Let Me Be Frank With You - Softcover

An Amazon Best Book of the Month, November 2014: It’s been eight years since we last saw Frank Bascombe, successfully selling real estate in New Jersey, easing into his mid-50s at the conclusion of Richard Ford’s celebrated trilogy (The Sportswriter, Independence Day, and The Lay of the Land). Ford clearly had more to say about his man Frank. In the four connected novellas that comprise the touching and humorous Let Me Be Frank With You —like a coda to the trilogy—we see Frank confronting his aging self and, at the same time, a New Jersey coastline recently ravaged by Hurricane Sandy. In some ways, he’s the same old Frank: an admitted “malcontent,” cranky and kvetching, but funny and, mostly, a good guy. Speaking of being frank, I must admit: as a fan of the trilogy (especially the first two), I was doubtful that I’d care about the first-world problems of rich and retired Frank Bascombe, now on the verge of 70. But there’s a creeping sadness that infuses these stories, and a little bit of rage, as in raging against the dying light. Frank is successful, but he doesn’t seem all that satisfied. Friendship is overrated, he claims. “None of us... are really designed to have that many friends.” It’s touching and at times moving to watch Frank both resist and acknowledge “death’s processional onset ... the final, thrilling dips of the roller coaster.” In the end, the ride of life is often a waiting game. Says Frank: “Time fixes things, mostly.” --Neal Thompson

In his trio of critically acclaimed, bestselling novels, Richard Ford illuminated the zeitgeist of an entire generation through the divinings and wit of his now-famous literary chronicler, Frank Bascombe—one of the most indelible and provocative characters in modern American literature. 

In Let Me Be Frank With You, Ford returns with four deftly linked stories narrated by the iconic Bascombe. Now sixty-eight and living in a New Jersey suburb, Frank has thrived—seemingly if not utterly—in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy’s devastation. With a flawless comedic sensibility and unblinking intelligence, these stories range over the full complement of American subjects: aging, race, loss, faith, marriage, redemption, the real-estate crash—the tumult of the world we live in. Let Me Be Frank With You is a moving, wondrous, extremely funny odyssey, showcasing the maturity and brilliance of a great writer working at the top of his talents.