Empire Falls

Since I got pregnant I’ve been fighting a mean case of fatigue. It’s gotten better in the last month, but when it comes to my reading I’ve found I’m struggling to tackle new books that intimidate me. Instead I’ve been drawn to rereading old favorites. That’s included the Harry Potter series, Jane Austen’s Emma, and now Empire Falls. It’s been wonderful to return to books where I already know the characters and I can sink into the story easily. 

Empire Falls

by Richard Russo

★★★★★

Empire Falls was my first introduction to the writing of Richard Russo. I've since read more of his work including some that weren't my favorite, Straight Man and That Old Cape Magic, and one that I loved, Bridge of Sighs, but none of those have hit me in quite the same way that Empire Falls did.

Empire Falls is a small, fictional town in Maine. One rich family has ruled the roost for decades, while the small businesses slowly decay. The story is mainly told from Miles Roby's point-of-view. He's a simple man who runs the town's diner. His wife is divorcing him; his father is constantly belittling him, his brother is disappointed in him, but his relationship with his teenage daughter remains the one thing that sustains him.

At the time I didn't realize it was a Pulitzer-Prize winner. I didn't know it had already been made it into a miniseries (featuring Paul Newman in his last live action role). It was just a book. Sometimes the simplicity of reading something with no expectations or preconceived notions allows you to evaluate it with more honesty. It allows you to let it impact you in whatever way it will, as opposed to assuming you'll love or hate it based on what you've already heard.

One of Russo's greatest talents is his ability to craft characters that are so complex and believable that you forget they aren't real people you know. They are all layered and their lives are so interconnected with each other that it's sometimes hard to see them as individuals instead of just as a community. Their personalities are so defined by the way others view them and what is expected of them. There are no true villains or heroes. They are all flawed. There are some you love more than others, but it's certainly not because they're perfect.

BOTTOM LINE: My simple summary of the plot does not do it justice. The book is wonderful not because of the plot, but because of the characters and you can't summarize those. Rereading the book made me fall in love with it all over again. Empire Falls’ residents ache with longing for their dream deferred. They are so beautifully written that you feel like part of the community after only a few pages.

"A lively intellect, so much admired in a man, is seldom tolerated in a woman-or am I mistaken?”

"People who imagine themselves to be self-made seldom enjoy examining the process of manufacture in detail."

Rating Scale

One thing I rarely talk about on this blog is my rating system. It’s used in almost every post and I thought it might be time to shed a little more light on it. I think it’s important to remember that I’m rating the book on my personal experience with it. This doesn’t mean I’m telling you it has no literary merit or that a “fluff” book should be the new Pulitzer Prize winner. I’m simply quantifying my experience with the book for future reference.

Because of this, my reading experience might have been affected by my mood, or how busy I was at work, etc. I try not to let that shift the rating too much, but really it’s unavoidable. Plus, I’m reviewing the books for myself more than anyone else, so that’s who I’m rating them for too.

Here’s the rundown of my rating scale: ★ = one star ☆ = 1/2 star
★★★★★: A new favorite, a must-read
★★★★: Liked it a lot, but won't reread
★★★: Nothing special, but OK
★★: Not my cup of tea
★: Waste of time

I’ve notice that over the past few years I end up with a ton of 4 star books. I’ve learned my own taste as a reader and I read fewer books that I will probably hate. As I narrow the scope of what I pick up I tend to have higher rated books. I used to read quite a few books I ended up hating because I just wasn’t sure what I like (12 Nicholas Sparks books later I figured out I wasn’t a fan of formulaic romances.) 

The reason there aren’t an increasingly growing number of 5 star books is because I rarely ever give a book 5 stars. I have to not only love the book, I have to know for a fact that I want to reread it. When I finished I Capture the Castle I knew I would read it again. The same was true for The Book Thief and The Night Circus. My 5 star rating is reserved for those few books that make me fall in love with them. For example, I really enjoyed This is Where I Leave You, but I probably won’t ever read it again. So it got a 4 star rating, not a 5.

I’ve thought about getting rid of ratings all together since it’s such an arbitrary thing, but it’s the first thing I look at in other people’s reviews. It also is a good reminder to me of my original reaction to the book. That can change with time, but the rating still stands in my head as my initial honest reaction.

How about you guys, do you rate your reads?

Image from here. 

Rereadings

Rereadings
Seventeen writers revisit books they love
by Anne Fadiman
★★★☆

This year I’ve decided to make rereading a priority and so this essay collection was a perfect read to pick up. Just like any essay or short story collection, there are both strong and weak pieces. The book itself isn’t amazing, but the sentiment it shares is an important one. It’s another great reminder that I need to make time to reread books I love.

I wish there had been a few more essays that referenced books I know. I could identify with the piece on Pride and Prejudice and Brideshead Revisited, but not as much with a field guide one woman had grown to love. The sentiment is the same regardless of the book though. Sometimes you return to a beloved book and realize the story now seems childish or more problematic than you remember. Other times it makes you fall in love with the story all over again. No matter what happens, it deepens your relationship with the book.

“One of the strongest motivations for rereading is purely selfish: it helps you remember what you used to be like. Open an old paperback, spangled with marginalia in a handwriting you outgrew long ago, and memories will jump out with as much vigor as if you’d opened your old diary.”

