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tearsofthetinman's review against another edition
4.0
Remembering our parents is something we all probably do in the key stages of our life as sons and daughters, while they are alive and after they have passed.
Richard Ford's book is actually two books - the first written about his father is an exercise in remembering the past when RF was a young man and a families adjustment to his permanent absence through death. It is a record of his father's presence, and sometimes lack of presence, and observation and recollection of his parent's marriage.
The latter book is about his mother and their growing bond into adulthood and her journey into the next stage of her life after his father's death. Where the father is recalled with some fondness, RF's memory and shared history with his mother is of love; not overwhelming nor worn on the sleeve, but a love that provides a constant tiller and direction for both mother and son as they move through the stages of their lives.
As a middle aged man with elderly parents , the line "Death starts a long time ahead of when it arrives. Even in deaths very self there is life that has to be lived out" rings loud and true, for all generations.
A book worthy of your time by those who are at a stage to reflect and to contemplate how it may mirror their own lives, even in minor ways.
Richard Ford's book is actually two books - the first written about his father is an exercise in remembering the past when RF was a young man and a families adjustment to his permanent absence through death. It is a record of his father's presence, and sometimes lack of presence, and observation and recollection of his parent's marriage.
The latter book is about his mother and their growing bond into adulthood and her journey into the next stage of her life after his father's death. Where the father is recalled with some fondness, RF's memory and shared history with his mother is of love; not overwhelming nor worn on the sleeve, but a love that provides a constant tiller and direction for both mother and son as they move through the stages of their lives.
As a middle aged man with elderly parents , the line "Death starts a long time ahead of when it arrives. Even in deaths very self there is life that has to be lived out" rings loud and true, for all generations.
A book worthy of your time by those who are at a stage to reflect and to contemplate how it may mirror their own lives, even in minor ways.
tearsofthetinman's review against another edition
4.0
Remembering our parents is something we all probably do in the key stages of our life as sons and daughters, while they are alive and after they have passed.
Richard Ford's book is actually two books - the first written about his father is an exercise in remembering the past when RF was a young man and a families adjustment to his permanent absence through death. It is a record of his father's presence, and sometimes lack of presence, and observation and recollection of his parent's marriage.
The latter book is about his mother and their growing bond into adulthood and her journey into the next stage of her life after his father's death. Where the father is recalled with some fondness, RF's memory and shared history with his mother is of love; not overwhelming nor worn on the sleeve, but a love that provides a constant tiller and direction for both mother and son as they move through the stages of their lives.
As a middle aged man with elderly parents , the line "Death starts a long time ahead of when it arrives. Even in deaths very self there is life that has to be lived out" rings loud and true, for all generations.
A book worthy of your time by those who are at a stage to reflect and to contemplate how it may mirror their own lives, even in minor ways.
Richard Ford's book is actually two books - the first written about his father is an exercise in remembering the past when RF was a young man and a families adjustment to his permanent absence through death. It is a record of his father's presence, and sometimes lack of presence, and observation and recollection of his parent's marriage.
The latter book is about his mother and their growing bond into adulthood and her journey into the next stage of her life after his father's death. Where the father is recalled with some fondness, RF's memory and shared history with his mother is of love; not overwhelming nor worn on the sleeve, but a love that provides a constant tiller and direction for both mother and son as they move through the stages of their lives.
As a middle aged man with elderly parents , the line "Death starts a long time ahead of when it arrives. Even in deaths very self there is life that has to be lived out" rings loud and true, for all generations.
A book worthy of your time by those who are at a stage to reflect and to contemplate how it may mirror their own lives, even in minor ways.
storyframe's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
plantbirdwoman's review against another edition
5.0
I don't usually read memoirs. Perhaps I have an unreasoning prejudice against them born of some reading experience in my distant past, but, generally, I just don't enjoy them. But I will always make an exception for Richard Ford.
Ford has written this short (less than 200 pages) memoir of his parents and of his experience growing up with them. It essentially consists of two long essays written some thirty years apart in time.
Both were written after his parents' deaths. The one about his mother was written first, although she was the second one to die. The second one about his father was written many years after his father died in 1960. Ford was only sixteen years old at the time.
In the book itself, the essays appear in the order of the deaths, so the one about the father is first, followed by the one about the mother.
We learn that Richard was an only child and his arrival was a bit of a surprise for his parents. They had been married for fifteen years when he was born. Apparently, those fifteen years had been happy ones that his parents spent mostly on the road. His father was a traveling salesman for the Faultless Starch Company and his mother went with him as he made his rounds to a number of southern states in his territory.
Both his parents were from Arkansas and that remained their home base in their years of travel, but with the expectation of a baby arriving on the scene, they decided to make a move. His father's employer encouraged him to move to a more central location within his territory so that he would be able to spend more time at home. Thus it was that they decided to move to Jackson, Mississippi, a town where they knew virtually no one. It was there that their son was born and where he spent the formative years of his life.
