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3.45 AVERAGE
3.45 AVERAGE
hblanke's review against another edition
4.0
I read this book simply because I could download it from the library on a day I had finished another book. I'd never heard of it and had to take whatever was available. What a nice surprise to discover I like it. There's really not a plot or anything that moves the book forward, but, instead, it's like a memoir of several specific situations. I truly enjoyed the writing style and the way Ford takes specific incidents and explores them from so many angles.
wileyacez's review against another edition
5.0
I forgot how much I enjoyed the Frank Bascombe character! In this go 'round he's older and is taking a look, as usual, at the status of his life. I wish that it wasn't crazy old December; I couldn't relax enough to really enjoy this guy's voice fully. Thinking that when things settle a bit I might want to re read the entire series. There's something about Frank that makes me feel like I just might understand men a little better thanks to his musings.
janeta12's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoy Frank - you really get to know him over the 4 books...
vincentmouton's review against another edition
3.0
Yet another book I’m not sure what to think of. Obviously utterly well written, yet the incredible amount of pages spent on what one could call digressions made it hard for me to get through it. I really struggled. I loved the story where he meets his ex-wife, that was the one that stood out the most for me.
bonnieg's review against another edition
2.0
I love Richard Ford, and especially when he speaks through Frank Bascomb. Every writer falls down once in a while though, and this was Ford's banana peel moment. The two star is a gift because I love him too much to give him a lower rating. (It's like when they gave Pacino the Oscar for Scent of a Woman because he had not won before even though its a terrible movie in which he chews every piece of scenery.)
One of things I have most loved about Bascomb is his sense of humor, which is always engaged and always really dark and odd. I should have guessed from the cheesy-pun title of this book that Frank's sense of humor had grown flaccid. Mostly he sounds like Andy Rooney. (Not a compliment.) Most everything happens to give him an opportunity to vent his silly affluent baby boomer white guilt. Black folks are all salt of the earth, everyone who didn't vote for Obama is a buffoonish racist, a white person can't hold a conversation with a black person without Tourrette's like racist emissions. Oddly, for a book so desperately PC, there is one scene with a trans woman that is so offensive it is painful to read. He implies that a person has to be uncomfortable in her skin unless she has had bottom surgery. Its so jarring and pathetic.
Ford ties up some loose ends which is satisfying for those of us who have read the other three books, but unless you are a Frank Bascomb completist, there is not much reason to read this.
One of things I have most loved about Bascomb is his sense of humor, which is always engaged and always really dark and odd. I should have guessed from the cheesy-pun title of this book that Frank's sense of humor had grown flaccid. Mostly he sounds like Andy Rooney. (Not a compliment.) Most everything happens to give him an opportunity to vent his silly affluent baby boomer white guilt. Black folks are all salt of the earth, everyone who didn't vote for Obama is a buffoonish racist, a white person can't hold a conversation with a black person without Tourrette's like racist emissions. Oddly, for a book so desperately PC, there is one scene with a trans woman that is so offensive it is painful to read. He implies that a person has to be uncomfortable in her skin unless she has had bottom surgery. Its so jarring and pathetic.
Ford ties up some loose ends which is satisfying for those of us who have read the other three books, but unless you are a Frank Bascomb completist, there is not much reason to read this.
taunymartin's review against another edition
4.0
"The world gets smaller and more focused the longer we stay on it." Word.
yannchoppe's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
ffs_jessie's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Complicated
3.75
carrynlund's review against another edition
3.0
Hmmmm.... I picked up this book because I was so intrigued by the fact that a thin book set in modern times could be a "Pulitzer Finalist." That fact alone both made me appreciate the book and feel disappointed by it all at the same time. I am struck by Ford's ability to capture in words what I imagine is a common experience of beginning old age - growing comfortable with yourself, noticing physical decline, and reviewing your own life while the world appears to continue to change and decline around you. That said, it didn't resonate with me and I felt bored by the under-developed relationships. I think I'll read it again when I'm 65 and see what I think ;-)