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丌鬲卮鈥屫ㄘж槽�
亘蹖賱 亘賵賮賵乇丿貙 爻乇丿亘蹖乇 賲噩賱賴贁 賴賳乇蹖-丕丿亘蹖 诏乇丕賳鬲丕貙 丿乇 卮賲丕乇賴贁 鬲丕亘爻鬲丕賳 郾酃鄹鄢貙 乇蹖趩丕乇丿 賮賵乇丿 乇丕 丿乇 讴賳丕乇 趩賴乇賴鈥屬囏й屰� 趩賵賳 乇蹖賲賵賳丿 讴丕乇賵乇 賵 鬲賵亘蹖丕爻 賵賵賱賮 -賴乇 丿賵 丕夭 丿賵爻鬲丕賳 賳夭丿蹖讴 乇蹖趩丕乇丿 賮賵乇丿- 丌賮乇蹖賳賳丿诏丕賳 噩乇蹖丕賳蹖 丕丿亘蹖 賲賵爻賵賲 亘賴 芦乇卅丕賱蹖爻賲 讴孬蹖賮 丿丕賳爻鬲禄 賵 丿乇 鬲賵氐蹖賮 丕蹖賳 噩乇蹖丕賳 賳賵卮鬲 讴賴 賯氐賴鈥屬囏й� 丌賳丕賳 賲亘鬲賳蹖 丕爻鬲 亘乇 賵丕賯毓蹖鬲鈥屬囏й� 鬲賱禺 夭賳丿诏蹖 乇賵夭賲乇賴贁 卮禺氐蹖鬲鈥屬囏й� 胤亘賯賴贁 賲鬲賵爻胤 噩丕賲毓賴. 亘賴 鬲毓亘蹖乇 丕賵貙 丕蹖賳 賳賵蹖爻賳丿诏丕賳 亘丕 芦禺賵賳爻乇丿蹖 賵 禺賵蹖卮鬲賳丿丕乇蹖 诏夭賳丿賴 賵 毓丕乇蹖 丕夭 丕睾乇丕賯禄 丕夭 鬲賱禺蹖鈥屬囏й� 夭賳丿诏蹖 賲蹖鈥屬嗁堐屫迟嗀�. 亘丕 丕蹖賳 賴賲賴 乇蹖趩丕乇丿 賮賵乇丿 丿乇 诏賮鬲鈥屬堏堐屰� 亘丕 賴賲蹖賳 賳卮乇蹖賴 (丕讴鬲亘乇 鄄郯郯鄯) 诏賮鬲 亘賵賮賵乇丿 禺賵丕爻鬲賴 亘丕 丕蹖賳 芦讴賱讴 亘丕夭丕乇蹖丕亘蹖禄貙 賲噩賱賴鈥屫ж� 乇丕 丿乇 亘乇蹖鬲丕賳蹖丕 亘賮乇賵卮丿貙 芦讴賴 丕賱亘鬲賴 禺蹖賱蹖 禺蹖賱蹖 禺賵亘 賴賲 噩賵丕亘 诏乇賮鬲鈥� 禺賵丕賳賳丿賴鈥屬囏й� 賲賳 賴賲 亘蹖卮鬲乇 卮丿賳丿 賵 丕夭 丕蹖賳 亘丕亘鬲 賴乇趩賯丿乇 丕夭 丕賵 鬲卮讴乇 讴賳賲 讴賲 丕爻鬲.禄
亘禺卮蹖 丕夭 賲賯丿賲賴贁 讴鬲丕亘 丌鬲卮鈥屫ㄘж槽屫� 賳賵卮鬲賴贁 丕賲蹖乇賲賴丿蹖 丨賯蹖賯鬲貙 丿乇 賲毓乇賮蹖 爻亘讴 賵 乇賵卮 讴丕乇 乇蹖趩丕乇丿 賮賵乇丿.
亘禺卮蹖 丕夭 賲賯丿賲賴贁 讴鬲丕亘 丌鬲卮鈥屫ㄘж槽屫� 賳賵卮鬲賴贁 丕賲蹖乇賲賴丿蹖 丨賯蹖賯鬲貙 丿乇 賲毓乇賮蹖 爻亘讴 賵 乇賵卮 讴丕乇 乇蹖趩丕乇丿 賮賵乇丿.
238 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1987
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About the author
Richard Ford
230听books1,622听followersRichard Ford, born February 16, 1944 in Jackson, Mississippi, is an American novelist and short story writer. His best-known works are the novel The Sportswriter and its sequels, Independence Day, The Lay of the Land and Let Me Be Frank With You, and the short story collection Rock Springs, which contains several widely anthologized stories. Comparisons have been drawn between Ford's work and the writings of John Updike, William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway and Walker Percy.
His novel Independence Day won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1996, also winning the PEN/Faulkner Award in the same year.
His novel Independence Day won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1996, also winning the PEN/Faulkner Award in the same year.
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September 18, 2021
Richard Ford with Raymond Carver
This collection of ten short stories published as part of the 1980s Vintage Contemporaries series is Richard Ford at his best. Certainly, Ford would go on to write a string of first-rate novels, but these short stories are some of the finest American realist fiction I鈥檝e come across. I had a blast doing a brief write-up of three of the ten:
Rock Springs
Earl tells us first off how he鈥檚 headed down from Montana to Florida where he could hook up with old friend who wouldn鈥檛 turn him into the police. There鈥檚 this issue Earl has with a number of bad checks which could mean serious prison time. Anyway, sitting in the front seat next to Earl is Edna, a woman he鈥檚 been living with for the past eight months since she needed a man around to keep her crazy ex-husband Danny from breaking into her house to steal things, Danny being real needy since he took the kids. In the back seat is Earl鈥檚 little girl Cheryl along with her little dog, Duke.
Halfway down through Wyoming, Earl is hit with a stroke of bad luck: the oil light starts flashing on the dash of the car he stole. We read, "I鈥檇 gotten us a good car, a cranberry Mercedes I鈥檇 stolen out of an ophthalmologist鈥檚 lot in Whitefish, Montana. I stole it because I thought it would be comfortable over a long haul, because I thought it got good mileage, which it didn鈥檛, and because I鈥檇 never had a good car in my life, just old Chevy junkers and used trucks back from when I was a kid swamping citrus with Cubans.鈥�
Sidebar: Along with a few other American fiction writers from the 1970s and 1980s such as Larry Brown and Raymond Carver with their lower-middle-class characters, Richard Ford has been labeled a 鈥渄irty realist.鈥� This collection of stories, 鈥淩ock Springs鈥� serves as a prime reason. Also, if the tenor of this story reminds you of the Coen brothers, films like Fargo or The Big Lebowski, there鈥檚 a good reason: both Ford and the famous filmmakers feature down-and-out offbeat characters who frequently live outside the law as they deal with oddball happenings and events.
There鈥檚 plenty more color as the story continues, including Edna recounting her tragic tale of what happened to a spider monkey she once brought home after winning the monkey in a game of dice and Earl stopping to make a call in the mobile home of a big Black woman caring for her brain damaged grandson, a home that鈥檚 part of a mobile home community next to an honest-to-goodness gold mine. Oh, Earl, a gold mine 鈥� so close, yet so far away. I can assure you, this story is an honest-to-goodness Richard Ford gold nugget.
Going To the Dogs
鈥淢y wife had just gone out West with a groom from the local dog track, and I was waiting around the house for things to clear up, thinking about catching the train to Florida to change my luck. I already had my ticket in my wallet.鈥� So begins this story that is vintage oddball; matter of fact, as I was reading I was imagining how easily the unfolding events could be filmed by the Coen brothers. The narrator then goes on to tell how it is the day before Thanksgiving and hunting season with hunters and their old Chevys and pickups parked along the street below.
Our narrator, a man named Lloyd, hears a knock and opens his front door 鈥� standing on the frozen grass are two fat women, dressed like hunters, along with a dead deer. The two fat women want to give Gainsborough, the owner of the house, a deer steak. Lloyd tells them Gainsborough isn鈥檛 here, he鈥檚 in England. He invites the fat women in for some coffee and then the fun begins, including a lively sweet-sour discussion about tracking dear and a comic roll in bed with one of the fat women, Bonnie, who insists on calling him Curly instead of Lloyd. With its quirky dialogues and off-center descriptions, this story highlights how Richard Ford鈥檚 writing displays a careful concern for subtlety, nuance and the rhythms of language. A superb example of the Writer鈥檚 craft.
Communist
A moving tale told by our forty-one year old narrator, reflecting back on a vivid memory, a day when he was sixteen and taken on a hunting trip by a Vietnam vet turned communist, a man named Glen Baxter. At the time Glen was seeing his attractive thirty-two year old widowed mother, who also came along on the hunt, although she spent most of the time in the car they drove to wetlands where there were thousands of snow geese out on a lake.
Rich atmosphere in this Richard Ford story, as when we read: 鈥淚 put down my gun and on my hands and knees crawled up the earthwork through the wheatgrass and thistle, until I could see down to the lake and see the geese. And they were there, like a white bandage laid on the water, wide and long and continuous, a white expanse of snow geese, seventy yards before me, on the bank, but stretching far onto the lake, which was large itself 鈥� a half-mile across, with thick tules on the far side and wide plums father and the blue mountain behind them.鈥� Not only the sights, smells and sounds but also the unfolding drama between narrator, mother and Glen Baxter prompts us as readers to appreciate how this day made such an enormous impact.
August 15, 2024
FUOCHI ARTIFICIALI
Montana
Richard Ford, uomo del Sud (nato e cresciuto in Mississippi), ha deciso di vivere in Montana, montagne e neve e pascoli, e qui ambienta questi dieci racconti, che ho letto due volte perch茅 mi sono piaciuti e perch茅 vi ho sentito quasi la quintessenza di una parte del pi霉 mitico immaginario americano: il passaggio d鈥檈t脿, il momento di formazione, quella prova nella vita che ti fa fare lo scatto e ti rende adulto - lo spazio sovrastato da un cielo che appare sconfinato, e di fronte a questo spazio il cuore potrebbe allargarsi, ma l'uomo 猫 piccolo e impotente, e solo - s矛, la solitudine - i confini e l鈥檃ssenza di confini, un perenne senso di nomadismo - la precariet脿 dell鈥檈sistere - la violenza che 猫 latente, dietro l鈥檃ngolo ma anche鈥�
Fotografia di Craig Aurness, come quella sulla copertina di questa edizione, come quelle a seguire.
I miei preferiti sono il primo, che intitola la raccolta, il secondo, 鈥淕reat Falls鈥�, la cittadina protagonista anche di 鈥淚ncendi鈥� dove 猫 appunto assediata dalle fiamme, e pi霉 avanti gli ultimi tre, 鈥淟a preda鈥�, 鈥淥ttimisti鈥� e 鈥淐omunista鈥� che Raymond Carver, grande amico di Ford, selezion貌 per la raccolta dei migliori racconti americani (1986).
