SOURCE: Epstein, Joseph. “Surfing the Novel.” Commentary 113, no. 1 (January 2002): 32-7.

In the following excerpt, Epstein laments the difficulty of identifying new literary talent and, singling out Jonathan Franzen and Russo as notable exceptions, provides a favorable review of Empire Falls.

Reading novels has so long been a habit of mine that by now it qualifies as a full-blown addiction. My modus operandi is to alternate between the new and the old; frequently I have bookmarks in both simultaneously, hoping to keep up with the latest offerings while attempting to fill in some of the many gaps in my reading before I depart the planet. To this day, I feel a tug of guilt over never having read Arnold Bennett's The Old Wives' Tale (1908), though I hope to get around to it presently. Onward and outward.

When it comes to older novels, my principle of selection has been set...