It is fall, 2000 and Frank Bascombe has arrived at a state of
optimistic pragmatism that he calls the Permanent Period of life. Epic
mistakes have already been made, dreams downsized, and Frank reflects
that now at least there are fewer opportunities left in life to get
things wrong. But the tranquillity he anticipated is not to be. In
fact, as Thanksgiving dinner with his children and first wife nears,
the Permanent Period proves as full of possibility as life had ever
been. In his third Frank Bascombe novel Richard Ford contemplates the
human character with wry precision. Graceful, expansive, filled with
pathos but irresistibly funny,
The Lay of the Land<
'Wistful, bittersweet - and often very funny ...
seems to locate all the quiet despairs and hopes of the human
condition with exquisite precision' Daily Telegraph 'Sublime ... a
richly textured, rolling and poetic voice' The Times 'Engaging,
brilliant, hugely sad and, of course, ultimately uplifting. As with
the other two, I'll read it again and again' William Leith, Evening
Standard 'A massive, ruminative, poignant and cathartic novel ... it
is a masterly account of a modulating adult life. Ford's canvas is
huge, but his wealth of subtle detail remains astonishingly vivid'
Independent on Sunday
DIV>I> is a modern American
masterpiece.<It is fall, 2000 and Frank Bascombe has
arrived at a state of optimistic pragmatism that he calls the
Permanent Period of life. Epic mistakes have already been made,
dreams downsized, and Frank reflects that now at least there are
fewer opportunities left in life to get things wrong. But the
tranquillity he anticipated is not to be. In fact, as Thanksgiving
dinner with his children and first wife nears, the Permanent
Period proves as full of possibility as life had ever been. In his
third Frank Bascombe novel Richard Ford contemplates the human
character with wry precision. Graceful, expansive, filled with
pathos but irresistibly funny, The Lay of the Land<
