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Jonathan Francisco | 2/19/2014
" I first saw this book during one of my religion classes in college. My seatmate, who is now a good friend of mine, brought it with him. I asked him if a certain movie was adapted from the book, and he firmly answered "no". This was also the first time I got interested with books that have won the Pulitzer. Now Ford is, no doubt, a good writer. I love every minute Bascombe spent with his son. I can feel the tension between them, and Bascombe's want to make it work, the relationship. It saddened me because as far as I could remember, during his "sportwriter" days, they had a connection. Then a death in the family sort of changed everything. Plus the divorce. When I think about the book, what would always comes to mind was the last scene, when Bascombe received a call from someone he wasn't sure who. The other party didn't talk and was making weird noises. He talked to the person still, telling the other party he was all right. That broke my heart for reasons still unclear to me, even to this day. "
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Kristin | 2/18/2014
" This was a well written novel about a middle aged man trying to recover from a divorce. The prose was written in the same style as he currently lives his life- very slow, pedantic (?) as he slogs through, noticing and describing details thoroughouly and in a way that's spot on, but that comes across in a choppy manner. It mimics the character's life, but will be a hard, sloggy read for many. "
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Ahf | 2/14/2014
" Pulitzer prize winning novel for book club. A detailed view of 3 days in a realtor's life. Why is he so insufferable as an individual? Lack of personal responsibility. Hard to read about his so called intimate relationships. Easier for his more inmpersonal ones. A person who is equally involved with strangers and loved ones... "
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Jill | 2/14/2014
" No one writes prose like Richard Ford! Anyone who could make a bleak suburban mid-life crisis completely enthralling is truly a writer's writer. Every chapter, every paragraph, very sentence stood out as its own particular piece of writing. Loved this book. "
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Rich Brown | 1/31/2014
" PLEH. I slogged through The Sportswriter a couple of years ago, in preparation for this Pulitzer-winning dreck? There will be no more-vapid, more-self-absorbed generation of writers than the Babbitt-Rabbit-Bascombe generation. (Because our generation is so much more vapid than theirs, no one can bother to write the novelization. Dancing with the Survivor Island Idols is on, y'know. Writing is for losers. Duh.) "
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Beth | 1/26/2014
" Could this guy (or author?) be more maudlin? Ugh. I made it through Sportswriter, but I had to close this one early. "
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Amy | 1/24/2014
" Not sure that I particularly care for the incredibly detailed writing style... "
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Erin | 1/16/2014
" Great sequel to The Sportswriter, this book is one of my classic all-time favorites. "
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Jamila Raja | 1/16/2014
" Independence Day was a decent read. It went across all the aspects of an 'American' novel. Unfortunately, the writing style was what turned me off. Richard Ford seems to ramble a lot, so it took me a bit to process everything he was trying to explain. Other than that it was good weekend read type book. "
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Sherry | 1/11/2014
" Pulitzer Prize and Pen Faulkner winner. I am not sure why. Follow man over 4th of July weekend with his son. Lots of self pity. Want to give him a kick. "
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Susan | 1/10/2014
" A few days with Frank, a few years after The Sportswriter. Things haven't gotten easier and he's still an interesting guy. Sad, too. "
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J. Shepard | 1/1/2014
" This book belongs with Delillo in terms of being about time and place and the characterization thereof, rather than humanity- the tone was deeply engaging. "
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Liz | 12/18/2013
" well written but a little too long "
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Andrew | 12/13/2013
" Has one of the best opening lines I've ever read: "In Haddam, summer floats over tree-softened streets like a sweet lotion balm from a careless, languorous god, and the world falls in tune with its own mysterious anthems." "
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Claudia | 12/8/2013
" I can't believe I didn't like richard ford in my first try - women with men. Must have been the genre. I absolutely love his frank bascombe! "
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Carter | 5/24/2013
" middle age male ennui. "
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Michele | 2/16/2013
" so many self absorbed people "
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Scout | 2/8/2013
" I'd say 3.5. This is a Pulitzer Prize winner. I can see that because Ford is not just telling Frank Bascombe's story; he's also commenting on life in America at the time. Still, I found Frank to be an unsympathetic character. He seems once-removed from everything that happens in his life. "
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Bill | 1/9/2013
" Right to the top ten list. Second in a series of three...looking forward to the last one. "
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Bridge | 12/7/2012
" Perhaps I will return to this someday but after the first hundred pages or so I still found it incredibly difficult to identify with and "get into"... "
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Melissa | 6/27/2012
" This was the second of his trilogy, As I get older I may appreciate him more "
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S. | 6/11/2012
" I like Richard Ford's writing more than I want to. "
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JJ | 12/5/2011
" desert-island read. "
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Jonas Eriksson | 11/24/2011
" This is really one of my favorite books, it's moving, personal, and wonderfully written. I don't think you have to LIKE the main character Frank Bascombe to enjoy this book and be interested in his life. Or maybe you do? I'm confused. "
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Simon A. Smith | 11/3/2011
" There are some good parts and a few exciting moments, but overall it's just too unnecessarily tedious and boring. "
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David Glover | 10/20/2011
" I started off really enjoying this book but then tired of the authors ramblings and couldn't wait to get to the end. "
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Hurston | 6/10/2011
" An interesting male perspective of a person who is trying to make sense out of life. It's not my favorite book ever, but I thought it was a good read. It's been a few years, and when I think of it I still remember a disillusioned, emotional glumness from the main character. "
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Dwanna | 5/4/2011
" Loving the prose and the main character's concept of the "Existence Phase" of middle age. "
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Mardell | 4/11/2011
" Author writes long, long sentences which can make this a tedious read. If you can get over that, it is a very insightful read on East Coast life in the late 1980's, etc. and one man's journey through mid-life crisis.
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Erin | 1/20/2011
" Great sequel to The Sportswriter, this book is one of my classic all-time favorites.
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Leora | 1/13/2011
" Worse than The Sportswriter. Quit yer whining.
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Sandy | 1/9/2011
" Really depressing subject matter but very well written. I am certain that there are lots of people who this book will really speak to but I wasn't one of them. Id did, however appreciate the skill with which it was written.
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Carlo Andrea | 1/8/2011
" è la continuazione di "Sportswriter" che i era piaciuto molto.
in questo libro la storia mi ha preso mooto meno e mi è sembrata anche un po' stracchiata.
vale comunque la pena leggerli entrambi per seguire l'evoluzione interiore del protagonista.
"
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