The Sportswriter

by Richard Ford | Literature & Fiction |
ISBN: 0679762108 Global Overview for this book
Registered by dessa of Cambridge, Massachusetts USA on 5/17/2004
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2 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by dessa from Cambridge, Massachusetts USA on Monday, May 17, 2004
The ruminations of sportswriter Frank Bascombe--divorced, bereaved, depressed, and artistically blocked--say much about a certain kind of postmodern malaise in American culture. It can be difficult to like Frank, as it is difficult to warm up to Ford's style--which strives for a kind of everydayness that often rings false. Yet the novel grew on me, as I found some impressive nuggets of wisdom in Frank's flat-affect philosophising.
In fact, I'm eager to read the sequel--which came highly recommended--to find out how Frank fares a few years down the road.


Journal Entry 2 by dessa from Cambridge, Massachusetts USA on Wednesday, May 19, 2004
Am sending this to mdhistorian.

Journal Entry 3 by mdhistorian from Renton, Washington USA on Tuesday, June 1, 2004
Thanks, dessa -- it'll be interesting to go back in time with Frank Bascombe!

Journal Entry 4 by mdhistorian from Renton, Washington USA on Wednesday, August 4, 2004
Like dessa, I did warm up to _Independence Day_'s older Frank Bascombe much more, but I found this newly divorced Frank, if not lovable, at least empathetic. A novelist-turned-sportswriter, Frank is hoping-against-hope this Easter weekend that he can find some way to create a satisfying life for himself, in spite of the fact that he desperately loves his ex-wife yet can't be with her. This search does tend to translate into a series of less-than-meaningful sexual encounters, usually with women younger than himself, and lots of inner conversations designed to keep himself on an even keel. "I am usually (if only momentarily) glad to have a past, even an imputed and remote one," he informs us in the end, "I cannot say that we all need a past in full literary fashion, or that one is much useful in the end. But a small one doesn't hurt, especially if you're already in a life of your own choosing." (p.371) I wouldn't have missed Frank's back story, and am looking forward to the next installment, hinted at in a short story in a recent _New Yorker_.

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