Book Review: Empire Falls by Richard Russo

 

Title: Empire Falls
Author:  Richard Russo
Publisher: Vintage (April 12, 2002)
ISBN 10: 0375726403 
Pages: 496 pages
Format: Audio Book

About the Book: (from Goodreads.com) 

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 poor alike. 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.

Setting:  Empire Falls, Maine  (small town)

About the Author:  Richard Russo lives in coastal Maine with his wife and their two daughters. He was awarded the 2002 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction for Empire Falls. His novels Empire Falls, Mohawk, The Risk Pool, Nobody's Fool and Straight Man as well as his short story collection, The Whore's Child, are available in Vintage paperback.

Related Media:  (trailer for the movie adaptation of the book)

My Review:   Books like Empire Falls make me question my ability to review books. Empire Falls won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2002. While I loved many things about Empire Falls, I also found some things I did not care for. Russo is a wonderful story teller and made me feel like I was right there in Empire Falls. The characters were strong and well developed, though I would have liked to have more insight into the inner workings of Tick and Mrs. Whiting. Tick and Mrs. Whiting were my favorite characters. I understand that not providing that insight about their thoughts assists in making them more mysterious characters, but I personally wanted to know more about their thoughts.

Honestly, I nearly gave up on this book as the beginning as it seemed to plod along. But that was simply good storytelling. Empire Fall does eventually come to a boil, after much anticipation. It did feel like I was watching in anticipation for a pot to boil. For me personally, everything came to the climax and too quickly the loose ends were all tied up and the story was over. The ending was just too quick for me. The ending was a surprise to me in some regards. I thought I had it all figured out midway through the book, exasperated with such an obvious plot twist, but I was WRONG.

The last comment I have to make about Empire Falls, which is possibly related to the fact that I listened to the audio of this book, is that I found the flash backs in Empire Falls to be clumsy and confusing. I assume that in the written text the flashbacks may have been denoted in a better fashion, but in the audio it was clumsy and confusing.

My Rating: 4/5 – really liked Empire Falls by Richard Russo. I grew to really care about the characters in Empire Falls and found myself wanting to do tasks that would allow me to listen to the audio book a bit longer. If you have read my blog for any period of time, you will find I rarely rate anything 5. A book has to really keep me up at night to be rated 5- it was amazing! A rating of a 4 is certainly a book I would recommend to other readers.

Other Bloggers Reviews:

Literary Corner Café

Book Awards Reading Challenge

Life with Books

Savidge Read – Book Addict

 

Happy Reading!

My Rating Scale: 1 – didn’t like it; 2 – it was ok; 3 – liked it; 4 – really liked it; 5 – it was amazing

Book Review: The Stormchasers by Jenna Blum

 

Title:  The Stormchasers
Author:  Jenna Blum
Publisher:  Dutton Adult (May 27, 2010)
Web: http://www.jennablum.com/
ISBN-10: 0525951555
Pages: 384 pages
Format: Audio

About the Book: (from Goodreads.com)

As a teenager, Karena Jorge had always been the one to look out for her twin brother Charles, who suffers from bipolar disorder. But as Charles begins to refuse medication and his manic tendencies worsen, Karena finds herself caught between her loyalty to her brother and her fear for his life. Always obsessed with the weather-enraptured by its magical unpredictability that seemed to mirror his own impulses- Charles starts chasing storms, and his behavior grows increasingly erratic . . . until a terrifying storm chase with Karena ends with deadly consequences, tearing the twins apart and changing both of their lives forever.
Two decades later, Karena gets a call from a psychiatric ward in Wichita, Kansas, to come pick up her brother, whom she hasn't seen or spoken to for twenty years. She soon discovers that Charles has lied to the doctors, taken medication that could make him dangerously manic, and disappeared again. Having exhausted every resource to try and track him down, Karena realizes she has only one last chance of finding him: the storms. Wherever the tornadoes are, that's where he'll be. Karena joins a team of professional stormchasers-passionate adventurers who will transform her life and give her a chance at love and redemption- and embarks on an odyssey to find her brother before he reveals the violent secret from their past and does more damage to himself . . . or to someone else.

Setting:  Midwest – Minnesota, South Dakota, Nebraska – growing up in South Dakota and living in Minnesota the the setting was very familiar.