Questa non 猫 una storia allegra. Vi avverto.
脠 l鈥檌ncipit di avviso di 鈥淕reat Falls鈥�.
E in effetti nelle quindici pagine del racconto (sono pi霉 o meno tutti di questa lunghezza) l鈥檌o narrante, che ha quattordici anni, va spesso a pesca e a caccia col padre. Una sera, quando tornano a casa da una di queste escursioni, scoprono che la donna di casa, la mamma dell'adolescente e moglie dell鈥檃dulto, se ne 猫 andata. Andata via per sempre con uno pi霉 giovane di suo marito.
Storia vecchia, gi脿 sentita e risentita: ma non per questo fa meno male.
Il giorno dopo la donna 猫 gi脿 pentita e sarebbe disposta a ritornare a casa, a riprendere il suo posto in famiglia.
Ma 猫 troppo tardi: qualcosa s鈥櫭� incrinato, anzi proprio spezzato, il marito, e padre, non la vuole pi霉.
Anche se forse 猫 鈥� la risposta 鈥� semplice: 猫 la vita, la mediocrit脿 della vita, una freddezza che c'猫 in ognuno di noi, un'impotenza che ci porta a fraintendere la vita quando 猫 pura e semplice, che fa sembrare la nostra esistenza un confine tra due nulla, e che ci fa essere n茅 pi霉 e n茅 meno come animali che si incontrino per la strada: guardinghi, inesorabili, privi di pazienza e di desiderio.
Storie raccontate da io narranti adolescenti, figli di madri e padri tendenti all鈥檃ssenza, al disfunzionale, agenti immobiliari (piccoli Frank Bascombe crescono), le donne principalmente impiegate come cameriere, ferrovieri, addetti a basi militari, allevatori, ladruncoli, preferibilmente d鈥檃uto, vagabondi e girovaghi, tutti raccontati senza sentimentalismo, e sotto traccia una minaccia perenne, che, in ultima analisi, altro non 猫 che la vita stessa.
Quello invece che pensavo io, l脿 seduto in quella stanza con Boyd Mitchell morto ai nostri piedi, lo ricordo benissimo perch茅 ci ho pensato ancora, e fino a un certo punto ho cominciato a far decorrere la mia vera vita da quel momento e da quel pensiero. 脠 questo: che le situazioni hanno in s茅 delle possibilit脿, e che basta essere presenti per essere coinvolti. Quella di quella sera era una situazione molto brutta. Ma come avremmo potuto sapere che sarebbe andata cos矛 finch茅 non fosse stato troppo tardi, e dopo che tutti eravamo cambiati per sempre.
E certo, erano tutti cambiati per sempre, a cominciare da Boyd Mitchell.
Il comunista dell鈥檜ltimo racconto, Glen Baxter, 猫 l鈥檃mante della madre: lei ha trentadue anni, il figlio che racconta sedici, il comunista ha un鈥檈t脿 in mezzo agli altri due, che il figlio narratore non ricorda con esattezza. E quindi Glen, il comunista, 猫 anche una specie di fratello maggiore, oltre che di facente funzione del padre.
Padre che 猫 morto e ha lasciato la propriet脿 della casetta in cui vivono e polizze di assicurazione, che insieme al lavoro di cameriera della madre, sono i proventi su cui campa la mini famiglia.
Vivono a Great Falls, luogo topico per Ford.
Glen porta la donna e il figlio a caccia di oche siberiane.
Vanno cacciate quella sera, al mattino avranno ripreso il viaggio (uno spettacolo da non perdere 猫 quando prendono il volo e riempiono il cielo, Ford rende il momento magico). Questi uccelli che ripetono ogni anno il loro percorso, migrando da un luogo all鈥檃ltro, spinti da una molla interna che non possono modificare, ricordano gli esseri umani di questi racconti.
E quanti anni avevo, allora? Sedici. A sedici anni sei un ragazzo, ma puoi anche essere un adulto. Oggi ne ho quarantuno, e penso a quel tempo senza rimpianti, anche se io e mia madre in quel modo non parlammo mai pi霉, e io non ho sentito la sua voce gi脿 da molto, molto tempo.
Montana
Richard Ford, uomo del Sud (nato e cresciuto in Mississippi), ha deciso di vivere in Montana, montagne e neve e pascoli, e qui ambienta questi dieci racconti, che ho letto due volte perch茅 mi sono piaciuti e perch茅 vi ho sentito quasi la quintessenza di una parte del pi霉 mitico immaginario americano: il passaggio d鈥檈t脿, il momento di formazione, quella prova nella vita che ti fa fare lo scatto e ti rende adulto - lo spazio sovrastato da un cielo che appare sconfinato, e di fronte a questo spazio il cuore potrebbe allargarsi, ma l'uomo 猫 piccolo e impotente, e solo - s矛, la solitudine - i confini e l鈥檃ssenza di confini, un perenne senso di nomadismo - la precariet脿 dell鈥檈sistere - la violenza che 猫 latente, dietro l鈥檃ngolo ma anche鈥�
Fotografia di Craig Aurness, come quella sulla copertina di questa edizione, come quelle a seguire.
I miei preferiti sono il primo, che intitola la raccolta, il secondo, 鈥淕reat Falls鈥�, la cittadina protagonista anche di 鈥淚ncendi鈥� dove 猫 appunto assediata dalle fiamme, e pi霉 avanti gli ultimi tre, 鈥淟a preda鈥�, 鈥淥ttimisti鈥� e 鈥淐omunista鈥� che Raymond Carver, grande amico di Ford, selezion貌 per la raccolta dei migliori racconti americani (1986).
Questa non 猫 una storia allegra. Vi avverto.
脠 l鈥檌ncipit di avviso di 鈥淕reat Falls鈥�.
E in effetti nelle quindici pagine del racconto (sono pi霉 o meno tutti di questa lunghezza) l鈥檌o narrante, che ha quattordici anni, va spesso a pesca e a caccia col padre. Una sera, quando tornano a casa da una di queste escursioni, scoprono che la donna di casa, la mamma dell'adolescente e moglie dell鈥檃dulto, se ne 猫 andata. Andata via per sempre con uno pi霉 giovane di suo marito.
Storia vecchia, gi脿 sentita e risentita: ma non per questo fa meno male.
Il giorno dopo la donna 猫 gi脿 pentita e sarebbe disposta a ritornare a casa, a riprendere il suo posto in famiglia.
Ma 猫 troppo tardi: qualcosa s鈥櫭� incrinato, anzi proprio spezzato, il marito, e padre, non la vuole pi霉.
Anche se forse 猫 鈥� la risposta 鈥� semplice: 猫 la vita, la mediocrit脿 della vita, una freddezza che c'猫 in ognuno di noi, un'impotenza che ci porta a fraintendere la vita quando 猫 pura e semplice, che fa sembrare la nostra esistenza un confine tra due nulla, e che ci fa essere n茅 pi霉 e n茅 meno come animali che si incontrino per la strada: guardinghi, inesorabili, privi di pazienza e di desiderio.
Storie raccontate da io narranti adolescenti, figli di madri e padri tendenti all鈥檃ssenza, al disfunzionale, agenti immobiliari (piccoli Frank Bascombe crescono), le donne principalmente impiegate come cameriere, ferrovieri, addetti a basi militari, allevatori, ladruncoli, preferibilmente d鈥檃uto, vagabondi e girovaghi, tutti raccontati senza sentimentalismo, e sotto traccia una minaccia perenne, che, in ultima analisi, altro non 猫 che la vita stessa.
Quello invece che pensavo io, l脿 seduto in quella stanza con Boyd Mitchell morto ai nostri piedi, lo ricordo benissimo perch茅 ci ho pensato ancora, e fino a un certo punto ho cominciato a far decorrere la mia vera vita da quel momento e da quel pensiero. 脠 questo: che le situazioni hanno in s茅 delle possibilit脿, e che basta essere presenti per essere coinvolti. Quella di quella sera era una situazione molto brutta. Ma come avremmo potuto sapere che sarebbe andata cos矛 finch茅 non fosse stato troppo tardi, e dopo che tutti eravamo cambiati per sempre.
E certo, erano tutti cambiati per sempre, a cominciare da Boyd Mitchell.
Il comunista dell鈥檜ltimo racconto, Glen Baxter, 猫 l鈥檃mante della madre: lei ha trentadue anni, il figlio che racconta sedici, il comunista ha un鈥檈t脿 in mezzo agli altri due, che il figlio narratore non ricorda con esattezza. E quindi Glen, il comunista, 猫 anche una specie di fratello maggiore, oltre che di facente funzione del padre.
Padre che 猫 morto e ha lasciato la propriet脿 della casetta in cui vivono e polizze di assicurazione, che insieme al lavoro di cameriera della madre, sono i proventi su cui campa la mini famiglia.
Vivono a Great Falls, luogo topico per Ford.
Glen porta la donna e il figlio a caccia di oche siberiane.
Vanno cacciate quella sera, al mattino avranno ripreso il viaggio (uno spettacolo da non perdere 猫 quando prendono il volo e riempiono il cielo, Ford rende il momento magico). Questi uccelli che ripetono ogni anno il loro percorso, migrando da un luogo all鈥檃ltro, spinti da una molla interna che non possono modificare, ricordano gli esseri umani di questi racconti.
E quanti anni avevo, allora? Sedici. A sedici anni sei un ragazzo, ma puoi anche essere un adulto. Oggi ne ho quarantuno, e penso a quel tempo senza rimpianti, anche se io e mia madre in quel modo non parlammo mai pi霉, e io non ho sentito la sua voce gi脿 da molto, molto tempo.
July 31, 2020
Hunting, fishing, drinking too much, avoiding going to jail, grudgingly going to jail, thinking up get rich schemes, abandoning them when they flop, committing or discovering adultery, witnessing accidents, witnessing murders, dealing with being unemployed when your wife鈥檚 successful ex comes to town, being a child and knowing one day you鈥檒l be one of those sad adults, being an adult looking back on that life-changing incident that made you grow up, realizing you're basically alone.
Welcome to Richard Ford country, folks. Montana roads and interstates. Lots of motels. Pick-up trucks. Some gorgeous endings. All written in a low-key yet poetic voice that feels authentic and as comfortable as a faded pair of blue jeans. Imagine if Carver, Hemingway and Tobias Wolff drank too much beer and then got into a pissing competition.
Welcome to Richard Ford country, folks. Montana roads and interstates. Lots of motels. Pick-up trucks. Some gorgeous endings. All written in a low-key yet poetic voice that feels authentic and as comfortable as a faded pair of blue jeans. Imagine if Carver, Hemingway and Tobias Wolff drank too much beer and then got into a pissing competition.
