Empire Falls

WithEmpire FallsRichard Russo cements his reputation as one of America's most compelling and compassionate storytellers. Miles Roby has been slinging burgers at the Empire Grill for 20 years, a job that cost him his college education and much of his self-respect. What keeps him there? It could be his bright, sensitive daughter Tick, who needs all his help surviving the local high school. Or maybe it's Janine, Miles' soon-to-be ex-wife, who's taken up with a noxiously vain health-club proprietor. Or perhaps it's the imperious Francine Whiting, who owns everything in townand seems to believe that "everything" includes Miles himself. InEmpire FallsRichard Russo delves deep into the blue-collar heart of America in a work that overflows with hilarity, heartache, and grace.

Richard Russo lives in coastal Maine with his wife and their two daughters. He has written five novles: <i>Mohawk</i>, <i>The Risk Pool</i>, <i>Nobody’s Fool</i>, <i>Straight Man</i> and <i>Empire Falls</i>, and a collection of short stories, <i>The Whore's Child</i>.