Analysing the books in the series, we estimate that the reading level of Empire Falls is 9th and 10th grade.
Readability Test | Reading Level |
---|---|
Flesch Kincaid Scale | Grade 7 |
SMOG Index | Grade 9 |
Coleman Liau Index | Grade 8 |
Dale Chall Readability Score | Grade 6 |
The estimated word count of Empire Falls is 202,740 words.
A person reading at the average speed of 250 words/min, will finish the book in 13 hrs 31 mins. At a slower speed of 150 words/min, they will finish it in 22 hrs 32 mins. At a faster speed of 450 words/min, they will finish it in 7 hrs 31 mins.
Empire Falls - 202,740 words | ||
---|---|---|
Reading Speed | Time to Read | |
Slow | 150 words/min | 22 hrs 32 mins |
Average | 250 words/min | 13 hrs 31 mins |
Fast | 450 words/min | 7 hrs 31 mins |
for Empire Falls
Richard Russo—from his first novel, Mohawk, to his most recent, Straight Man—has demonstrated a peerless affinity for the human tragicomedy, and with this stunning new novel he extends even further his claims on the small-town, blue-collar heart of the country.Dexter County, Maine, and specifically the town of Empire Falls, has seen better days, and for decades, in fact, only a succession from bad to worse. One by one, its logging and textile enterprises have gone belly-up, and the once vast holdings of the Whiting clan (presided over by the last scion’s widow) now mostly amount to decrepit real estate. The working classes, meanwhile, continue to eke out whatever meager promise isn’t already boarded up.Miles Roby gazes over this ruined kingdom from the Empire Grill, an opportunity of his youth that has become the albatross of his daily and future life. Called back from college and set to work by family obligations—his mother ailing, his father a loose cannon—Miles never left home again. Even so, his own obligations are manifold: a pending divorce; a troubled younger brother; and, not least, a peculiar partnership in the failing grill with none other than Mrs. Whiting. All of these, though, are offset by his daughter, Tick, whom he guides gently and proudly through the tribulations of adolescence.A decent man encircled by history and dreams, by echoing churches and abandoned mills, by the comforts and feuds provided by lifelong friends and neighbors, Miles is also a patient, knowing guide to the rich, hardscrabble nature of Empire Falls: fathers and sons and daughters, living and dead, rich and poor alike. Shot through with the mysteries of generations and the shattering visitations of the nation at large, it is a social novel of panoramic ambition, yet at the same time achingly personal. In the end, Empire Falls reveals our worst and best instincts, both our most appalling nightmares and our simplest hopes, with all the vision, grace and humanity of truly epic storytelling.