April 7, 2021
讴鬲丕亘 丌鬲卮 亘丕夭蹖 賳賵卮鬲賴 乇蹖趩丕乇丿 賮賵乇丿 卮丕賲賱 賲噩賲賵毓賴 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 賴丕蹖蹖 丕蹖爻鬲 讴賴 毓賲賵賲丕 丿乇 卮賲丕賱 睾乇亘 丌賲乇蹖讴丕 賵 丿乇 丕蹖丕賱鬲 賲賵賳鬲丕賳丕 貙 丿乇 卮賴乇賴丕蹖 讴賵趩讴 亘丕 噩賲毓蹖鬲 賴丕蹖 亘賵賲蹖 賵 爻乇禺倬賵爻鬲 貙 丿乇 禺丕賳賵丕丿賴 賴丕蹖蹖 亘丕 爻胤丨 賲鬲賵爻胤 乇賵 亘賴 倬丕蹖蹖賳 賲蹖 诏匕乇丿 .
乇丕賵蹖 賴丕蹖 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 亘蹖卮鬲乇 蹖丕 賳賵噩賵丕賳丕賳蹖 賴爻鬲賳丿 讴賴 亘丕 趩丕賱卮 夭賳丿诏蹖 賵 丌蹖賳丿賴 乇賵亘乇賵 賴爻鬲賳丿 蹖丕 賵丕賱丿蹖賳蹖 讴賴 丨丕賱 禺賵卮蹖 賳丿丕乇賳丿 貙 丌賳賴丕 毓賱丕賵賴 亘乇 亘蹖賲 賵 鬲乇爻 丕夭 丌蹖賳丿賴 禺賵丿 亘賴 诏賵賳賴 丕蹖 夭禺賲蹖 丕夭 诏匕卮鬲賴 賴賲 禺賵乇丿賴 丕賳丿 貙 爻丕蹖賴 诏匕卮鬲賴 賳賴 鬲賳賴丕 丌賳賴丕 乇丕 乇賴丕 賳讴乇丿賴 貙 亘賱讴賴 丨丕賱 賵 丌蹖賳丿賴 乇丕 賴賲 讴丕賲賱丕 鬲丨鬲 鬲丕孬蹖乇 禺賵丿 賯乇丕乇 丿丕丿賴 丕爻鬲 . 丌丿賲賴丕蹖蹖 讴賴 賲賴賲鬲乇蹖賳 爻賵丕賱 夭賳丿诏蹖 亘乇丕蹖 丌賳丕賳 丕蹖賳 亘賵丿賴 讴賴 讴噩丕蹖 夭賳丿诏蹖 乇丕 诏賳丿 夭丿賴 丕賳丿 蹖丕 讴丿丕賲蹖賳 乇丕賴 乇丕 丕卮鬲亘丕賴 乇賮鬲賴 丕賳丿 . 丌賳丕賳 乇丕 丿蹖诏乇 蹖丕乇丕蹖 亘乇诏卮鬲賳 賵 丕夭 賳賵 卮乇賵毓 讴乇丿賳 賳蹖爻鬲 .
賴賳乇 賳賵蹖爻賳丿賴 貙 丌賮乇蹖丿賳 丿賳蹖丕蹖蹖 丕蹖爻鬲 爻禺鬲 賲賱賲賵爻 賵 賵丕賯毓蹖 亘丕 丌丿賲賴丕蹖蹖 鬲賳賴丕 睾乇賯 丿乇 夭賳丿诏蹖 賲毓賲賵賱蹖 貙 丌丿賲賴丕蹖蹖 讴賴 乇賵夭诏丕乇 丌賳賴丕 乇丕 亘賴 趩賵倬賳 鬲亘丿蹖賱 讴乇丿賴 貙賴賲丕賳賳丿 倬乇鬲賯丕賱蹖 賱賽賴 讴乇丿賴 貙 卮蹖乇賴 賵 毓氐丕乇賴 丌賳 乇丕 賳賵卮蹖丿賴 賵 倬賵爻鬲 丌賳 乇丕 诏賵卮賴 丕 蹖 乇賴丕 讴乇丿賴 丕爻鬲 .
乇丕賵蹖 賴丕蹖 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 亘蹖卮鬲乇 蹖丕 賳賵噩賵丕賳丕賳蹖 賴爻鬲賳丿 讴賴 亘丕 趩丕賱卮 夭賳丿诏蹖 賵 丌蹖賳丿賴 乇賵亘乇賵 賴爻鬲賳丿 蹖丕 賵丕賱丿蹖賳蹖 讴賴 丨丕賱 禺賵卮蹖 賳丿丕乇賳丿 貙 丌賳賴丕 毓賱丕賵賴 亘乇 亘蹖賲 賵 鬲乇爻 丕夭 丌蹖賳丿賴 禺賵丿 亘賴 诏賵賳賴 丕蹖 夭禺賲蹖 丕夭 诏匕卮鬲賴 賴賲 禺賵乇丿賴 丕賳丿 貙 爻丕蹖賴 诏匕卮鬲賴 賳賴 鬲賳賴丕 丌賳賴丕 乇丕 乇賴丕 賳讴乇丿賴 貙 亘賱讴賴 丨丕賱 賵 丌蹖賳丿賴 乇丕 賴賲 讴丕賲賱丕 鬲丨鬲 鬲丕孬蹖乇 禺賵丿 賯乇丕乇 丿丕丿賴 丕爻鬲 . 丌丿賲賴丕蹖蹖 讴賴 賲賴賲鬲乇蹖賳 爻賵丕賱 夭賳丿诏蹖 亘乇丕蹖 丌賳丕賳 丕蹖賳 亘賵丿賴 讴賴 讴噩丕蹖 夭賳丿诏蹖 乇丕 诏賳丿 夭丿賴 丕賳丿 蹖丕 讴丿丕賲蹖賳 乇丕賴 乇丕 丕卮鬲亘丕賴 乇賮鬲賴 丕賳丿 . 丌賳丕賳 乇丕 丿蹖诏乇 蹖丕乇丕蹖 亘乇诏卮鬲賳 賵 丕夭 賳賵 卮乇賵毓 讴乇丿賳 賳蹖爻鬲 .
賴賳乇 賳賵蹖爻賳丿賴 貙 丌賮乇蹖丿賳 丿賳蹖丕蹖蹖 丕蹖爻鬲 爻禺鬲 賲賱賲賵爻 賵 賵丕賯毓蹖 亘丕 丌丿賲賴丕蹖蹖 鬲賳賴丕 睾乇賯 丿乇 夭賳丿诏蹖 賲毓賲賵賱蹖 貙 丌丿賲賴丕蹖蹖 讴賴 乇賵夭诏丕乇 丌賳賴丕 乇丕 亘賴 趩賵倬賳 鬲亘丿蹖賱 讴乇丿賴 貙賴賲丕賳賳丿 倬乇鬲賯丕賱蹖 賱賽賴 讴乇丿賴 貙 卮蹖乇賴 賵 毓氐丕乇賴 丌賳 乇丕 賳賵卮蹖丿賴 賵 倬賵爻鬲 丌賳 乇丕 诏賵卮賴 丕 蹖 乇賴丕 讴乇丿賴 丕爻鬲 .
September 1, 2018
Rocky Mountain Highs
Flock of Snow Geese
"Now he walks in quiet solitude, the forest and the streams, seeking grace in every step he takes.
His sight is turned inside himself, to try and understand
the serenity of a clear blue mountain lake."
Rocky Mountain High, Denver/Taylor, 1972
This splendid collection of short stories reminds me why I love realist short stories of unique characters in gorgeous faraway settings I'd never experience but for the magic of literature.
In picturesque prose precisely crafting signal situations, Richard Ford explores turbulence in relationships and the human restive consciousness, made all the more evident against his halcyon landscapes, from the wide ranges of Wyoming to the highlands of Montana. Each story one of resolution or revelation, eliciting an enduring empathy.
One story, called "The Communist," paints possibly the most brilliant scenery I've read in all literature. I cannot do it justice. Above is the closest picture I could find to a large part of the scene.
The best set of short stories I've read in a long time. Maybe ever.
Flock of Snow Geese
"Now he walks in quiet solitude, the forest and the streams, seeking grace in every step he takes.
His sight is turned inside himself, to try and understand
the serenity of a clear blue mountain lake."
Rocky Mountain High, Denver/Taylor, 1972
This splendid collection of short stories reminds me why I love realist short stories of unique characters in gorgeous faraway settings I'd never experience but for the magic of literature.
In picturesque prose precisely crafting signal situations, Richard Ford explores turbulence in relationships and the human restive consciousness, made all the more evident against his halcyon landscapes, from the wide ranges of Wyoming to the highlands of Montana. Each story one of resolution or revelation, eliciting an enduring empathy.
One story, called "The Communist," paints possibly the most brilliant scenery I've read in all literature. I cannot do it justice. Above is the closest picture I could find to a large part of the scene.
The best set of short stories I've read in a long time. Maybe ever.
August 2, 2021
丕賵賱 亘賴 讴爻丕蹖蹖 讴賴 胤乇賮丿丕乇 噩丿蹖 丿丕爻鬲丕賳鈥屭┵堌з囐� 鬲賵氐蹖賴 賲蹖鈥屭┵嗁呚� 丿賵賲 亘賴 讴爻丕蹖蹖 讴賴 丿賳亘丕賱 讴丕乇賽 禺賵卮禺賵丕賳賳 鬲賵氐蹖賴 賳賲蹖鈥屭┵嗁�!
賮囟丕蹖 丿丕爻鬲丕賳鈥屬囏� 禺蹖賱蹖 丕賲乇蹖讴丕蹖蹖賴貙 丕賵賳賲 賳賴 丕賲乇蹖讴丕蹖蹖 讴賴 禺蹖賱蹖 丕夭 賲丕賴丕 鬲賵蹖 匕賴賳賲賵賳賴. 鬲賵蹖 卮賴乇賴丕蹖 讴賵趩蹖讴 賵 倬賻乇鬲 賵 丿賵乇丕賮鬲丕丿賴 賲蹖鈥屭嗀必嗀� 讴賴 丕蹖賳 禺蹖賱蹖 亘賴 丿丕爻鬲丕賳鈥屬囏� 賴賲 賳卮爻鬲賴. 乇賵丕蹖鬲鈥屬囏� 诏賳诏 賵 賲亘賴賲 賵 毓噩蹖亘賳貙 卮禺氐蹖鬲鈥屬囏й屰� 讴賴 賲賳 賵 卮賲丕 賲蹖鈥屫堎嗃屬� 亘丕卮蹖賲 丕賲丕 賴賲賴鈥屫� 丨蹖賳 禺賵賳丿賳 丨爻 賲蹖鈥屭┵嗃� 賳賴貙 蹖賴 噩丕蹖 讴丕乇 賲蹖鈥屬勝嗂囏� 賵 丨爻鬲 丿乇爻鬲賴.
