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kcrouth's review against another edition
3.0
Not having read the other three Frank Bascombe novels, i did not start this book with the history of experiences they provide. This novel, actually a collection of short novellas, is set on the Jersey shore in the aftermath of hurricane Sandy, in the context of multi-million dollar houses and the people who can afford them. The story dealt with some universal human issues - destruction resulting from a natural disaster, chronic and terminal illness, the depth or lack thereof in friendships and relationships. On one hand, these are are life experiences we all face to some degree, and as a reader, i could relate. In other ways, however, the context of the characters and story were too distant from the norm for me to connect at more than a casual level. I do feel that i was at a disadvantage, not having read the other novels. Standalone, however, the reading of this collection of novellas was a mediocre experience.
chishc's review
1.0
Not for me. I couldn't finish it. I don't see the humor that everyone else does - just a lot of rambling on.
sl0w_reader's review
2.0
I found this a disappointing coda to Ford's Sportswriter series of novels about Frank Bascombe. The aimlessness and self-satisfied musings, with their hint of knowing cynicism, seemed light-weight and scattered. The characters were pencil sketches, without depth or colour, including Frank, who if you haven't read the previous novels, will seem irritatingly fragmented and unfounded. And the short-story format is a let down. Ford makes nothing of the form beyond providing a few scenes from what might have been a novel, but for which project he ran out of energy - and perhaps, time.
shp49's review
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
jkbartlett's review against another edition
5.0
Absolutely wonderful. I missed Frank Bascombe and after reading The Sportswriter, Independence Day, and The Lay of the Land- I never thought I would read him again.
Then out of the decimation caused by Hurricane Sandy, he returns, Richard Ford unable to let the New Jersey real estate agent remain silent as his beloved home(s)... lives fall around him.
I love Frank Bascombe- and here he deals with race, destruction, mortality, and love.
This book was sitting on my father's nightstand (he who introduced me to Frank) when he fell down stairs, hurt that big brain, and passed away. I hope he finished this book before he left us. One more dance with Frank was a blessing.
Maybe not everyone's cup of tea. But one that warmed my soul.
Thanks Richard Ford.
Then out of the decimation caused by Hurricane Sandy, he returns, Richard Ford unable to let the New Jersey real estate agent remain silent as his beloved home(s)... lives fall around him.
I love Frank Bascombe- and here he deals with race, destruction, mortality, and love.
This book was sitting on my father's nightstand (he who introduced me to Frank) when he fell down stairs, hurt that big brain, and passed away. I hope he finished this book before he left us. One more dance with Frank was a blessing.
Maybe not everyone's cup of tea. But one that warmed my soul.
Thanks Richard Ford.
stevienlcf's review
4.0
I have missed Frank Bascombe. In Ford's four novellas, set in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy that devastated the New Jersey shore, we reunite with Frank at age 68, “enjoying the Next Level of life – conceivably the last: a member of the clean-desk demographic, freed to do unalloyed good in the world, should I choose to.” But Frank isn’t really enjoying his retirement from selling residential real estate in the now-popped realty bubble. Although he reads to the blind and welcomes home soldiers at the airport, he is riddled with fears that beset the aging. He is concerned that he “reek[s] like a monkey’s closet” and that he has embraced the “gramps shuffle.” He worries more about falling on ice than whether there is an afterlife since he could no longer hop up after a spill: “Now it’s a death sentence.” He refuses to look into mirrors anymore since it’s “cheaper than surgery.” He spends his days fulfilling obligations – to Arnie, who owns a carriage-trade seafood boutique and who had purchased Frank’s beach house which was destroyed in the hurricane; to the daughter of the former owner of his current home who wished to revisit her childhood home, the site of family tragedy of epic proportions; his first wife, Ann, a resident of a swank but sterile staged-care facility who is suffering from Parkinson’s disease and whom Frank feels some responsibility for despite the fact that they had “not been all that friendly” since their divorce thirty years prior; and an old friend in the end-stages of pancreatic cancer. Richard Ford hasn’t written a feel-good story, but I was glad to have this opportunity to reunite with the cerebral Frank Bascombe.
gmmersereau's review
Realized after I started that it's 4th in a series and that's probably why I felt really lost, like I had literally jumped into the middle of a story. I liked the writing style so will likely go back and start the series from the beginning at some point.
admacg's review
4.0
I first met Frank Bascombe back in the mid 90's, when he was grieving over the death of a child in 'The sportswriter.' Later, he was divorced and putting his life together again as a real estate agent. Later still, in 'Independence Day,' he was putting things together again and had met someone. And here he is again, 68, back in Haddam where it began, for this short novel, in four parts.
Frank has always been good company in these books. In each of them, he's usually funny, often wise, and trying to work things out the best he can. These four stories find Frank moving towards his last stage in life. He visits ex-wife Anne, has an unexpected visitor to his home, and goes to visit an old friend. It all takes place in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, where he goes to survey the damage to his old home, now sold.
I'm glad I've read these novels in order. We meet Frank at different stages of his life, over a thirty year period, carrying his life experiences. Now towards the end, he's trying to keep returning to his 'default self,' keeping things as simple as possible and just being with people, where possible. He's still living his quiet, introspective life.
I always enjoy Frank's company and part of me hopes this isn't the last instalment. He's often hilarious and I enjoy his momments of homespun wisdom, which are optimistic. In one of his books, I think the sportswriter, which I read 25 years, there's a line about 'There's no such thing as a false sense of wellbeing' and it's always stuck with me. Ford's prose is pitch perfect. I think I need to start the Frank Bascombe series again, and look forward to it, as there's something to learn from them each time.
Frank has always been good company in these books. In each of them, he's usually funny, often wise, and trying to work things out the best he can. These four stories find Frank moving towards his last stage in life. He visits ex-wife Anne, has an unexpected visitor to his home, and goes to visit an old friend. It all takes place in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, where he goes to survey the damage to his old home, now sold.
I'm glad I've read these novels in order. We meet Frank at different stages of his life, over a thirty year period, carrying his life experiences. Now towards the end, he's trying to keep returning to his 'default self,' keeping things as simple as possible and just being with people, where possible. He's still living his quiet, introspective life.
I always enjoy Frank's company and part of me hopes this isn't the last instalment. He's often hilarious and I enjoy his momments of homespun wisdom, which are optimistic. In one of his books, I think the sportswriter, which I read 25 years, there's a line about 'There's no such thing as a false sense of wellbeing' and it's always stuck with me. Ford's prose is pitch perfect. I think I need to start the Frank Bascombe series again, and look forward to it, as there's something to learn from them each time.
aczimprich's review
5.0
Dumb title but smart book. I love Frank Bascombe and hope that Ford doesn't write another Bascombe book because I don't think I could bear him aging anymore than he has.
elisabeth1st's review
4.0
I true Elisabeth fashion, I read Ford's last Frank Bascombe book first. I love his sarcastic self deprecating personality and expect I will go back and read the earlier books. How embarrassing to admit I haven't read the first three.