American novelist, short-story writer and screenwriter, Richard Russo, received a Pulitzer for "Empire Falls" (2001) and has had several movies and TV series developed from his works. His sharp and facetious writing inn his earlier books, "Nobody's Fool", "Everybody's Fool" and "Somebody's Fool" will have you scratching head with his most recent work "Under the Falls" asking yourself, what kind of fool does Russo think I am if he think's this underdeveloped story passes for anything on par with his past classics. The similarity begins and ends with a similar, setting in a small, upstate NY town that has seen better days. Intended as a literary thriller it fails to deliver an intriguing plot or scholarly writing that Russo is known for. Returning home to the scene of his childhood is celebrity, rock-star Tyler to give a benefit concert for his childhood friend, Doc. Doc was left a paraplegic following an accident resulting from Tyler and Doc jumping into the local watering-hole. Also left behind are Tyler's ex-best friend, Curt "pinkie-swear forever") and Freddie, the beautiful girl the two both loved (and perhaps, still do.) Curt has been married to Freddie with whom he shares 18 year old son, Freddie Jr. and is the local chief of police. These childhood friends blends into a love triangle that turns tragic with a twist that's hard to miss miles away. Nothing seems cleverly hidden or construed. The novel reads like an outline for a limited TV series. In fact, the acknowledgements at the end reads "Under the Falls began not as a novel but as a TV pilot script." Russo explains that during the WGA writers strike the pilot script didn't survive. Nonetheless, I confess UNDER the FALLS could succeed as a melodramatic miniseries that would be more pleasing with an attractive cast. But alas, UNDER the FALLS falls way below the esteemed standards of literary fiction Russo has written in the past. PASS on this watered-down novel that fails to rise to the level we expect Russo to pull together.
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