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A review by brianlokker
The Sportswriter by Richard Ford
5.0
It’s not so easy to like Frank Bascombe, the sportswriter of the title. But it certainly is easy to like Richard Ford’s writing. In the hands of a lesser writer, this would be a 4-star book for me, but the beautiful writing elevates it to 5-star status.
Frank is just shy of 39 years old. When he was younger, he published a well-received book of short stories and began working on a novel. But instead, he accepted an offer to write for a sports magazine in New York. Justifying his decision, he says, “It is no loss to mankind when one writer decides to call it a day.” He and his wife moved to New Jersey, started a family, and had a successful if conventional suburban life.
Now Frank is a man in pain, mourning the death of his young son Ralph a few years earlier and still trying to find a way to live with a huge hole in his heart. In the wake of Ralph’s death, he allowed his marriage to fall apart. He had affairs and seemingly lost the desire and ability to communicate with his wife (to whom he refers only as “X”).
After their amicable divorce, Frank and X have continued to live in the same suburban town. But Frank really lives mostly in his head. He writes his sports pieces, but he doesn’t really connect with the athletes he writes about. He’s joined a local group of divorced men, but he avoids getting close to them. He is currently involved with Vicki, a vivacious young nurse, whom he’s invited to accompany him to Detroit on a work assignment. The relationship looks promising, but can he get close to her?
When I say it’s not so easy to like Frank, what I mean is that the existential crisis that consumes him throughout the Easter weekend during which this book is set can become maddening after a while. Frank is the first-person narrator, so we spend a lot of time with him in his head. He analyzes everything, and then he has a talent for saying or doing the wrong thing at critical moments. It’s clear (to me, at least) that Frank is a good guy, but he’s lost. There may be a glimmer of hope for him at the end, but I guess I’ll have to read the other three books in the series to learn how it ultimately works out.
All in all, I definitely recommend The Sportswriter. Richard Ford writes beautiful prose and vivid characters, even if they’re not always one hundred percent likable.
Frank is just shy of 39 years old. When he was younger, he published a well-received book of short stories and began working on a novel. But instead, he accepted an offer to write for a sports magazine in New York. Justifying his decision, he says, “It is no loss to mankind when one writer decides to call it a day.” He and his wife moved to New Jersey, started a family, and had a successful if conventional suburban life.
Now Frank is a man in pain, mourning the death of his young son Ralph a few years earlier and still trying to find a way to live with a huge hole in his heart. In the wake of Ralph’s death, he allowed his marriage to fall apart. He had affairs and seemingly lost the desire and ability to communicate with his wife (to whom he refers only as “X”).
After their amicable divorce, Frank and X have continued to live in the same suburban town. But Frank really lives mostly in his head. He writes his sports pieces, but he doesn’t really connect with the athletes he writes about. He’s joined a local group of divorced men, but he avoids getting close to them. He is currently involved with Vicki, a vivacious young nurse, whom he’s invited to accompany him to Detroit on a work assignment. The relationship looks promising, but can he get close to her?
When I say it’s not so easy to like Frank, what I mean is that the existential crisis that consumes him throughout the Easter weekend during which this book is set can become maddening after a while. Frank is the first-person narrator, so we spend a lot of time with him in his head. He analyzes everything, and then he has a talent for saying or doing the wrong thing at critical moments. It’s clear (to me, at least) that Frank is a good guy, but he’s lost. There may be a glimmer of hope for him at the end, but I guess I’ll have to read the other three books in the series to learn how it ultimately works out.
All in all, I definitely recommend The Sportswriter. Richard Ford writes beautiful prose and vivid characters, even if they’re not always one hundred percent likable.