Empire Falls, by Richard Russo

I just finished reading Empire Falls by Richard Russo. This isn't a book I would normally pick up and read. However, it was a selection brought to book club. So while shopping at my second favorite bookstore (my first being Barnes and Noble)-I spotted it for a whopping $1.50. I figured, why not, if I hate it...it only cost me one large, easy ice, diet cranberry limeade from Sonic. I can handle that. Plus, it's a Pulitzer Prize Award Winner (2002) and an HBO series; therefore, it must be worth something.
When I started reading the book, I have to admit, I very quickly began to wonder what all the fuss was about. It took me a while to get into the groove of how Richard Russo writes.
However, while reading "Empire Falls", I found myself wondering about the characters, what was happening in the small town of EF, and what was going to happen next, while I was away. I began to really like some of the characters and despise others. (I enjoyed Max's sense of humor and Miles's kind heart.)
Something that did help me connect with the book-was Googling the actors who portrayed Russo's characters-in the HBO series. It was nice having a face to fit the characters. (Ed Harris, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Helen Hunt, Paul Newman, Robin Wright Penn, Aidan Quinn and Joanne Woodward)
Would I recommend this book to a friend? Yes, but I would tell them to stick with it, be patient, because in the end-it's all worth it.