The Lay of the Land by Richard Ford
I finished this book last night, “The Lay of the Land” by Richard Ford, and I just have to tell you about it. But first let me say this. I am an avid reader, but I had honestly not heard of Richard Ford until I picked this book up at the library. Well that just shows that I am not nearly as literary as I would like to think. Richard Ford is a Pulitzer Prize winning writer. After reading this book, I understand why. And I will be getting my hands on every book Richard Ford has written if I can.
The theme of “The Lay of the Land,” which is the dilemma, the strange and bewildered mind set, that accompanies life in your 50s for many people, is one of the main reasons I was so enthralled by this story, not to mention the great and often hilarious writing of Mr. Ford.
Frank Bascombe, the main character, who defines himself by his lifetime in real estate sales, finds out at 55 that he has prostrate cancer. His wife, his second wife, Sally, who’s husband Wally disappeared years before and has now returned from the dead, has left Frank and taken off for Scotland. She wants to live with Wally and see if there is anything there. Frank’s first wife, in the meantime, decides since Frank is on death’s doorstep, even though they can barely stand each other, that she loves him again and wants to come and live with him. Frank’s not having it.
But the biggest challenge, next to his battle with the acceptance of his mortality, for Frank is the death of his son twenty some odd years before. Ralph died at nine years old, and Frank has been haunted by this child’s death all these years. He has to come to terms with the death of his son before he can think about trying to come to terms with his own possible end.
With a unique, kooky, and heartwarming array of characters and situations Frank Bascombe finds himself in, and lessons to be learned for those of us going through the unsettling 50s, “The Lay of the Land” by Richard Ford is a must read. I was sad to see it end, and wish I could meet and make friends with a man like Frank Bascombe.
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