About the Author:  When Jenna is not on the road speaking and storm chasing, she divides her time between Boston, where she teaches master novel workshops for Grub Street Writers, and Minnesota, where she writes in the rural town in which her mom and grandmother were born. Jenna is also the author of Writer On The Road, her travel/writing column for Grub Daily, and a contributor to Grub Daily's weekly advice column. Jenna attended Kenyon College and Boston University, where she taught creative and communications writing for five years and was the editor of AGNI literary Magazine. She has been writing since she was four and to aspiring writers often quotes Winston Churchill's advice: "Never give in, never give in, never give in."   (from http://www.jennablum.com/blum-bio.htm)

Interview with the Author:

Related Media:

My Review:
The Stormchasers was the October selection for my bookgroup, Books & Babble. I am totally bummed that I ended up getting ill and was unable to go to group. I heard it was a great discussion. Originally, we had hope the author would be joining us for the discussion, but she was detained a day longer in Duluth. We were all very disappointed.

Having also read, Those Who Save Us, I can say that Jenna Blum is a skillful storyteller that can really capture human emotions. I started reading The Stormhasers on my Kindle. I have to be honest in saying that the story didn’t really grab me at first. Currently in my life I struggle to find the time to read, so I need a book to really grab me. This is more a commentary on my life than the book. Since The Stormchasers wasn’t reaching out and grabbing me like I needed, I switched to the audio version to ensure I would be done for book group. I am very happy I did. The audio added a lot to the story and my experience, such as the rapid, forced speech of Charles during his manic stage. The caution and fear wrapped around Karena’s words at times when talking to Charles was evident in the audio version. This ended up pulling me into the story.

While a predominant theme in The Stormchasers is being a twin and “twindar”, it is overshadowed by the skewed family dynamics of a family dealing with bi-polar disorder. The disorder and the families reaction to it overshadows every event, relationship and decision. Karena is extremely loyal to her twin, Charles. She feels a lot of guilt that she did not share the disorder with her twin, reminded me of survivor guilt.

Karena makes decisions throughout her life regarding Charles and how to help him. I did not agree with her decision to protect Charles’s secret. I think a lot would have been avoided had the problem been dealt with at the time. I loved the whole stormchaser aspect of the story, having grown up in the Midwest I have a realistic fear of tornadoes. I think Blum did an amazing amount of research on the subject including chasing herself. This is very impressive to me.

I really thought the parallel between stormchasing and bi-polar was nicely done.  Stormchasing is a perfect analogy for having bi-polar disorder. The calm and then the electrically charged manic episode. In the audio, I could actually feel the energy of the storm as well as the energy of Charles when going into a manic phase.

Having grown up in South Dakota and currently living in Minnesota, I really enjoyed the references to places that were familiar to me. I actually was thinking to myself that I have to look for the arch in Dakota County the next time I head down Hwy 52. I knew the other places that were mentioned, but don’t recall seeing this arch. The flow of the story was good. I was a bit disappointed with the ending. I would have liked to have a bit of a snapshot of how Karena and Charles’s lives were after everything. The ending was just too short for me after the major build up of the story.

My Rating: 3/ 5 - like it! I enjoyed the audio more! Loved, Loved..the characters.  Great character development. 

Other Bloggers Reviews:

Brain Candy Book Reviews

Reflections of a Bookaholic

Girls in The Stacks

Lauren’s Crammed Bookshelf

Happy Reading!

My Rating Scale: 1 – didn’t like it; 2 – it was ok; 3 – liked it; 4 – really liked it; 5 – it was amazing

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?? – 10/24/11 Edition

It’s Monday! What Are you Reading? is hosted by Shelia of Book Journey. It is a chance to share what you have read and what you plan on reading in the upcoming week. I enjoy seeing what everyone’s reading plans for the week. I always find some titles that I just *had to add to my TBR list.

Last week looked like this for me:

Finished:  That Day In September – Artie Van Why (review)

Started the Book:  Mennonite in a Little Black Dress – Rhoda Janzen – about 1/2 done

Started the Audio Book:   Empire Falls – Richard Russo – about 1/2 done

Reviews Posted :

That Day In September  -  Artie Van Why

Heaven is For Real – Todd Burpo

My Plans for this week:

Mennonite in a Little Black Dress by Rhoda Janzen. This is the book selection for November for my book group, “Books & Babble”.  Hope to finish this book this week. 

Empire Falls by Richard Russo is currently loading on my Zune and I hope to finish this book this week.

NEXT UP???

