CANADA

Yes, I know Richard Ford is a Pulitzer Prize winner; but to me, this novel was just adequate at best. This is the first novel I have read of his, and I expected more based on the favorable reviews of his The Bascombe Novels . A John Irving he's not. The story was okay, but I don't know if the matter was relevant. And, why does Ford tell the reader what's going to happen many chapters before the event actually happens? I like to fall into these unexpected predicaments and marvels without the author providing his own "spoilers". I'm not complaining because I did enjoy the story somewhat. I just think there could have been a whole lot more nail-biting. Two positive points relating to the author's style are the disambiguation and resolution of the novel.

The narrator and protagonist is Dell Parson, the fifteen year old son of bank robber parents. (I'm not giving anything away, since Dell tells the reader on the first page!) This is the story of a Montana child and his escapades for the next fifty years of his life up to the present year of 2012. Dell has a twin sister that leaves home shortly after the bank heist and is hardly heard from again. Most of the tale takes place in the Saskatchewan area of Canada where Dell winds up after also leaving home. He is taken in by a nefarious gentleman named Arthur Remlinger, a former trouble maker from the U.S.A., and is supervised by the brackish Charley Quarters. This part of the novel is the most interesting section of his humdrum story.

I don't want to give away any of the remainder of the story as the author will do so himself as you read the book. I don't hold this book as an important work, but would recommend it anyway because of the writer's stature. I know Mr. Ford lives in Maine. Does he have three way conference calls with John Irving and Stephen King? Can you imagine? Wouldn't you want to be a fly on the wall? I opine that many reviewers have to realize that Richard Ford is a former sportswriter and not Charles Dickens.

RATING: 3 out of 5 stars

Comment: Richard Ford's first novel, A Piece of My Heart was written in 1976. He is currently a professor of writing at the Columbia School of the Arts. For some reason his literary movement is called "Dirty Realism". Who else is in that group?