talented, and he's not the kind of person who typically assumes the central position in a novel." He's actually utterly forgettable.

It just hit me! Maybe it's a test of endurance. Give me an F.

Time to banish from my presence: A couple months. The nail in the coffin was when my dad blew the ending. Thank you HBO mini-series.
General consensus: Not into deep looks into the souls of morose, conflicted men, i.e. that guy in Sideways, ugh!