I've always felt a connection with Ford because of where he was born and grew up, for I was growing up in that area during much the same period, the '50s and '60s. Our family situations were quite different. My family were farmers and factory workers. His father was the aforementioned traveling salesman and his mother, after Richard's birth, was a stay-at-home mom. But we were both only children and we both grew up as observers, witnessing first our own families and then the larger society. And we both got out when we could.
This memoir seems to be Ford's attempt to give his witness of the lives of two ordinary, unremarkable people and perhaps to fix in his own mind his memories of them. Maybe it is his acknowledgement, too, that he wouldn't be the man he is, seventy-two years on, had it not been for them and his experiences as their son. Of course, the truth is he wouldn't be, period, had it not been for them.
A child never really experiences what life is like for his/her parents. How indeed can we ever truly understand the inner lives of even the people closest to us? The borders of their minds are closed to us. But Richard Ford, the observer, has put together his memories of actual events with his imagination and supposition of what his parents' lives must have been like, how they responded to events, what they felt. In doing so, he has given us an affectionate, insightful, and altogether tender portrait of two white people born in the South in the early part of the 20th century; two ordinary people who never made headlines or were noticed by the world outside their own circle of friends and family. And yet they managed to produce one extraordinary writer.
Ford has written this short (less than 200 pages) memoir of his parents and of his experience growing up with them. It essentially consists of two long essays written some thirty years apart in time.
Both were written after his parents' deaths. The one about his mother was written first, although she was the second one to die. The second one about his father was written many years after his father died in 1960. Ford was only sixteen years old at the time.
In the book itself, the essays appear in the order of the deaths, so the one about the father is first, followed by the one about the mother.
We learn that Richard was an only child and his arrival was a bit of a surprise for his parents. They had been married for fifteen years when he was born. Apparently, those fifteen years had been happy ones that his parents spent mostly on the road. His father was a traveling salesman for the Faultless Starch Company and his mother went with him as he made his rounds to a number of southern states in his territory.
Both his parents were from Arkansas and that remained their home base in their years of travel, but with the expectation of a baby arriving on the scene, they decided to make a move. His father's employer encouraged him to move to a more central location within his territory so that he would be able to spend more time at home. Thus it was that they decided to move to Jackson, Mississippi, a town where they knew virtually no one. It was there that their son was born and where he spent the formative years of his life.
I've always felt a connection with Ford because of where he was born and grew up, for I was growing up in that area during much the same period, the '50s and '60s. Our family situations were quite different. My family were farmers and factory workers. His father was the aforementioned traveling salesman and his mother, after Richard's birth, was a stay-at-home mom. But we were both only children and we both grew up as observers, witnessing first our own families and then the larger society. And we both got out when we could.
This memoir seems to be Ford's attempt to give his witness of the lives of two ordinary, unremarkable people and perhaps to fix in his own mind his memories of them. Maybe it is his acknowledgement, too, that he wouldn't be the man he is, seventy-two years on, had it not been for them and his experiences as their son. Of course, the truth is he wouldn't be, period, had it not been for them.
A child never really experiences what life is like for his/her parents. How indeed can we ever truly understand the inner lives of even the people closest to us? The borders of their minds are closed to us. But Richard Ford, the observer, has put together his memories of actual events with his imagination and supposition of what his parents' lives must have been like, how they responded to events, what they felt. In doing so, he has given us an affectionate, insightful, and altogether tender portrait of two white people born in the South in the early part of the 20th century; two ordinary people who never made headlines or were noticed by the world outside their own circle of friends and family. And yet they managed to produce one extraordinary writer.
egoenner's review against another edition
3.0
A thoughtful reflection on his parents, Ford's memoir made me think about my own parents' lives, the way they lived the spaces between each other, the vast unhappiness and pain there, and how secrets ripple outward. This was a narrative to honor his parents, to remember people who otherwise aren't remembered by history so, although repetitive and extremely contemplative, it was well worth the time.
britishfictionfan's review against another edition
5.0
Books don't often bring me to tears; this one did, as only great literature can. In 192 pages Ford says more about life than many authors say in their entire oeuvre. Powerful & unforgettable, his words have touched my soul. . .
lnatal's review against another edition
2.0
From BBC Radio 4 - Book of the week:
Pulitzer Prize winning author Richard Ford tells us the stories of his parents, taken from a newly published memoir.
After his parents married they took to the road. Father worked at the Faultless Company, which took them to "Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama, and a small part of Tennessee, a slice of Florida, a corner of Texas, all of Mississippi." On the road they stayed at motels and ate in diners. They had fun. They 'roistered'.
Abridged by Katrin Williams
Producer Duncan Minshull.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08pdxkz
Pulitzer Prize winning author Richard Ford tells us the stories of his parents, taken from a newly published memoir.
After his parents married they took to the road. Father worked at the Faultless Company, which took them to "Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama, and a small part of Tennessee, a slice of Florida, a corner of Texas, all of Mississippi." On the road they stayed at motels and ate in diners. They had fun. They 'roistered'.
Abridged by Katrin Williams
Producer Duncan Minshull.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08pdxkz
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