讴鬲丕亘 乇丕丨鬲鈥屫堌з� 賳蹖爻鬲. 賳賴 丕蹖賳讴賴 賳孬乇 爻禺鬲蹖 丿丕卮鬲賴 亘丕卮賴 蹖丕 丿乇 夭蹖乇 賱丕蹖賴 丿丕乇賴 賱賴 賵 賱賵乇丿賴鈥屫� 賲蹖鈥屭┵嗁囏� 丕賲丕 乇蹖鬲賲 丿丕爻鬲丕賳鈥屬囏� 讴購賳丿賳 賵 卮禺氐蹖鬲鈥屬矩必ж槽屸€屬囏� 賳丕賲鬲毓丕乇賮. 丿賵爻鬲卮 丿丕卮鬲賲貙 禺蹖賱蹖 讴丕乇 禺丕氐蹖賴貙 禺蹖賱蹖 丕賲乇蹖讴丕蹖蹖 賵 丿乇毓蹖賳鈥屫з� 賲鬲賮丕賵鬲 亘丕 賴乇 讴丕乇 丕賲乇蹖讴丕蹖蹖.
+ 賵賱蹖 爻賴 賵 賳蹖賲.
September 21, 2024
Short stories about relationships gone weird between small time criminals and the bad women who love them.
Not every character in every story is a small time criminal nor every woman necessarily bad.
Amazing writing. I鈥檇 pause a lot and reread certain lines or paragraphs. Real magic resonates from certain passages.
My wife picked up a 1st edition copy of this at a train station and gave it to me. She was familiar with the author from his stories that appeared in the lit journal Antaeus back in the 1980s.
We鈥檙e discussing here an anthology by one of those hotshit writers feted by the same type big Lit critics who championed Raymond Carver and other late 20th century modern authors like Paul Auster.
Richard Ford鈥檚 writing appealed to me much more than the stories I鈥檝e read by Raymond Carver but it鈥檚 the characters and situations they find themselves in that appealed to me initially鈥� then I fell for Ford鈥檚 unique story telling style.
Not every character in every story is a small time criminal nor every woman necessarily bad.
Amazing writing. I鈥檇 pause a lot and reread certain lines or paragraphs. Real magic resonates from certain passages.
My wife picked up a 1st edition copy of this at a train station and gave it to me. She was familiar with the author from his stories that appeared in the lit journal Antaeus back in the 1980s.
We鈥檙e discussing here an anthology by one of those hotshit writers feted by the same type big Lit critics who championed Raymond Carver and other late 20th century modern authors like Paul Auster.
Richard Ford鈥檚 writing appealed to me much more than the stories I鈥檝e read by Raymond Carver but it鈥檚 the characters and situations they find themselves in that appealed to me initially鈥� then I fell for Ford鈥檚 unique story telling style.
October 15, 2023
丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘 卮丕賲賱 趩賳丿 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 讴賵鬲丕賴 丕爻鬲 讴賴 丨賵賱 乇賵丕亘胤 禺丕賳賵丕丿诏蹖貙 賮乇夭賳丿貙 倬丿乇 蹖丕 賲丕丿乇 賳丕鬲賳蹖貙 禺蹖丕賳鬲貙 卮乇丕蹖胤 亘丿 丕賯鬲氐丕丿蹖貙 亘蹖讴丕乇蹖 賵 丕蹖賳 趩蹖夭丕 賲蹖诏匕乇賴貙 賲鬲丕爻賮丕賳賴 亘噩夭 蹖讴蹖 丿賵 鬲丕 賮囟丕爻丕夭蹖 讴賴 鬲賵 匕賴賳賲 賲賵賳丿 趩蹖夭 丿蹖诏乇蹖 亘乇丕賲 賳丿丕卮鬲 賵 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 賴丕 亘賴 賳馗乇賲 禺蹖賱蹖 亘蹖 鬲賴 亘賵丿賳丿 丕诏乇 賳诏賲 亘蹖 爻乇 賵 鬲賴 馃榾
July 5, 2019
賲噩賲賵毓賴 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 禺賵亘蹖 亘賵丿. 賲賳 賴蹖趩 賵賯鬲 亘賴 賲賵賳鬲丕賳丕 爻賮乇 賳讴乇丿賲 丕賲丕 鬲賵蹖 丕賲乇蹖讴丕 亘蹖卮鬲乇 丕夭卮 亘賴 毓賳賵丕賳 蹖賴 丕蹖丕賱鬲 賯卮賳诏 賵賱蹖 鬲丕 丨丿賵丿蹖 胤賮蹖賱蹖 蹖丕丿 賲蹖讴賳賳貙 噩丕蹖蹖 讴賴 禺蹖賱蹖 賲乇丿賲卮 賲蹖鬲賵賳賳 丕夭 賱丨丕馗 鬲賲丿賳 毓賯亘 亘丕卮賳 (丨丿丕賯賱 丕賵賳 丕賲乇蹖讴丕蹖蹖 賴丕蹖蹖 讴賴 賲賳 丿蹖丿賲). 丕賲丕 鬲賵氐蹖賮丕鬲 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 亘賴 賴賲賴 噩丕蹖 丕賲乇蹖讴丕 賲蹖禺賵乇賴貙 蹖丕 讴賱丕 賴賲賴 蹖 丌丿賲賴丕. 丕夭 禺賵賳丿賳卮 賱匕鬲 亘乇丿賲.
November 27, 2012
The best and most succinct thing I can say about this collection is that almost all of these stories could be adapted by the Coen brothers. If that sounds like something you'd be into then I can almost guarantee you'll like Rock Springs.
Elsewise:
These stories can feel repetitive in the middle of the collection ("Sweethearts" and "Winterkill" have such identical set ups that if someone else had written one of them instead of Richard Ford, he could sue them for plagiarism. A woman in "Winterkill" says an almost identical line as a woman in "Empire"--certainly deliberate, also not going to help combat criticisms of sexism--and if you want to chuckle to yourself a little, you should read each story's opening paragraph in succession. There should be a Richard Ford opening paragraph writing contest on GoodReads). This collection could have been better if he instead worked the material into a few novellas. But the final three stories ("Optimists", "Fireworks", and "Communist") are the best, and ultimately won me over.
I also have to disagree with whichever critical blurb on my edition praised Ford's diversity of voice, or breadth of compassion, or suchlike. There was some stretching, but I would have been far more impressed with his writing ability and social imagination if, for example, "Sweethearts" had been seen through Troy's POV, or "Going to the Dogs" through Bonnie's and/or Phyllis's, etc.
Elsewise:
These stories can feel repetitive in the middle of the collection ("Sweethearts" and "Winterkill" have such identical set ups that if someone else had written one of them instead of Richard Ford, he could sue them for plagiarism. A woman in "Winterkill" says an almost identical line as a woman in "Empire"--certainly deliberate, also not going to help combat criticisms of sexism--and if you want to chuckle to yourself a little, you should read each story's opening paragraph in succession. There should be a Richard Ford opening paragraph writing contest on GoodReads). This collection could have been better if he instead worked the material into a few novellas. But the final three stories ("Optimists", "Fireworks", and "Communist") are the best, and ultimately won me over.
I also have to disagree with whichever critical blurb on my edition praised Ford's diversity of voice, or breadth of compassion, or suchlike. There was some stretching, but I would have been far more impressed with his writing ability and social imagination if, for example, "Sweethearts" had been seen through Troy's POV, or "Going to the Dogs" through Bonnie's and/or Phyllis's, etc.
September 12, 2020
賵賯鬲蹖 賴乇 讴丿賵賲 丕夭 賯氐賴鈥屬囏й� 丕蹖賳 賲噩賲賵毓賴 乇賵 噩丿丕 亘匕丕乇賳 噩賱賵鬲 賵 亘禺賵賳蹖 禺蹖賱蹖 禺賵亘賴. 丕賲丕 賵賯鬲蹖 讴賳丕乇 賴賲 賯乇丕乇 賲蹖鈥屭屫辟嗀� 賮囟丕蹖 丿丕爻鬲丕賳鈥屬囏� 賵 丨鬲蹖 丿乇賵賳鈥屬呚й屬� 賴賲賴 讴丕乇賴丕 賵 丨鬲蹖 丕爻丕賲蹖! 禺蹖賱蹖 卮亘蹖賴 亘賵丿. 胤賵乇蹖 讴賴 丨爻 賳賲蹖鈥屭┴必� 丿丕乇蹖
丿丕爻鬲丕賳 噩丿蹖丿蹖 賲蹖鈥屫堎嗃� 賵 賲賳 丕蹖賳賵 丿賵爻鬲 賳丿丕卮鬲賲. 卮丕蹖丿 丕诏乇 亘賴 鬲讴 鬲讴 丿丕爻鬲丕賳鈥屬囏� 賳賲乇賴 亘丿賲 鄞 蹖丕 丨鬲蹖 鄣 亘丿賲. 丕賲丕 讴賳丕乇 賴賲...
丿丕爻鬲丕賳 賲賵乇丿 毓賱丕賯賴鈥屬� 丌鬲卮鈥屫ㄘж槽� 亘賵丿 賵 丕賵賳 噩丕蹖蹖 讴賴 亘賴 乇丕賵蹖 蹖讴蹖 夭賳诏 賲蹖夭賳賴 賵 亘毓丿 賮賱卮 亘讴蹖 讴賴 亘賴 诏匕卮鬲賴 賲蹖夭賳賴. 賳賵蹖爻賳丿賴 禺蹖賱蹖 賳乇賲 賵 乇賵賵賳 丕夭 丕蹖賳 诏乇丿丕亘 诏匕卮鬲 賵 丕蹖賳 禺蹖賱蹖 禺賵亘 亘賵丿.
丿丕爻鬲丕賳 噩丿蹖丿蹖 賲蹖鈥屫堎嗃� 賵 賲賳 丕蹖賳賵 丿賵爻鬲 賳丿丕卮鬲賲. 卮丕蹖丿 丕诏乇 亘賴 鬲讴 鬲讴 丿丕爻鬲丕賳鈥屬囏� 賳賲乇賴 亘丿賲 鄞 蹖丕 丨鬲蹖 鄣 亘丿賲. 丕賲丕 讴賳丕乇 賴賲...
丿丕爻鬲丕賳 賲賵乇丿 毓賱丕賯賴鈥屬� 丌鬲卮鈥屫ㄘж槽� 亘賵丿 賵 丕賵賳 噩丕蹖蹖 讴賴 亘賴 乇丕賵蹖 蹖讴蹖 夭賳诏 賲蹖夭賳賴 賵 亘毓丿 賮賱卮 亘讴蹖 讴賴 亘賴 诏匕卮鬲賴 賲蹖夭賳賴. 賳賵蹖爻賳丿賴 禺蹖賱蹖 賳乇賲 賵 乇賵賵賳 丕夭 丕蹖賳 诏乇丿丕亘 诏匕卮鬲 賵 丕蹖賳 禺蹖賱蹖 禺賵亘 亘賵丿.
