Empire Falls by Richard Russo (Alfred A. Knopf, May 8, 2001; 496 pages) is a Pulitzer Prize–winning novel (2002) set in the fictional, decaying mill town of Empire Falls, Maine. The story follows Miles Roby, the weary manager of the Empire Grill, whose life has been shaped by the town’s decline, his complicated family, and the imperious Francine Whiting, who owns much of the community