The Night Strangers by Chris Bohjalian – this book was mentioned as a good read for October so I downloaded it from Audible.com.
I have not read scary books in a long time. I seem to be more effected by them as an adult than when I was a teen.

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs is also downloaded from Audible waiting for me! The cover and title of this book totally creep me out. Can I handle two creepy books in one month???

A Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg is the November selection for my book group, “Wine, Women and Words”. Should be a nice book after reading Scary Book for October.

These are my reading plans for the week. What are you reading plans for the week??? Join in with Shelia at Book Journey and share your reading plans for the week!!

Happy Reading!!

Book Review: Heaven is For Real by Todd Burpo

Title:  Heaven is for Real

Author: Todd Burpo

Publisher:  Thomas Nelson; Original edition (November 2, 2010)

ISBN-10:  0849946158

Pages:  192 pages

Format: Book

About the Book:

Heaven Is for Real is the true story of the four-year old son of a small town Nebraska pastor who during emergency surgery slips from consciousness and enters heaven. He survives and begins talking about being able to look down and see the doctor operating and his dad praying in the waiting room. The family didn't know what to believe but soon the evidence was clear.

Colton said he met his miscarried sister, whom no one had told him about, and his great grandfather who died 30 years before Colton was born, then shared impossible-to-know details about each. He describes the horse that only Jesus could ride, about how "reaaally big" God and his chair are, and how the Holy Spirit "shoots down power" from heaven to help us.

Told by the father, but often in Colton's own words, the disarmingly simple message is heaven is a real place, Jesus really loves children, and be ready, there is a coming last battle.

Setting:  Imperial, Nebraska 

About the Author:   Todd Burpo is the pastor of Crossroads Wesleyan Church in Imperial, Nebraska where his sermons are broadcast locally every Sunday via the local radio station. He volunteers at Chase County Public Schools as wrestling coach for Junior high school students, as well as serving as a member of the school board. In emergencies Todd can be found working shoulder-to-shoulder with the Imperial Volunteer Fire Department as a fire fighter. He is also the chaplain for the Nebraska State Volunteer Firefighter's Association. To support his family, Todd also operates a company called Overhead Door Specialists. Todd graduated from Oklahoma Wesleyan University in 1991 summa cum laude with a BA in Theology. He was ordained in 1994. (from Amazon.com)

Related Media:

My Review:   Heaven is for Real was the monthly selection for my Wine, Women and Words book group.  Heaven is for Real is the recollections of Colton Burpo regarding his time in heaven after a near death experience associated with a burst appendix. The story is told, by Todd Burpo, Colton’s father who is also a pastor. It is not very often I can say a book gave me goose bumps, but Heaven is for Real did a few times.
It is a sweet, heartbreaking and what I believe to be an honest story. I think that the simple descriptions of Heaven by Colton are amazing. He doesn’t just come to his parents and tell them what he saw in Heaven. He slowly makes little comments that make the parents question him. The family slowly allows Colton to unravel his story over a long period of time.

One of the times I had goose bumps while reading Heaven is for Real was when Colton could tell his Dad where he was and what he was doing while Colton was in surgery. No one knew this but Todd Burpo. How could this 4 year old boy know? The last thing that I found extremely emotional and was of such comfort to me was Colton’s time with his sister. A sister, his parent’s didn’t tell him about as the mother had a miscarriage in early pregnancy. Having suffered a miscarriage, this gave me comfort to know that I may someday meet that child.

I am a Christian so I already have faith that my Father in Heaven looks after me and my family. Heaven Is For Real only makes me believe this more deeply. I adored Colton and the sweet, honest voice of this child to tell his story to the world. This is a great book for those seeking comfort from a recent lose of a loved one or miscarriage.

Heaven is for Real.......................good to know

My Rating: 4/5 not often a book gives me goose bumps. I stayed up past my bedtime reading Heaven is For Real.

Other Bloggers Reviews:

Book Journey

The Smitten Mittons

Happy Reading!

