Review of "Under the Falls: A Novel" by Richard Russo

  

I don't think the review has significant spoilers but just in case, I'm going to include a spoiler alert.

SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT

In his endnotes, author Richard Russo writes 'Under the Falls' began as a TV pilot script that didn't survive a writers' strike, and was expanded into a novel.

*****

Background: Stone Mountain, in the Rust Belt of upstate New York, was once a thriving town with steel mills and local attractions, like the Stone Mountain Amusement Park. When the mills shut down, jobs went overseas, people fled, and a struggling community remains.



Tyler Sinclair grew up in Stone Mountain with his friends Curt and Doc. When the boys were young, the town hadn't yet gone completely downhill, though times were getting tough.



Tyler had a terrible home life, with a vicious wife-beater for a father. When Tyler was eleven, he told Curt "I just want to grow up, you know? Get big enough to kick his f**ing ass." Curt said, "I'll help you", and the boys linked pinkies and swore to be best friends forever.



Tyler and Curt's other friend, Doc, had his own bad luck. When the boys were teenagers, swimming and cavorting at the local dam, Doc was injured, almost drowned, and lost the use of his legs.

Tyler cut ties to Stone Mountain when he was eighteen, and left town with a duffel bag, a few bucks stolen from his father's dresser, and a guitar. Tyler didn't even say goodbye to Curt or Doc or a beautiful Black girl named Freddi, who became part of the friends' group in high school.



Tyler became a singer/songwriter, and frontman for a famous band called Stone Mountain. Now, nearly two decades after Tyler left his hometown, his band arrives to give a one-night-only benefit concert for Doc. Tyler's manager Jason organized the event to kick off the band's new tour, and Tyler is REALLY UNHAPPY to be back in Stone Mountain.



It turns out Tyler is prescient, because at the end of the benefit concert, a triggering event leads to attendees throwing eggs and calling Tyler names. It seems residents of Stone Mountain feel they should benefit somehow from the success of Tyler's band, especially since Tyler writes songs about the town.



After the ill-fated concert, roadies pack up the band's equipment and leave town, and Tyler, his girlfriend (and band member) Beth, and band manager Jason are driven down the mountain in a limo. A vehicle gets behind the limo, repeatedly honks and bumps it, and pushes the limo through the guardrail into a deep dark ravine.



Tyler’s old friend Curt is now the police chief in Stone Mountain; married to Freddi; and they have a teenage son named Curtis Jr.



When Curt gets a call at the police station, about skid marks on the mountain road, he sends his best officer - a Black woman called Deb - to check it out. The scene in the ravine is horrific. Tyler is badly hurt, and taken to a hospital in Albany. Later, as Deb investigates the limo incident, she starts to suspect her boss Curt is not being honest with her about things going on in Stone Mountain.



Once Tyler heals enough to be released from the hospital, he stays with Deb and her mother for a short while, then plans to return to Nashville. At this point, there's an unexpected twist in the tale.



Without giving away spoilers, I can say issues that come up in the novel include: a small Black enclave in the mostly White town of Stone Mountain; teenage love and angst; jealousy; the opioid epidemic; marital problems; despondency; ambition; and more.

The story is related from the rotating points of view of the central characters, mostly Tyler, Curt, and Deb.

The first part of the book is compelling, but the story goes downhill at the end of the concert scene, where the plot seems to falter. Wouldn't it be noticed if droves of people arrived at an event with cartons of raw eggs? Even a small town would have security checks at a concert, ESPECIALLY for a high profile band like Stone Mountain.

Other plot points also seem unlikely, and some characters' motivations don't ring true. That said, the book has some likable protagonists. Travis is a compassionate and generous person, and Deb is intelligent and loyal, even when her allegiance is undeserved. I even feel sympathy for Curt, who longs to be besties again with his childhood friend.



All that said, Richard Russo is a fine writer, but this isn't his best work.

Thanks to Netgalley, Richard Russo, and Knopf for an ARC of the book.

Rating: 2.75 stars