“And there lay the essential differences between reading and rereading. The former had more velocity; the latter had more depth. The former shut out the world in order to focus on the story; the latter dragged in the world in order to assess the story. The former was more fun; the latter was more cynical. But what was remarkable about the latter was that it contained the former.

I’m planning on rereading at least one book each month this year. I wish I’d decided to do this early so I could have reread one in January, but oh well. Here are a few I’m hoping to get to this year.

The Hobbit – February
The Hunger Games – March
The Shadow of the Wind – April
Sense and Sensibility – May

The Perks of Being a Wallflower – June

Fahrenheit 451 – July

Catching Fire – August

Ender’s Game and Ender's Shadow – September

The Graveyard Book – October 

Mockingjay – November
The Angel's Game and A Christmas Carol – December

The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games

by Suzanne Collins

★★★★☆

 

I read The Hunger Games before I started blogging, which means, before I heard the hype. I’m sure that had an effect of my opinion of it. One friend recommended it to me, but there was no ground swell of obsession at that point, so I was surprised by just about everything in the book and I loved it. I recently reread it, to refresh my memory before the movie’s release, and I was happy to find I enjoyed it just as much the second time around.

 

Here’s the basic premise, Katniss Everdeen lives in a dystopian society called Panem. It’s split into 12 districts, each one of which has its own unique aspects (fishing community, coal mining, etc.). Each year a lottery is held and one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 are chosen to compete in the annual Hunger Games. The 24 “tributes” must then fight to the death on live television, while the rest of the world watches. When her young sister Prim is chosen as a tribute, Katniss volunteers to take her place.

The plot includes elements of everything from Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” to gladiator fighting, but it still manages to feel completely unique. The characters are unforgettable. I usually have trouble remember who is who when I pick up a second book in a series months after reading the first. That wasn’t the case here. Each person stood out distinctly in my mind; Haymitch, the drunken former tribute, Cinna, the quiet designer, etc.

I particularly loved Katniss as a character. She’s one of the main reasons I enjoyed the book so much. There are so many characters that give us great examples of the emotional struggles that go hand-in-hand with extreme trials, but she is not one of these. She is hard and distant. She has been made this way because of the role she was thrust into. When her father died, her mother shut down and Katniss either had to find a way to provide for her mother and sister or she had to watch them die. Her strength and logically way of thinking is something much more relatable to me. She is not soft and emotional and there’s no reason she would be in this society. It feels so much more realistic.

It was always a bit frustrating to me that people made a big deal of the so-called love triangle in the series. To me, that was always a tiny subplot, not a focal point. Gale and Peeta are both interesting characters, but the story is one of survival, not which one to she has a crush on at the moment.

For me, Hunger Games isn’t about love triangles or even dystopian societies. Those are all aspects of the story, but the heart of it is the struggle of one young woman. Obviously her struggle to survive in District 12 and in the games, but it’s also about her struggle to become an adult at a young age, to deal with an unreasonable amount of responsibility, to reconcile her instinct for survival with her emotions, and her desire to make a better life for herself and her family. The book conveys this wonderfully and makes it impossible for me to put it down.
 

p.s. I saw the movie this weekend and I loved it. Of course there are going to be things to criticize and I didn't love all of the casting, but overall I thought they did a wonderful job. I also liked seeing some of the things that were going on outside of the arena, with Seneca and in District 11 and 12. I thought that added a great element to the story. So if you are interested in it, definitely go see it!

Image from here

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books I Want To Reread

I love the question from this week's Top Ten list at The Broke and the Bookish. I think blogging makes me read books differently in some ways. I take note of the things I love about a book in a more concrete way and think critically about what worked and didn't work. There are so many books I read before I started blogging and I'd love to reread them now with that new mindset.

1) The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: I loved this whole series the first time I read it, but it's been almost 10 years. I'm curious to see if I'd find it as funny as a reread.


These three are just amazing and I wish I could read them for the first time again. I think I will reread them for years to come.

2) The Thirteenth Tale

3) The History of Love

4) The Shadow of the Wind


5) Gone with the Wind: I loved it when I read it back in 2003. When I started blogging I saw this one every where and people talked about how much they loved it. Then I read this book about the story behind Gone With the Wind and have been dying to read it again ever since.

6) Persuasion: I've read all of Jane Austen's major works and some of her minor works and Persuasion was my favorite. I'd love to reread it and see if I still feel that way.

7) Ender's Game: I adore this book, but after reading it I went on to read all 8 of the sequels and companion books. I want to start from the beginning and read the book that had such a big impact on me the first time around.


8) And Then There Were None: My first and favorite Agatha Christie book. I recommend this one constantly and it's been too long since I've read it myself.

9) The Perks of Being a Wallflower: I was a freshman in college when I read this and I thought it was so beautiful. Now there's a movie coming out and I want to reread it before then.

10) American Gods: My very first Gaiman, read back in 2007. It's not a great place to start with him. Since reading this I've read almost everything else he has written and have grown to love his work and dark sense of humor. Now that I appreciate his style more, I think I would get a lot more out of his masterpiece. Plus the HBO series based on the book is coming out sometime in the next year or two.