My Rating Scale: 1 – didn’t like it; 2 – it was ok; 3 – liked it; 4 – really liked it; 5 – it was amazing

Book Review: That Day In September by Art Van Why

Title:  That Day In September
Author:  Artie Van Why
Publisher:  Lulu.com (June 23, 2006)
Web: http://www.thatdayinseptember.blogspot.com/
ISBN-10:  1411683153
Pages:  108 pages
Format: Paperback

About the Book: (from Goodreads.com)

We all have our stories to tell of where we were the morning of September 11, 2001. This is one of them. In "That Day In September" Artie Van Why gives an eyewitness account of that fateful morning. From the moment he heard "a loud boom" in his office across from the World Trade Center, to stepping out onto the street, Artie vividly transports the reader back to the day that changed our lives and our country forever. "That Day In September" takes you beyond the events of that morning. By sharing his thoughts, fears, and hopes, Artie expresses what it was like to be in New York City in the weeks and months following. The reader comes away from "That Day In September" with not only a more intimate understanding of the events of that day, but also with a personal glimpse of how one person's life was dramatically changed forever.

Setting:  New York, September 11th – Ground Zero

About the Author: (from Goodreads.com)

Originally from Maryland, Artie Van Why moved to New York City in November of 1977 to pursue an acting career; albeit a slightly successful one.

Artie left show business in 1988 to enter the corporate world; as a word processor. He worked for the same law firm in midtown Manhattan for thirteen years. In June of 2001, his firm moved to other quarters downtown, across from the World Trade Center. Artie was at work the morning of September 11th, and witnessed the horror of that day from the streets.

He quit his job after three weeks of being back at his office's building near what was now called Ground Zero. He began writing about his experience of that day and the days and weeks following, giving a vivid accounting of what it was like to be in New York City on that day in September, and afterwards.

Interview with the Author:

My Review:  Artie Van Why contacted me via my blog and asked if I would be willing to review his book.   With the 10th Anniversary of 9/11 on my mind, it seemed a perfect time to revisit this tragedy through Van Why’s recollections of that day and the days surrounding the attack on New York. 

As many people will tell you, they know exactly where they were when they heard about the attack or saw it on TV.   I was getting ready for work.  I was 8 months pregnant with my youngest son.   My oldest son was watching TV, home sick from school, with my hubby.   They were watching the Today show reporting about the first plane.  I came out to watch in complete disbelief as we saw the second plane hit live on TV.   I can’t begin to explain the feelings I had.   A desire to protect my children so strong and such a sense of fear.   I had that strong of a reaction and I was in the Midwest.  I can’t even begin to comprehend the feelings that Artie Van Why had on that day. 

Artie gives what I believe to be a honest recollection of the events of that day.  He didn’t sensationalize the event or his part.   He did a wonderful job of helping the reader to “feel” his feelings that day and the days that followed.   I found tears in my eyes more than once in this short read.  I was so drawn into the first hand account of Van Why’s actions and feelings that I read the book in one sitting.   Some of his descriptions were so vivid that I am still thinking about them.   The following description will stay with me for a long time.  

“The man who had been running behind me from my right reached me and stopped. I turned to ask, “What do we do?” and was aware of someone falling on top of a pile of clothes just across the plaza. It took an instant to register that it wasn’t a pile of clothes. The person had fallen on a pile of bodies that were already lying there. I stood and stared as one body after another fell.”

What a powerful and heartbreaking vision.   I feel Artie Van Why provides good insight to the events of 9/11 and how  they effected his life and the city.   As a society we need to continue to remember and not forget the many people that died in 9/11 and the lasting effects the event had on rescue workers and survivors.  

My Rating: 4/5 – read the book in one sitting – engaging and emotional

Other Bloggers Reviews:

Life Between Pages

Kritters Ramblings

Let’s Book It

 

Happy Reading!

My Rating Scale: 1 – didn’t like it; 2 – it was ok; 3 – liked it; 4 – really liked it; 5 – it was amazing

Disclosure: I received one copy of this book free of charge from the author.  The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

It’s Monday! What Are you Reading?? - October 17th

It’s Monday! What Are you Reading? is hosted by Shelia of Book Journey. It is a chance to share what you have read and what you plan on reading in the upcoming week. I enjoy seeing what everyone’s reading plans for the week. I always find some titles that I just *had to add to my TBR list.

Last week looked like this for me:

Finished the Book: The Stormchasers – Jenna Blum (audio)

Started the book: Mennonite in a Little Black Dress – Rhoda Janzen

Life has been crazy and reading has been on the back burning for the last couple of months.   I am hoping to find a lot more time to read in the upcoming months.   We have had a lot going on with family and moving my Father in Law into our home with us.   Though I don’t think I ever finish a book in September with all the start of the school activities going on anyways.   I hate to say it but I am almost looking forward to the MN winter so I can curl up inside and read while the snow flies.     