March 6, 2022
Sunt multe lucruri de spus despre personajele lui Ford, despre bijuteriile de fraze aerate care surprind debusolarea 艧i dezolarea. Dar acum, pe fondul emo牛ional al ultimelor zile:
"Am visat 卯n noaptea aia. Am visat un avion care se pr膬bu艧ea, un bombardier care c膬dea din cer, s膬lt芒nd la contactul cu r芒ul 卯nghe牛at, alunec芒nd 艧i r膬sucindu-se pe ghea牛膬, cu aripile ca ni艧te cu牛ite care r膬deau totul 卯n cale 艧i ne retezau casa 卯n timp ce dormeam."
O imagine cu care suntem nevoi牛i s膬 ne trezim 卯n fiecare diminea牛膬, de 10 zile 卯ncoace.
"Am visat 卯n noaptea aia. Am visat un avion care se pr膬bu艧ea, un bombardier care c膬dea din cer, s膬lt芒nd la contactul cu r芒ul 卯nghe牛at, alunec芒nd 艧i r膬sucindu-se pe ghea牛膬, cu aripile ca ni艧te cu牛ite care r膬deau totul 卯n cale 艧i ne retezau casa 卯n timp ce dormeam."
O imagine cu care suntem nevoi牛i s膬 ne trezim 卯n fiecare diminea牛膬, de 10 zile 卯ncoace.
November 28, 2022
讴鬲丕亘 丕夭 賳賴 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 讴賵鬲丕賴 鬲卮讴蹖賱 卮丿賴貙丿丕爻鬲丕賳 賴丕蹖蹖 讴賴 卮禺氐蹖鬲 賴丕 丿乇 蹖讴 禺丕賳賵丕丿賴 丕夭 賴賲 倬丕卮蹖丿賴 夭賳丿诏蹖 賲蹖 讴賳賳丿 貙蹖丕 亘趩賴 賴丕 亘賴 賳賵毓蹖 賱丨馗賴 噩丿丕蹖蹖 賵丕賱丿蹖賳卮賵賳 乇賵 卮丕賴丿 禺賵丕賴賳丿 亘賵丿貙诏丕賴蹖 賲孬賱 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 乇丕讴 丕爻倬乇蹖賳诏夭 賵丕賱丿 賳丕丕賲賳 貙賲噩乇賲 賵 睾蹖乇 賯丕亘賱 鬲讴蹖賴 賴爻鬲貙賵 诏丕賴蹖 賲孬賱 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 禺賵卮 亘蹖賳 賴丕 毓氐亘蹖 賵 丕夭 賱丨丕馗 乇賵丕賳蹖 賵 毓丕胤賮蹖 睾蹖乇 賯丕亘賱 丿爻鬲乇爻 賴爻鬲賳丿貙賵 诏丕賴蹖 卮禺氐蹖鬲 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 蹖讴 讴賵丿讴 丕夭 丿賱 禺丕賳賵丕丿賴 賴丕蹖蹖 亘丕 丕蹖賳 賲卮讴賱丕鬲 賴爻鬲 讴賴 丕夭 禺賵賳賴 賮乇丕乇 讴乇丿賴 賵 亘丿賵賳 賴蹖趩 賴丿賮 賵 丌蹖賳丿賴 丕蹖 亘賴 乇丕賴 丕賮鬲丕丿賴 貙丕亘賴丕賲蹖 讴賲 賵 亘蹖卮 鬲賵蹖 賴賲賴 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 賴丕 賵噩賵丿 丿丕乇賴貙卮禺氐蹖鬲 賴丕 乇賮鬲丕乇賴丕 賵 氐丨亘鬲 賴丕蹖蹖 丿丕乇賳丿 讴賴 趩乇丕蹖蹖 亘乇賵夭卮 鬲丕 丌禺乇 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 賴丕 亘丕賯蹖 賲蹖 賲賵賳賴貙賲孬賱 禺丕胤乇賴 丕丿賳丕 丕夭 讴卮鬲賳 賲蹖賲賵賳 蹖丕 賵賯鬲蹖 賲丕丿乇 賱爻 亘賴 讴卮鬲賳 睾丕夭蹖 讴賴 乇賵蹖 乇賵丿禺賵賳賴 亘賵丿 倬丕賮卮丕乇蹖 賲蹖 讴乇丿貙卮丕蹖丿 亘賴 胤賵乇 讴丕賲賱 賳鬲賵賳蹖賲 亘賴 丕賮讴丕乇 卮禺氐蹖鬲 賴丕 倬蹖 亘亘乇蹖賲貙 丕賳诏丕乇 賴蹖趩讴丿賵賲 丕夭 卮禺氐蹖鬲 賴丕蹖 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 賴賲 亘賴 胤賵乇 讴丕賲賱 賴賲 乇賵 賳賲蹖 卮賳丕爻賳丿 賵 诏丕賴蹖 丕夭 丕蹖賳 丿乇讴 賳卮丿賳 賳丕乇丕丨鬲 賲蹖 卮賳...
卮禺氐蹖鬲 賴丕 貙丕夭 賯卮乇 倬丕蹖蹖賳 噩丕賲毓賴 丕賳鬲禺丕亘 卮丿賳 讴賴 亘丕 賵丕賯毓蹖丕鬲 鬲賱禺 賵 讴孬蹖賮 夭賳丿诏蹖 爻乇賵讴丕乇 丿丕乇賳丿 倬丿乇 賵 賲丕丿乇賴丕 賵 亘趩賴 賴丕蹖 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 丿乇 蹖讴 亘蹖 爻乇丕賳噩丕賲蹖 賵 丌蹖賳丿賴 丕蹖 賳丕賲卮禺氐 夭賳丿诏蹖 賲蹖 讴賳賳丿 貙乇丕爻鬲卮 讴鬲丕亘蹖 賳亘賵丿 讴賴 賵賯鬲蹖 賲蹖禺賵賳丿賲卮 賱匕鬲 夭蹖丕丿蹖 亘亘乇賲 貙丿乇 賵丕賯毓 卮亘丕賴鬲 賮囟丕蹖 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 賴丕貙丕爻丕賲蹖 賵 诏丕賴蹖 卮睾賱 賵 诏匕卮鬲賴 卮賵賳 讴賲蹖 丿賱爻乇丿賲 賲蹖 讴乇丿貙诏丕賴蹖 倬蹖卮 賲蹖丕丿 讴賴 趩賳丿鬲丕 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 讴賵鬲丕賴 亘丕賴賲 卮亘丕賴鬲 丿丕乇賳丿 賵 賲蹖鬲賵賳蹖 亘诏蹖 丕蹖賳 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 亘賴 丕賵賳 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 丕乇鬲亘丕胤 丿丕乇賴 貙丕賲丕 丕蹖賳噩丕 丕蹖賳胤賵乇 賳亘賵丿 賵 卮亘丕賴鬲 賴丕 丿賱爻乇丿 讴賳賳丿賴 亘賵丿貙丿丕爻鬲丕賳 賴丕 讴賲蹖 讴賳丿 倬蹖卮 賲蹖乇賮鬲賳 賵賱蹖 亘毓丿 丕夭 禺賵賳丿賳 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 賴丕 賵 鬲賲賵賲 卮丿賳 讴鬲丕亘 亘蹖卮鬲乇 丕夭卮賵賳 禺賵卮賲 丕賵賲丿 賵賯鬲蹖 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 賴丕 乇賵 丿賵亘丕乇賴 賲乇賵乇 讴乇丿賲 賵 诏匕丕卮鬲賲 丿乇 匕賴賳賲 鬲賴 賳卮蹖賳 亘卮賴...
丿丕爻鬲丕賳 讴賵鬲丕賴 賴丕蹖 賲賵乇丿 毓賱丕賯賴 賲賳 貙
乇丕讴 丕爻倬乇蹖賳诏夭貙丿賱丿丕丿賴 賴丕 貙亘趩賴 賴丕 貙禺賵卮亘禺鬲 賴丕 賵 讴賲賵賳蹖爻鬲 亘賵丿貙
乇丕爻鬲卮 丕夭 賲賵丕噩賴 賲丕丿乇 賵 倬爻乇 丿乇 丌禺乇 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 丿賱丿丕丿賴 賴丕 禺蹖賱蹖 禺賵卮賲 丕賵賲丿 貙賵 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 禺賵卮亘禺鬲 賴丕 丕賵賳 丕鬲賮丕賯蹖 讴賴 亘乇丕蹖 倬丿乇 賵 禺丕賳賵丕丿賴 乇禺 丿丕丿 蹖讴賲蹖 乇蹖鬲賲 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 乇賵 毓賵囟 讴乇丿 賵 賴蹖噩丕賳 丕賳诏蹖夭鬲乇卮 讴乇丿貙丿乇 賲賵乇丿 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 讴賲賵賳蹖爻鬲 貙鬲賵氐蹖賮 賲賳馗乇 卮讴丕乇 睾丕夭賴丕 賵 倬乇賵丕夭 賵 诏賮鬲诏賵蹖 丌禺乇 賲丕丿乇 賵 倬爻乇 乇賵 丿賵爻鬲 丿丕卮鬲賲貙丿丕爻鬲丕賳 禺蹖賱蹖 讴賲 丿乇 賲賵乇丿 卮禺氐蹖鬲 賴丕蹖 夭賳 氐丨亘鬲 賲蹖 讴乇丿 賵 丕賵賳 賯爻賲鬲 賴丕蹖蹖 讴賴 亘賵丿 乇賵 賲賳 禺蹖賱蹖 丿賵爻鬲 丿丕卮鬲賲...
丕蹖賳 賴賲 賯爻賲鬲 賴丕蹖 賲賵乇丿 毓賱丕賯賴 賲賳 丕夭 賲鬲賳 讴鬲丕亘:
賵賯鬲蹖 讴丕乇鬲 亘賴 噩乇 賵 亘丨孬 賲蹖 讴卮丿貙 丿蹖诏乇 賳賲蹖 鬲賵丕賳蹖 賳馗乇 讴爻蹖 乇丕 毓賵囟 讴賳蹖. 丕賱亘鬲賴 丕睾賱亘 賲乇丿賲 賮讴乇 賲蹖讴賳賳丿 賯囟蹖賴 亘乇 毓讴爻
丕爻鬲貙 蹖毓賳蹖 賵賯鬲蹖 亘丕 丿蹖诏乇丕賳 賵丕乇丿 亘丨孬 卮賵蹖 賲蹖鬲賵丕賳蹖 賳馗乇卮丕賳 乇丕 鬲睾蹖蹖乇 亘丿賴蹖 賵
卮丕蹖丿 亘乇丕蹖 亘毓囟蹖 丕夭 胤亘賯丕鬲 賴賲蹖賳 胤賵乇 賴賲 貙亘丕卮丿 丕賲丕 亘乇丕蹖 賲賳 讴賴 賴蹖趩 賵賯鬲 丕蹖賳 胤賵乇
賳亘賵丿賴 丕爻鬲.
