
The Lay of the Land
Frank Bascombe, Book 3
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Narrated by:
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Joe Barrett
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By:
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Richard Ford
About this listen
His story resumes in the autumn of 2000, when his trade as a realtor on the Jersey Shore is thriving, permitting him to revel in the acceptance of "that long, stretching-out time when my dreams would have mystery like any ordinary person's; when whatever I do or say, who I marry, how my kids turn out, becomes what the world, if it makes note at all, knows of me, how I'm seen, understood, even how I think of myself before whatever there is that's wild and unassuagable rises and cheerlessly hauls me off to oblivion."
But as a presidential election hangs in the balance, and a postnuclear-family Thanksgiving looms before him, along with crises both marital and medical, Frank discovers that what he terms the Permanent Period is fraught with unforeseen perils: "All the ways that life feels like life at age 55 were strewn around me like poppies."
This is a holiday, and a novel, no reader will ever forget, at once hilarious, harrowing, surprising, and profound. The Lay of the Land is astonishing in its own right and a magnificent expansion of one of the most celebrated chronicles of our time.
©2006 Richard Ford (P)2006 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
- National Book Critics Circle 2006 Award Finalist, Fiction
"The third and most eventful novel in the Frank Bascombe series." (Kirkus Reviews)
"Ford summons a remarkable voice for his protagonist, ruminant, jaunty, merciless, generous and painfully observant, building a dense narrative from Frank's improvisations, epiphanies and revisions." (Publishers Weekly)
"As ever the drama is rooted in the interior world of its authentically life-sized hero, as he logs long hours on the highways and back roads of New Jersey, taking expansive stock of middle-age defeats and registering the erosions of a brilliantly evoked landscape of suburbs, strip malls and ocean towns." (New York Times Book Review)
Any additional comments?
I was sorely disappointed that Richard Poe, the narrator of Sportswriter and Independence Day, was not called upon to do this book. For me he was the voice of Frank Bascombe. Glad to see he is back in Let Me Be Frank With You. Not securing him for Lay of the Land was a huge misstep.Barrett was fine, but why not Richard Poe?
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Wisdom from the realtor
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Richard Ford, get out of my mind!
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My daughter is all about Jodi Picoult and the new Twilight books. Clearly they meet her needs as a teenage reader, although I find them overwritten, melodramatic tripe.
And this is my point: This book met me where i was at, and is a great read for those looking to see how a big segment of middle age white guy thinks and sees much of the world. I suppose for many, this would seem silly...but I loved the writing and the narration was great.
I loved it, but realize what your getting.
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The book deals with death, humour, embarrasment,
guilt, joy, yearning and so on.
Those who read it have to be patient and can not expect any suspence or "drama".
This is a book where the reader just have to listen intently to all the details given along the way.
To me this book should belong with the "classics".
Kiwi
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good pointless writing
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Decent story, great writing
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Best read in quite a while.
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Depressing and lacks authentic relfection
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If you could sum up The Lay of the Land in three words, what would they be?
When the best is yet to come is no longer a possibility, Your life has entered the permanent period. Frank Bascom explores and deals with life after divorce, adults kids returning home and cancer in this book that covers only 3 days in his life. It is a fascinating personality profile of Frank Bascom, realtor and the new permanent period of life.Which scene was your favorite?
When Frank Bascom is interviewed by the detective on Thanksgiving Day ( aprx 6 hours and 14 minutes left in audio book). Frank has to explain many things to the old time cop. Cop finally explains how he just has to get people to stop killing each other- then he can retire.Parents or Divorced will "get this book"
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