Posted Reviews for the following books:

None posted, but I did post about the 2011 Twin Cities Book Festival. 

My Plans for this week:

	That Day In September by Artie Van Why -  I have only a few pages left to finish this book.  I was requested by the author to read and review this book.
	Mennonite in a Little Black Dress by Rhoda Janzen.   This is the book selection for November for my book group, “Books & Babble”. I am really looking forward to reading this book.  I have experience with the Hutterite community so this will bring back memories I am sure.
	Empire Falls by Richard Russo is currently loading on my Zune and I have just started to listen to it.  Reading simply because it was on my Zune after I finished my last audio!
NEXT UP???
	The Night Strangers by Chris Bohjalian – this book was mentioned as a good read for October so I downloaded it from Audible.com.   I have not read scary books in a long time.  I seem to be more effected by them as an adult than when I was a teen.
	Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children  by Ransom Riggs is also downloaded from Audible waiting for me!   The cover and title of this book totally creep me out.   Can I handle two creepy books in one month???
	A Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg is the November selection for my book group, “Wine, Women and Words”.  Should be a nice book after reading Scary Book for October.

These are my reading plans for the week. What are you reading plans for the week??? Join in with Shelia at Book Journey and share your reading plans for the week!!

Happy Reading!!

Twin Cities Book Festival - 2011

Rain Taxi presented the 11th Annual Twin Cities Book Festival at Minneapolis Community and Technical College. 

A sea of Books, Publishers and Authors.

I went to the event with my son and his fiancée.  We tried to listen to one presenter, Steven Pinker, discussing his most recent book, The Better Angels of Our Nature:  Why Violence Has Declined.  The room was standing room only and very hot.   Since we were standing we didn’t stay very long. 

We browsed through the vender area and met a few local authors.   The one thing I will say about this festival is the area is too small for it.  I bumped into people every time I moved.  Some booths of interest included, Minnesota Book Awards.   I plan on reading a couple of this year’s winners.   The award for Genre Fiction was Wendy' Webb’s The Tale of Halcyon Crane. 

Books of Interest by Local Authors:

Once There Were Castles by Larry Millett – architectural historian wrote a richly illustrated look at the lost mansions and estates of the Twin Cities.   Millet with have a live conversation with Garrison Keillor at the Fitzgerald Theater on November 7th.

Erin Hart – Haunted Ground, Lake of Sorrows and False Mermaid – delivers suspense, melding archaeology and modern forensics with Irish myth and mystery in the charged thrillers.

David P. Holmes, of Milaca, MN -  interesting author with a wide range of topics covered in his books.  His books include – Secrets, Salt of the Earth, Emily’s Run and Loose Gravel.  

Mary DesJarlais – wrote Dorie LaValle – a Minnesota Story of Moonshine and Murder.

Brian Landon – is a delightful author who wrote The Case of Unnecessary Sequel- A Doyle Malloy Murder.  If I remember correctly he also edited Why Did Santa Leave A Body? Yuletide Tales of Murder and Mayhem a collection of short stories by numerous MN mystery authors.

Nancy Baker – I bought two books from this author, Magel’s Daughter and Magel’s Ghost.  The covers drew me in and then my conversation with this author really peaked my interest.   Not the typical type of book I would read and review, but I am looking forward to reading Nancy

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’s books.  

On the way home we drove by the Hennepin County Central Library.  I had never been there, so we stopped off to check it out.  This library is state of the art and HUGE!

The Library had an exhibit about libraries through the time.

My hometown library had a card catalog just like this!!   I wonder if it is still being used?  Micro Fiche reader….man the hours I spent reading on one of those in college.   Isn’t amazing the things our children would have no clue about??  

Loved the flow of this library.

The kids area’s whimsical book holders for displays.  Loved the one on the spring.

Statue in the Atrium

I absolutely love the energy of the city.   I rarely head over to Minneapolis as we usually go to St Paul.  St Paul is just closer to home and more convenient.    I think if I was a single person it would be great to live downtown.   The weather in MN was very nice today so people were out everywhere.  One thing I saw that I just had to take a picture of was the Pedal Pub.

Yep….they are pedaling and drinking beer around the city.  It made me laugh and it was funny watching them trying to get started at ever stoplight. 

Well that was our day, filled with book related fun and great people!

Happy Reading!!