SOURCE: Jacobs, Rita D. Review of Empire Falls, by Richard Russo. World Literature Today 76, no. 2 (spring 2002): 153.

In the following review of Empire Falls, Jacobs praises Russo's characterizations and prose but faults the novel for excessive length and abrupt resolution.

First, I have to admit I am an unabashed Richard Russo fan. Especially in The Risk Pool and Straight Man, Russo has written quintessential novels about somewhat miniaturized subjects—growing up in a small, undistinguished town with a ne'er-do-well father, suffering through the petty squabbles of an English Department—and has done it with grace, humor, and a good deal of literary skill. A distinctly twentieth-century local colorist, Russo uses rich detail and irony to craft terrifically satisfying novels. This is not to demean the importance of his comments on society and its ills or on the human condition; it's just that he situates his trenchant comments in small...