Week 2- Entry B

I'm kind of frustrated right now. As I wrote in my last blog, I really like the character Miles. After reading further I've come to enjoy his daughter, Tick, and even his soon to be ex-wife, Janine. Miles is so innocent and nice. His mother in law thinks, " (Miles) was about the nicest, saddest man in all of Empire Falls [...] others, like Miles, you just kind of wanted to something nice fore because they were decent and deserved and you knew they'd be appreciative and wouldn't hold it against you for maybe not being so damn beautiful yourself." As I'm reading this fictional work, I want to do something to help Miles! I just want the best for him. He's kind of pitiful and helpless, but that's what attracts the characters in the book and the reader to him. Because I want Miles to be happy, I can't stand seeing him stuck in Empire Falls! He just needs to get out of the little lifeless hole. I can't imagine anyone having to live there. Even Miles' father, Max, wants to leave and go to the Florida Keys. I really dislike Max, but I still want him to escape from the town.

The worst part of all of this is that I think there are people in real life in situations similar to this. Once you're in a small town, it can be difficult to leave on account of economic issues or just fear of the unknown. Miles is stuck in Empire Falls because he is bound to his restaurant and hopes to own it in the future. I think he should high tail it out there and make money doing something else. As his brother David pointed out, the owner of Empire Grill won't die until she's in her nineties. By that time, Miles will be sixty and his daughter will end up owning the restaurant. I don't want Tick stuck with such a profitless bundle of crap! Max can't escape from Empire Falls simply because he lacks finances. He doesn't have a license or a car, so he needs someone else to bum a ride down to Florida.

I sincerely hope that everyone can make lives for themselves elsewhere in the world. Empire Falls is too small for anyone to sanely live their life. Everyone knows everyone else and no ones business is private. However, I doubt this book will end how I want it too. *sigh*