丨賯蹖賯鬲 讴丕賲賱 蹖讴 趩蹖夭 賲賮賴賵賲蹖 丕爻鬲 讴賴 爻乇丕賳噩丕賲 丿賵丿 賲蹖 卮賵丿 賵 亘賴 賴賵丕 賲蹖 乇賵丿.
诏賮鬲: 芦噩讴蹖貙 夭賳丿诏蹖 賴乇 丌丿賲蹖 賮賯胤 亘賴 禺賵丿卮 賲乇亘賵胤賴. 亘毓囟蹖 賵賯鬲丕 丌丿賲 夭賴乇賴 鬲乇讴 賲蹖卮賴 賵賯鬲蹖 賲蹖賮賴賲賴 夭賳丿诏蹖卮 鬲丕 丕蹖賳 丨丿 亘賴 禺賵丿卮 賲乇亘賵胤賴 賮賯胤 丿賱卮 賲蹖禺賵丕丿 倬丕
亘匕丕乇賴 亘賴 賮乇丕乇
:诏賮鬲賲 丌乇賴 亘賴 诏賲賵賳賲
亘丕亘蹖 诏賮鬲: 芦賲蹖丿賵賳蹖 賯亘賱 丕夭 丕蹖賳讴賴 賲丕丿乇賲 亘賲蹖乇賴貙 賴乇 乇賵夭 亘賴卮 夭賳诏 賲蹖夭丿賲.
禺蹖賱蹖 胤賵賱 賲蹖讴卮蹖丿 鬲丕 丕夭 乇禺鬲禺賵丕亘 亘蹖丕丿 亘蹖乇賵賳 鬲賱賮賳 蹖賴 亘賳丿 夭賳诏 賲蹖禺賵乇丿 賵 賲賳 賴賲 賴賲蹖賳 胤賵乇 賲賳鬲馗乇 賲蹖賲賵賳丿賲 賵 賲蹖賲賵賳丿賲 賵 賲蹖賲賵賳丿賲 诏丕賴蹖 賵賯鬲賴丕 賲蹖丿賵賳爻鬲賲 丕氐賱丕賸 噩賵丕亘 賳賲蹖丿賴 趩賵賳 賳賲蹖鬲賵賳賴 丕夭 噩丕卮 亘賱賳丿 .卮賴 鬲賱賮賳 賴賲 蹖賴 亘賳丿 夭賳诏 賲蹖禺賵乇丿 趩賵賳 丕蹖賳 賵乇 禺胤 賲賳 亘賵丿賲 賵 丿賱賲 賲蹖禺賵丕爻鬲 賲賳鬲馗乇 亘賲賵賳賲 诏丕賴蹖 賵賯鬲賴丕 賮賯胤 賲蹖 匕丕卮鬲賲 賴賲蹖賳 噩賵乇蹖 夭賳诏 亘禺賵乇賴 丕賵賳賲 賴賲蹖賳 胤賵乇 丕氐賱丕賸 賴賲 賳賲蹖丿賵賳爻鬲賲 丕賵賳賵乇
趩賴 禺亘乇賴 賲賲讴賳 亘賵丿 丕氐賱丕賸 賲乇丿賴 .亘丕卮賴 賲蹖賮賴賲蹖責 爻乇卮 乇丕 鬲讴丕賳 .丿丕丿 :诏賮鬲賲 丨鬲賲 丿丕乇賲 賲丕丿乇鬲 賲蹖丿賵賳爻鬲賴 .鬲賵蹖蹖 卮讴 賳丿丕乇賲 夭賳诏 夭丿賳 鬲賵 丨丕賱卮 乇賵
亘賴鬲乇 賲蹖讴乇丿賴
丕賲丕 丿蹖诏乇 賲蹖丿丕賳爻鬲賲 丌丿賲 趩胤賵乇 丿乇 丕蹖賳 丿賳蹖丕 賳丕诏賴丕賳 禺賱丕賮讴丕乇 賲蹖卮賵丿 賵 丿丕乇 賵 賳丿丕乇卮 乇丕 丕夭 丿爻鬲 賲蹖丿賴丿 鬲賲丕賲 鬲氐賲蹖賲丕鬲 丌丿賲 亘賴 賳丨賵蹖 賵 亘丿賵賳 賴蹖趩 丿賱蹖賱 乇賵卮賳蹖 ) 睾賱胤 丕夭 丌亘 丿乇 賲蹖 丌蹖丿 賵 賲賴丕乇 賴賲賴 趩蹖夭 丕夭 丿爻鬲 丌丿賲 丿乇 賲蹖 乇賵丿 蹖讴 乇賵夭 丕夭 禺賵丕亘 亘蹖丿丕乇 賲蹖卮賵蹖 賵 賲蹖亘蹖賳蹖 丿乇 賴賲丕賳 賵囟毓蹖 賴爻鬲蹖 讴賴 賴蹖趩 賵賯鬲 賮讴乇 賳賲蹖讴乇丿蹖 亘賴 丌賳 丿趩丕乇 卮賵蹖 賵 丿蹖诏乇 賳賲蹖丿丕賳蹖 趩賴 趩蹖夭蹖 亘乇丕蹖鬲 丕夭 亘丕賯蹖 趩蹖夭賴丕 賲賴賲鬲乇 .丕爻鬲 丿乇爻鬲 丿乇 賴賲蹖賳 賱丨馗賴 丕爻鬲 讴賴
賴賲賴 趩蹖夭 亘賴 倬丕蹖丕賳 賲蹖乇爻丿.
賲丕丿乇賲 賮讴乇 讴乇丿賲 噩丕蹖蹖 丿乇 丿賵乇丿爻鬲貙 賳卮爻鬲賴 丿乇 蹖讴 賯胤丕乇 爻乇賷毓 丕賱爻蹖乇 倬丿乇賲 賴賲蹖卮賴 亘丕 丕蹖賳 鬲氐賵蹖乇 丕夭 賲丕丿乇賲 蹖丕丿 賲蹖讴乇丿. 丕賵 賲毓鬲賯丿 亘賵丿 賲丕丿乇 蹖讴 乇賵夭 亘丕 倬丕蹖 禺賵丿卮 亘賴 禺丕賳賴 亘乇 賲蹖诏乇丿丿 賵 夭賳丿诏蹖 丕夭 賳賵 丌睾丕夭 賲蹖 卮賵丿. 丕賲丕 賲賳 丿蹖诏乇 亘賴 丕蹖賳 賵丕賯毓蹖鬲 禺賵 诏乇賮鬲賴 亘賵丿賲 讴賴 趩蹖夭賴丕 鬲賲丕賲 賲蹖卮賵賳丿 賵 丿賵亘丕乇賴 丕夭 賳賵 丌睾丕夭 賳賲蹖卮賵賳丿貨 丿乇爻 丿卮賵丕乇蹖 賳蹖爻鬲 賵 乇丕丨鬲 丌賳 乇丕 丕夭 亘乇 賲蹖卮賵蹖貙 亘禺氐賵氐 賵賯鬲蹖 鬲賲丕賲 趩蹖夭賴丕蹖 丿賵乇 賵 亘乇鬲 亘賴 賴賲蹖賳 爻乇賳賵卮鬲 丿趩丕乇 卮賵賳丿.
賲賴賲 鬲乇蹖賳 丕乇讴丕賳 夭賳丿诏蹖 丌丿賲 诏丕賴 丿乇 蹖讴 趩卮賲 亘賴 賴賲 夭丿賳 賵 亘賴 卮讴賱蹖 噩亘乇丕賳 賳丕倬匕蹖乇 夭蹖乇 賵 乇賵 賲蹖貙卮賵丿 胤賵乇蹖 讴賴 丌丿賲 丨鬲蹖 賲賴賲鬲乇蹖賳 丌賳賴丕 賵 倬蹖賵賳丿賴丕蹖卮丕賳 亘丕 蹖讴丿蹖诏乇 乇丕 賳蹖夭 丕夭 蹖丕丿 賲蹖亘乇丿 賵 丿乇 賲蹖 蹖丕亘丿 賴賲賴 趩蹖夭 鬲氐丕丿賮 賲丨囟 丕爻鬲貨 丌賳趩賴 乇禺 丿丕丿賴 丌賳趩賴 賲蹖 鬲賵丕賳爻鬲賴 乇禺 丿賴丿 賵 丌賳趩賴 丿乇 丌蹖賳丿賴 乇禺 禺賵丕賴丿 丿丕丿. 賲賳 丿蹖诏乇 爻丕賱 鬲賵賱丿 倬丿乇賲 乇丕 丿乇爻鬲 亘賴 蹖丕丿 賳丿丕乇賲 賵 丨鬲蹖 蹖丕丿賲 賳蹖爻鬲 丌禺乇蹖賳 亘丕乇讴蹖 丕賵 乇丕 丿蹖丿賲 賵 丕蹖賳讴賴 丌賳 賲賵賯毓 趩賳丿 爻丕賱卮 亘賵丿 丌丿賲 丿乇 噩賵丕賳蹖 禺蹖丕賱 賲蹖讴賳丿 丕蹖賳 噩賵乇 趩蹖夭賴丕 賮乇丕賲賵卮 賳丕卮丿賳蹖 丕賳丿 賵 丿乇 跇乇賮丕蹖 夭賳丿诏蹖丕卮 噩丕蹖 丿丕乇賳丿 丕賲丕 賵賯鬲蹖 噩賵丕賳蹖 乇賮鬲賴 乇賮鬲賴 爻倬乇蹖 賲蹖卮賵丿 丕蹖賳 趩蹖夭賴丕 賴賲 丌乇丕賲 丌乇丕賲 丕夭 丿爻鬲 丌丿賲 賲蹖 诏乇蹖夭賳丿 賵 賳丕倬丿蹖丿 賲蹖 卮賵賳丿.
