Richard Russo is one of those authors I've somehow managed to go all these years without reading. Of course, I knew the name. You don't win a Pulitzer Prize without developing a bit of a reputation. But despite his acclaim, none of his novels had ever found their way to the top of my TBR. Then came Under the Falls. A small-town mystery involving old friends, buried secrets, and a homecoming gone wrong? Now that sounded like the perfect place for me to finally see what Russo was all about.
When Tyler turned eighteen, he left Stone Mountain for good and never looked back. Well, that's only technically true. He was desperate to escape the place where he grew up, but he never quite managed to step out of its shadow. Even after finding fame as a musician, he did so as the frontman of a band ironically named Stone Mountain.
Despite swearing he'd never return, Tyler agrees to come home for one night to play a benefit concert for his childhood friend Doc. Tyler was there at the falls the day Doc suffered the accident that left him in a wheelchair, and returning brings all the memories of that time rushing back. It may have happened years ago, but Tyler quickly discovers that not everyone in Stone Mountain has been able to leave the past behind.
The concert brings Tyler face-to-face with the people and relationships he thought he'd left behind, including his former best friend Curt, now the town's chief of police, and Freddi, the woman Tyler once loved who is now Curt's wife. There's also Deb, a police officer and relative newcomer to Stone Mountain who hasn't yet been pulled into all of the town's history. But it doesn't take long for old grudges to resurface and long-held secrets to start bubbling up with them. By the end of the night, tragedy strikes, forcing Tyler to reckon with the very place he spent his entire adult life trying to escape.
Under the Falls sees Richard Russo venture into territory that feels quite different from his usual work. This is much more of a mystery/thriller, and it's a genre that Russo's particular style never quite seems at home in. I was initially drawn in by the small-town drama and the mystery surrounding what happened all those years ago before Tyler left. Russo creates an insular community where everyone seems to carry a piece of the past, and I was eager to see how those pieces fit together.
But as the novel progressed, the story evolved into something quite different from what I'd anticipated, and that evolution didn't always feel natural to the characters Russo had established. Sure, it's gripping, and I breezed through the novel with ease, but as things escalated, I couldn't help questioning some of the characters' motivations. Why go to such extreme lengths? Saying much more would risk spoiling where the story ultimately goes, so I'll leave it at that.
Under the Falls certainly kept me reading, but as my first foray into Russo's work, I came away more befuddled than wowed. Still, there's enough here to make me curious about the novels that earned him such acclaim. Perhaps my next Russo should find him on more familiar ground.
For more information, visit the author's website, Amazon, and Goodreads.
(2026, 66)
Some stories start out so good and then by the end they leave you scratching your head.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this one, but was definitely puzzled by the direction it went in.
DeleteNow if the story's evolution leaned into the supernatural, it might work for me - I usually love these "going back to your old stomping grounds" stories when they have a magical angle. But it doesn't sound like it's the case here?
ReplyDeleteNo supernatural here, unfortunately. Just some odd character choices.
DeleteSometimes authors try too hard to make things unexpected and the results can be mixed.
ReplyDeleteI definitely think that may be the case here. I'd rather this had just been a deep character study without trying to add thrills.
DeleteSorry this one didn't wow you. I've never read any of his books, but he sure has written a lot. I wonder which one is his best.
ReplyDeleteHe's won a Pulitzer, so I may give that one a go.
DeleteOh, interesting! I've never read Russo, but I always feature his work on heavy-hitter literary displays I curate. Not sure how that translates to more genre work -- and sounds like it maybe does, at least not that well.
ReplyDeleteYeah I fear this isn't the best introduction to his work. I'll need to circle back and read something different from him.
DeleteInteresting that it took you somewhere you did not expect and it did not really fit with the characters
ReplyDeleteI'm all for unexpected, but it needs to make sense.
Delete