For Book Lovers!
Our next book will be Wicked by Gregory Maguire. Let’s try to have the first part, Munchkinlanders, done this weekend (Sunday, May 18). Please post any comments or insights! Let’s make this a busy blog!
Also, let’s see if we can get more discussion going about Empire Falls. There is so much to think about!
Why does Tick befriend John Voss? How does her sense of responsibility for him compare to Miles’s feelings, both as a child and as a grown man, about Cindy Whiting? Are the differences attributable to the circumstances that bring each pair together, or do they reflect something deeper about Tick’s and Miles’s morality and their abilities to empathize with other people? What other incidents demonstrate Tick’s understanding of what other people need? Why is she unable to treat Janine in the same comfortable, non-judgmental way she treats Miles and Max Roby?
From the almost unimaginable cruelty of John Voss’s parents to Mrs. Whiting’s coldness toward Cindy, to Grace’s withdrawal from David (and to some extent Miles) when she joins the Whiting household, the novel contains several examples of the emotional and physical harm parents inflict on their children. Why do you think Russo made this a central theme of the book? Does it adequately explain or even justify behavior you would otherwise find completely unacceptable?
What adjectives would you use to describe Empire Falls? How does Russo make the story of a dying town (with more than its share of losers) entertaining and engaging? Did you find most, if not all, of the characters sympathetic in some way?
What does Empire Falls provide that its residents might not be able to find anywhere else? Does living in a small town necessarily limit the satisfaction people get out of life? Is Miles right when he thinks, “After all, what was the whole wide world but a place for people to yearn for their hearts’ impossible desires, for those desires to become entrenched in defiance of logic, plausibility, and even the passage of time” [p. 295]? Which characters might have led better, more fulfilling lives if they had moved away from Empire Falls?
It is midnight, and although I have been tired since about 7:30 this evening, I am still up. I picked up Empire Falls when I got into bed, thinking I would read a couple pages and then fall asleep. Boy, was I wrong. I believe everyone is now done with the book, but just in case someone isn’t, I won’t spoil anything. All I can say is “WOW!” That last section really packed a punch or two (or twelve!) I am thoroughly impressed with this novel, and will definitely be looking to read other books by Richard Russo. Now, to the task at hand!
What do you think? There are so many different themes to talk about with this novel, it’s hard to pick a direction. Here is another discussion question to get us going. If you have another idea or theme to examine, by all means, post away! 
“In contemplating the past year, Tick says, “Just because things happen slow doesn’t mean you’ll be ready for them. If they happened fast, you’d be alert for all kinds of suddenness. . . “Slow” works on an altogether different principle, on the deceptive impression that there’s plenty of time to prepare” [p. 441]. How does this relate to the novel as a whole and the way it is structured? Why has Russo chosen Tick to express this insight?”
Time to be humble - I was telling my favorite librarian (FL) the other day that until I got quite far into Part 4, I was unaware that this was such a contemporary novel! Closing textile mills to me meant mid to a bit later 20th century, and I guess I let that cloud or fog the other clues. FL thought that was something I should share, so here it is! Is there anyone else that may have been blind in this respect?
Are you reading anything else during our break? Have you read anything recently that you would like to share?
Leave a comment!
So, I realize that I am behind, but I just finished Part 1 in Empire Falls. I would like to know what you think of the baseball mitt. What do you think it is symbolic of? What does it mean that Miles left it behind? It was so very important that Miles be able to bring it on their vacation, but unimportant enough by the end of the vacation to forget it.
I’m thinking it represents Miles’ youthful innocence. He’s had one of those “you can never go home again” experiences on Martha’s Vineyard. Even though Grace says at the end, “Nothing’s going to change. Not one thing,” the truth is that everything has changed. Miles has gone from the child’s way of perceiving his parents to a more honest perception of them, and that makes all the difference in the world.
I’m still trying to work out how the amazing catch at the beginning of this flashback factors in, and all the other baseball connections. Leave it to me, sports fan, to focus on this aspect of the book right now.
I hope you are all enjoying this book - it has certainly grown on me. What are you thinking about it?