卮禺氐蹖鬲 賴丕 貙丕夭 賯卮乇 倬丕蹖蹖賳 噩丕賲毓賴 丕賳鬲禺丕亘 卮丿賳 讴賴 亘丕 賵丕賯毓蹖丕鬲 鬲賱禺 賵 讴孬蹖賮 夭賳丿诏蹖 爻乇賵讴丕乇 丿丕乇賳丿 倬丿乇 賵 賲丕丿乇賴丕 賵 亘趩賴 賴丕蹖 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 丿乇 蹖讴 亘蹖 爻乇丕賳噩丕賲蹖 賵 丌蹖賳丿賴 丕蹖 賳丕賲卮禺氐 夭賳丿诏蹖 賲蹖 讴賳賳丿 貙乇丕爻鬲卮 讴鬲丕亘蹖 賳亘賵丿 讴賴 賵賯鬲蹖 賲蹖禺賵賳丿賲卮 賱匕鬲 夭蹖丕丿蹖 亘亘乇賲 貙丿乇 賵丕賯毓 卮亘丕賴鬲 賮囟丕蹖 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 賴丕貙丕爻丕賲蹖 賵 诏丕賴蹖 卮睾賱 賵 诏匕卮鬲賴 卮賵賳 讴賲蹖 丿賱爻乇丿賲 賲蹖 讴乇丿貙诏丕賴蹖 倬蹖卮 賲蹖丕丿 讴賴 趩賳丿鬲丕 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 讴賵鬲丕賴 亘丕賴賲 卮亘丕賴鬲 丿丕乇賳丿 賵 賲蹖鬲賵賳蹖 亘诏蹖 丕蹖賳 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 亘賴 丕賵賳 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 丕乇鬲亘丕胤 丿丕乇賴 貙丕賲丕 丕蹖賳噩丕 丕蹖賳胤賵乇 賳亘賵丿 賵 卮亘丕賴鬲 賴丕 丿賱爻乇丿 讴賳賳丿賴 亘賵丿貙丿丕爻鬲丕賳 賴丕 讴賲蹖 讴賳丿 倬蹖卮 賲蹖乇賮鬲賳 賵賱蹖 亘毓丿 丕夭 禺賵賳丿賳 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 賴丕 賵 鬲賲賵賲 卮丿賳 讴鬲丕亘 亘蹖卮鬲乇 丕夭卮賵賳 禺賵卮賲 丕賵賲丿 賵賯鬲蹖 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 賴丕 乇賵 丿賵亘丕乇賴 賲乇賵乇 讴乇丿賲 賵 诏匕丕卮鬲賲 丿乇 匕賴賳賲 鬲賴 賳卮蹖賳 亘卮賴...
丿丕爻鬲丕賳 讴賵鬲丕賴 賴丕蹖 賲賵乇丿 毓賱丕賯賴 賲賳 貙
乇丕讴 丕爻倬乇蹖賳诏夭貙丿賱丿丕丿賴 賴丕 貙亘趩賴 賴丕 貙禺賵卮亘禺鬲 賴丕 賵 讴賲賵賳蹖爻鬲 亘賵丿貙
乇丕爻鬲卮 丕夭 賲賵丕噩賴 賲丕丿乇 賵 倬爻乇 丿乇 丌禺乇 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 丿賱丿丕丿賴 賴丕 禺蹖賱蹖 禺賵卮賲 丕賵賲丿 貙賵 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 禺賵卮亘禺鬲 賴丕 丕賵賳 丕鬲賮丕賯蹖 讴賴 亘乇丕蹖 倬丿乇 賵 禺丕賳賵丕丿賴 乇禺 丿丕丿 蹖讴賲蹖 乇蹖鬲賲 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 乇賵 毓賵囟 讴乇丿 賵 賴蹖噩丕賳 丕賳诏蹖夭鬲乇卮 讴乇丿貙丿乇 賲賵乇丿 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 讴賲賵賳蹖爻鬲 貙鬲賵氐蹖賮 賲賳馗乇 卮讴丕乇 睾丕夭賴丕 賵 倬乇賵丕夭 賵 诏賮鬲诏賵蹖 丌禺乇 賲丕丿乇 賵 倬爻乇 乇賵 丿賵爻鬲 丿丕卮鬲賲貙丿丕爻鬲丕賳 禺蹖賱蹖 讴賲 丿乇 賲賵乇丿 卮禺氐蹖鬲 賴丕蹖 夭賳 氐丨亘鬲 賲蹖 讴乇丿 賵 丕賵賳 賯爻賲鬲 賴丕蹖蹖 讴賴 亘賵丿 乇賵 賲賳 禺蹖賱蹖 丿賵爻鬲 丿丕卮鬲賲...
丕蹖賳 賴賲 賯爻賲鬲 賴丕蹖 賲賵乇丿 毓賱丕賯賴 賲賳 丕夭 賲鬲賳 讴鬲丕亘:
賵賯鬲蹖 讴丕乇鬲 亘賴 噩乇 賵 亘丨孬 賲蹖 讴卮丿貙 丿蹖诏乇 賳賲蹖 鬲賵丕賳蹖 賳馗乇 讴爻蹖 乇丕 毓賵囟 讴賳蹖. 丕賱亘鬲賴 丕睾賱亘 賲乇丿賲 賮讴乇 賲蹖讴賳賳丿 賯囟蹖賴 亘乇 毓讴爻
丕爻鬲貙 蹖毓賳蹖 賵賯鬲蹖 亘丕 丿蹖诏乇丕賳 賵丕乇丿 亘丨孬 卮賵蹖 賲蹖鬲賵丕賳蹖 賳馗乇卮丕賳 乇丕 鬲睾蹖蹖乇 亘丿賴蹖 賵
卮丕蹖丿 亘乇丕蹖 亘毓囟蹖 丕夭 胤亘賯丕鬲 賴賲蹖賳 胤賵乇 賴賲 貙亘丕卮丿 丕賲丕 亘乇丕蹖 賲賳 讴賴 賴蹖趩 賵賯鬲 丕蹖賳 胤賵乇
賳亘賵丿賴 丕爻鬲.
丨賯蹖賯鬲 讴丕賲賱 蹖讴 趩蹖夭 賲賮賴賵賲蹖 丕爻鬲 讴賴 爻乇丕賳噩丕賲 丿賵丿 賲蹖 卮賵丿 賵 亘賴 賴賵丕 賲蹖 乇賵丿.
诏賮鬲: 芦噩讴蹖貙 夭賳丿诏蹖 賴乇 丌丿賲蹖 賮賯胤 亘賴 禺賵丿卮 賲乇亘賵胤賴. 亘毓囟蹖 賵賯鬲丕 丌丿賲 夭賴乇賴 鬲乇讴 賲蹖卮賴 賵賯鬲蹖 賲蹖賮賴賲賴 夭賳丿诏蹖卮 鬲丕 丕蹖賳 丨丿 亘賴 禺賵丿卮 賲乇亘賵胤賴 賮賯胤 丿賱卮 賲蹖禺賵丕丿 倬丕
亘匕丕乇賴 亘賴 賮乇丕乇
:诏賮鬲賲 丌乇賴 亘賴 诏賲賵賳賲
亘丕亘蹖 诏賮鬲: 芦賲蹖丿賵賳蹖 賯亘賱 丕夭 丕蹖賳讴賴 賲丕丿乇賲 亘賲蹖乇賴貙 賴乇 乇賵夭 亘賴卮 夭賳诏 賲蹖夭丿賲.
禺蹖賱蹖 胤賵賱 賲蹖讴卮蹖丿 鬲丕 丕夭 乇禺鬲禺賵丕亘 亘蹖丕丿 亘蹖乇賵賳 鬲賱賮賳 蹖賴 亘賳丿 夭賳诏 賲蹖禺賵乇丿 賵 賲賳 賴賲 賴賲蹖賳 胤賵乇 賲賳鬲馗乇 賲蹖賲賵賳丿賲 賵 賲蹖賲賵賳丿賲 賵 賲蹖賲賵賳丿賲 诏丕賴蹖 賵賯鬲賴丕 賲蹖丿賵賳爻鬲賲 丕氐賱丕賸 噩賵丕亘 賳賲蹖丿賴 趩賵賳 賳賲蹖鬲賵賳賴 丕夭 噩丕卮 亘賱賳丿 .卮賴 鬲賱賮賳 賴賲 蹖賴 亘賳丿 夭賳诏 賲蹖禺賵乇丿 趩賵賳 丕蹖賳 賵乇 禺胤 賲賳 亘賵丿賲 賵 丿賱賲 賲蹖禺賵丕爻鬲 賲賳鬲馗乇 亘賲賵賳賲 诏丕賴蹖 賵賯鬲賴丕 賮賯胤 賲蹖 匕丕卮鬲賲 賴賲蹖賳 噩賵乇蹖 夭賳诏 亘禺賵乇賴 丕賵賳賲 賴賲蹖賳 胤賵乇 丕氐賱丕賸 賴賲 賳賲蹖丿賵賳爻鬲賲 丕賵賳賵乇
趩賴 禺亘乇賴 賲賲讴賳 亘賵丿 丕氐賱丕賸 賲乇丿賴 .亘丕卮賴 賲蹖賮賴賲蹖責 爻乇卮 乇丕 鬲讴丕賳 .丿丕丿 :诏賮鬲賲 丨鬲賲 丿丕乇賲 賲丕丿乇鬲 賲蹖丿賵賳爻鬲賴 .鬲賵蹖蹖 卮讴 賳丿丕乇賲 夭賳诏 夭丿賳 鬲賵 丨丕賱卮 乇賵
亘賴鬲乇 賲蹖讴乇丿賴
丕賲丕 丿蹖诏乇 賲蹖丿丕賳爻鬲賲 丌丿賲 趩胤賵乇 丿乇 丕蹖賳 丿賳蹖丕 賳丕诏賴丕賳 禺賱丕賮讴丕乇 賲蹖卮賵丿 賵 丿丕乇 賵 賳丿丕乇卮 乇丕 丕夭 丿爻鬲 賲蹖丿賴丿 鬲賲丕賲 鬲氐賲蹖賲丕鬲 丌丿賲 亘賴 賳丨賵蹖 賵 亘丿賵賳 賴蹖趩 丿賱蹖賱 乇賵卮賳蹖 ) 睾賱胤 丕夭 丌亘 丿乇 賲蹖 丌蹖丿 賵 賲賴丕乇 賴賲賴 趩蹖夭 丕夭 丿爻鬲 丌丿賲 丿乇 賲蹖 乇賵丿 蹖讴 乇賵夭 丕夭 禺賵丕亘 亘蹖丿丕乇 賲蹖卮賵蹖 賵 賲蹖亘蹖賳蹖 丿乇 賴賲丕賳 賵囟毓蹖 賴爻鬲蹖 讴賴 賴蹖趩 賵賯鬲 賮讴乇 賳賲蹖讴乇丿蹖 亘賴 丌賳 丿趩丕乇 卮賵蹖 賵 丿蹖诏乇 賳賲蹖丿丕賳蹖 趩賴 趩蹖夭蹖 亘乇丕蹖鬲 丕夭 亘丕賯蹖 趩蹖夭賴丕 賲賴賲鬲乇 .丕爻鬲 丿乇爻鬲 丿乇 賴賲蹖賳 賱丨馗賴 丕爻鬲 讴賴
賴賲賴 趩蹖夭 亘賴 倬丕蹖丕賳 賲蹖乇爻丿.
