Maine author's mill-town tale nets Pulitzer Prize

Tuesday, April 9, 2002

By JOANNE LANNIN, Staff Writer

"Empire Falls," Richard Russo's wry, epic tale of life in a dying mill town in Maine, has won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction.

While he was surprised and thrilled at the news, Russo downplayed the award's significance in his usual self-effacing style.

"The Pulitzer Prize is a wonderful thing, but when you are raised a Catholic, you have to banish any of those thoughts," said Russo by phone Monday afternoon.

Russo, who lives in Camden with his wife and two daughters, won the prize over ÔÔThe Corrections,ÕÕ the best-selling National Book Award winner by Jonathan Franzen.

Franzen made headlines when he balked at accepting Oprah WinfreyÕs endorsement as a selection for her book club.

Russo said that Franzen's National Book Award might have worked against him with the Pulitzer board.

"Every major award this year has gone to a different writer," Russo said. "But for all I know, they flipped a coin."

"Empire Falls," Russo's fifth novel, is his most ambitious work. While some readers were disappointed that it wasn't as tightly woven as some of his other books, such as "Straight Man" or "Nobody's Fool," it has won praise for its scope and the deftness with which Russo handles a narrative tale that spans three generations.

At the center of "Empire Falls" is the story of Miles Roby, who has seemingly wasted his life shouldering a burden not of his making, as well as a dream that may never come true. As the set piece for the novel, Russo chose an empty factory, which looms over the town and symbolizes the demise of small-town life and the fading hopes dashed by forces over which residents have no control.

Russo started the novel in 1966 when he was living in Waterville and teaching at Colby College. He now writes full time and lives in an 1846 house with a harbor view, around the corner from the town library.

Russo doesn't think the Pulitzer will change his life in Camden much. The film rights to "Empire Falls" have already been optioned and Paul Newman will be producing the movie for HBO.

Last April, Russo said in an interview that he couldn't imagine who would want to write the screenplay. A year later, he has just completed the first draft.

Future drafts will have to wait until he returns from a vacation in Spain beginning today. Monday night, Russo steeled himself for the onslaught of media phone calls and well-wishers.

"The bottles of wine have started to arrive and I think I'm going to need them," he said. "I just talked to a friend who gave me some advice. He said, ÔSuck it up and soak it in.ÕÊÓ

Staff Writer Joanne Lannin can be contacted at 791-6650 or at: jlannin@pressherald.com

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