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Liked It “In true Russo form...it was amazing.” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“Pretty good, but reading it on the tales of Empire Falls - well, just kept thinking about EF, I probably would have enjoyed it more if I read it first. ”
Constance L wrote this review 13 days ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“In true Russo form...it was amazing.”
Tabitha S wrote this review Friday, September 4 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Richard Russo is one of my favorite authors and he didn't disappoint with this book either.”
Morrigan F wrote this review Saturday, July 18 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I've read several of Russo's other books and in this, his first novel, the themes and setting are very similar. So much so, that I found myself getting confused about which characters were in which book. However, his novels are enjoyable and I often feel like I know his characters. This is a portrait of small-town upstate New York, in a state of economic decline, and the problems that populate the lives of the people of the town. Empire Falls remains the best of his novels, in my opinion. Here, the characters were a bit flat.”
Karen wrote this review Wednesday, September 17 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Excellent read - His books I don't want to end. Felt like I was there.”
chas g wrote this review Monday, March 3 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“The first draft of Empire Falls. ”
Matthew K wrote this review Thursday, January 31 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Prior to reading this book I read Empire Falls by the same author. Both books are similar in that they are tales about small towns that depended on a factory to keep their economic viability and in both cases the industry has dried up. The first book had a lot of fascinating characters, who for various reasons were “trapped” in their town to live out the rest of their lives there. Mohawk is similar except the characters for the most part are very dull. In both books the two main characters are divorced with a teenager that seems to get into a lot of trouble. In Empire Falls, we have a lot of sympathy for both main characters and their troubled daughter. In Mohawk, the parents are so dull (Anne Grouse and Dallas Younger) that we couldn’t care what happens to them and their teenaged son (Randall) seems to do a lot of things on a whim (just drop out of college and hitch-hike back to town) that we really do not know what makes him tick.
Katamaster wrote this review Thursday, September 20 2007. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Anne has done a few things that defy logic like having an affair with Dallas’ best friend (Dan) and still marrying Dallas, though she doesn’t love him. Russo fails to reasonably explain Anne’s attraction to Dan and the reason for her wanting to marry Dallas. Dallas is so drab as an ex-star high school football player who constantly forgets what he had planned to do.
One of the few characters with any substance is Mather Grouse, Anne’s father who lived a very rigid life. Mather always wanted that Anne leave Mohawk to find her fortune and she is on the verge of doing so, when he suddenly dies. Anne is forced to give up her plans in order to stay with her mother. Anne’s mother is pretty annoying and is herself annoyed by just about everything especially any type of insect.
I slogged through this book and finished it only because I felt I needed to, not because I enjoyed it, which I didn’t.
It seems like this book is an early stab by Russo and Empire Falls is the “cleaned up” and greatly improved version. Final score: Empire Falls 5, Mohawk 2 ½ to 3.
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