賲丕丿乇賲 賮讴乇 讴乇丿賲 噩丕蹖蹖 丿乇 丿賵乇丿爻鬲貙 賳卮爻鬲賴 丿乇 蹖讴 賯胤丕乇 爻乇賷毓 丕賱爻蹖乇 倬丿乇賲 賴賲蹖卮賴 亘丕 丕蹖賳 鬲氐賵蹖乇 丕夭 賲丕丿乇賲 蹖丕丿 賲蹖讴乇丿. 丕賵 賲毓鬲賯丿 亘賵丿 賲丕丿乇 蹖讴 乇賵夭 亘丕 倬丕蹖 禺賵丿卮 亘賴 禺丕賳賴 亘乇 賲蹖诏乇丿丿 賵 夭賳丿诏蹖 丕夭 賳賵 丌睾丕夭 賲蹖 卮賵丿. 丕賲丕 賲賳 丿蹖诏乇 亘賴 丕蹖賳 賵丕賯毓蹖鬲 禺賵 诏乇賮鬲賴 亘賵丿賲 讴賴 趩蹖夭賴丕 鬲賲丕賲 賲蹖卮賵賳丿 賵 丿賵亘丕乇賴 丕夭 賳賵 丌睾丕夭 賳賲蹖卮賵賳丿貨 丿乇爻 丿卮賵丕乇蹖 賳蹖爻鬲 賵 乇丕丨鬲 丌賳 乇丕 丕夭 亘乇 賲蹖卮賵蹖貙 亘禺氐賵氐 賵賯鬲蹖 鬲賲丕賲 趩蹖夭賴丕蹖 丿賵乇 賵 亘乇鬲 亘賴 賴賲蹖賳 爻乇賳賵卮鬲 丿趩丕乇 卮賵賳丿.
賲賴賲 鬲乇蹖賳 丕乇讴丕賳 夭賳丿诏蹖 丌丿賲 诏丕賴 丿乇 蹖讴 趩卮賲 亘賴 賴賲 夭丿賳 賵 亘賴 卮讴賱蹖 噩亘乇丕賳 賳丕倬匕蹖乇 夭蹖乇 賵 乇賵 賲蹖貙卮賵丿 胤賵乇蹖 讴賴 丌丿賲 丨鬲蹖 賲賴賲鬲乇蹖賳 丌賳賴丕 賵 倬蹖賵賳丿賴丕蹖卮丕賳 亘丕 蹖讴丿蹖诏乇 乇丕 賳蹖夭 丕夭 蹖丕丿 賲蹖亘乇丿 賵 丿乇 賲蹖 蹖丕亘丿 賴賲賴 趩蹖夭 鬲氐丕丿賮 賲丨囟 丕爻鬲貨 丌賳趩賴 乇禺 丿丕丿賴 丌賳趩賴 賲蹖 鬲賵丕賳爻鬲賴 乇禺 丿賴丿 賵 丌賳趩賴 丿乇 丌蹖賳丿賴 乇禺 禺賵丕賴丿 丿丕丿. 賲賳 丿蹖诏乇 爻丕賱 鬲賵賱丿 倬丿乇賲 乇丕 丿乇爻鬲 亘賴 蹖丕丿 賳丿丕乇賲 賵 丨鬲蹖 蹖丕丿賲 賳蹖爻鬲 丌禺乇蹖賳 亘丕乇讴蹖 丕賵 乇丕 丿蹖丿賲 賵 丕蹖賳讴賴 丌賳 賲賵賯毓 趩賳丿 爻丕賱卮 亘賵丿 丌丿賲 丿乇 噩賵丕賳蹖 禺蹖丕賱 賲蹖讴賳丿 丕蹖賳 噩賵乇 趩蹖夭賴丕 賮乇丕賲賵卮 賳丕卮丿賳蹖 丕賳丿 賵 丿乇 跇乇賮丕蹖 夭賳丿诏蹖丕卮 噩丕蹖 丿丕乇賳丿 丕賲丕 賵賯鬲蹖 噩賵丕賳蹖 乇賮鬲賴 乇賮鬲賴 爻倬乇蹖 賲蹖卮賵丿 丕蹖賳 趩蹖夭賴丕 賴賲 丌乇丕賲 丌乇丕賲 丕夭 丿爻鬲 丌丿賲 賲蹖 诏乇蹖夭賳丿 賵 賳丕倬丿蹖丿 賲蹖 卮賵賳丿.
November 3, 2022
Ik ben een fan van korte verhalen. Elk jaar zoek ik naar bundels die de term 'a mixed bag' overstijgen dus over de ganse lijn steengoed zijn. Die zijn niet zo makkelijk te vinden. Met een tiental kortverhalen heb je namelijk grote kans dat enkele ervan je niet boeien.
Het is me wel weer gelukt om eentje aan mijn favorietenlijst toe te voegen: Rock springs van Richard Ford: niks spectaculair of extreem inventief maar 茅茅n voor 茅茅n pareltjes.
Wat zijn jouw favoriete bundels met korte verhalen?
Btw.
Welkom Richard in mijn short story collection hitparade!
Richard Ford - Rock Springs
David James Poissant 鈥� The heaven of animals
G.G. Marquez: Ogen van een blauwe hond
Jorge Luis Borges: fantastische verhalen + de Aleph
Italo Calvino : Kosmikomische verhalen/ Onzichtbare steden
Steven Millhauser: Dangerous Laughter
Nathan Englander: What we talk about when we talk about Anne Frank
Phil Klay 鈥� Redeployment
Kevin Powers - The yellow birds
Molly Antopol 鈥� The unamericans
Adam Johnson 鈥� Fortune smiles
Kelly Link 鈥� Get in trouble
Kevin Wilson 鈥� Tunneling to the center of the earth
Kevin Liu 鈥� The Paper menagerie and other stories
Elisabeth Strout 鈥� Anything is possible / Olive Kitteridge: A Novel in Stories (die zie ik even als kortverhalen鈥�)
Ryan O鈥橬eill 鈥� The Weight of a Human Heart
Lauren Groff 鈥� Florida
Judith Hermann - Niets dan geesten
Carmien Michels - Vaders die rouwen
en ja, geen paniek ... Cheever, Carver, Lucia Berlin mogen er ook nog bij.
Het is me wel weer gelukt om eentje aan mijn favorietenlijst toe te voegen: Rock springs van Richard Ford: niks spectaculair of extreem inventief maar 茅茅n voor 茅茅n pareltjes.
Wat zijn jouw favoriete bundels met korte verhalen?
Btw.
Welkom Richard in mijn short story collection hitparade!
Richard Ford - Rock Springs
David James Poissant 鈥� The heaven of animals
G.G. Marquez: Ogen van een blauwe hond
Jorge Luis Borges: fantastische verhalen + de Aleph
Italo Calvino : Kosmikomische verhalen/ Onzichtbare steden
Steven Millhauser: Dangerous Laughter
Nathan Englander: What we talk about when we talk about Anne Frank
Phil Klay 鈥� Redeployment
Kevin Powers - The yellow birds
Molly Antopol 鈥� The unamericans
Adam Johnson 鈥� Fortune smiles
Kelly Link 鈥� Get in trouble
Kevin Wilson 鈥� Tunneling to the center of the earth
Kevin Liu 鈥� The Paper menagerie and other stories
Elisabeth Strout 鈥� Anything is possible / Olive Kitteridge: A Novel in Stories (die zie ik even als kortverhalen鈥�)
Ryan O鈥橬eill 鈥� The Weight of a Human Heart
Lauren Groff 鈥� Florida
Judith Hermann - Niets dan geesten
Carmien Michels - Vaders die rouwen
en ja, geen paniek ... Cheever, Carver, Lucia Berlin mogen er ook nog bij.
June 17, 2023
Every time I read this collection I enjoy it more than the last and become even more impressed with Ford鈥檚 ability to get so deep without seeming to. His beginnings are subtle, and his endings crackle with meaning. The middle of his stories oscillate between quiet moments that explode like depth charges with their silence, and tense action threatening to undo the characters.
鈥淩ock Springs鈥� is remarkable for its tone, the way that Ford captured the language of the first-person narrator鈥檚 sense of himself, but still let the reader see that the narrator was worse than he thought he was. The ending is brilliant, the way it winds up鈥攔ather than down鈥攖o a series of questions that are left hanging there for the reader.
鈥淕reat Falls鈥� begins with this first paragraph: 鈥淭his is not a happy story. I warn you.鈥� Are you hooked or what? There鈥檚 so much in this story that is good: tone, details, precisely focused scenes, that climactic scene where the father has the gun under Woody鈥檚 chin, the hopelessness of the scene with the mother, and the questions at the end, again without answers. This time a shadow of meaning follows the questions, but it is not an epiphany and it seems clear that this meaning is really in no way a result of the events the story recounts鈥攊t is something the narrator accumulated along the way, it鈥檚 the something that allowed him to tell us this story.
鈥淪weethearts鈥� is a story I admire for what it tries to do: put into words a situation that might defy expression. It鈥檚 a story that might have been better if it had tried to do less, maybe give it the Carver treatment. It鈥檚 like Ford was struggling hard to make the reader understand why this event is so significant, and thus he brings in all these details and dialogue to try to make us see the full import. Ultimately, though, I think those efforts work against him. There鈥檚 too much going on. Better perhaps to have picked less to show and left more for the reader to fill in.
鈥淐hildren鈥� is a complex story full of anger and tension and threats, yet it is the quiet moments that crush. When Lucy takes the beer and the hotdog and the transistor radio out of the paper bag and says: 鈥淚鈥檝e accumulated this much so far.鈥� Wow. And the best thing is that Ford doesn鈥檛 stop the flow of narrative, doesn鈥檛 let the narrator reflect, or even notice the importance of that image; he leaves it for the reader to discover. A little bit later Lucy says: 鈥淏atteries are my next assignment.鈥� Yikes, it鈥檚 like being in a grain silo that鈥檚 slowly filling up. The way he plays the characters off each other in this story is fantastic. I like that George is observing and understanding so much, understanding things he isn鈥檛 aware of, while at the same time feeling that everything is a mystery, that he understands nothing. The ending is a nice touch. Claude has become quiet, so full of himself, yet clearly diminished. In this story, as with all of the stories in this collection, Ford has thought deeply about his characters, journeyed inside to imagine what life must mean, and feel like, for them. The things the characters worry about and question鈥攐r don鈥檛鈥攕eem their own, they don鈥檛 appear to be disguised author鈥檚 questions (which of course they are).
鈥淕oing to the Dogs鈥� seems the weakest, by far, in this collection. Nothing deep here, just an ironic twist as the guy going to stiff his landlord gets robbed, after being setup by the two women hunters. There is some humor in the situation, which is atypical for the stories in this collection.
鈥淓mpire鈥� is a novella, or at least a very long story. It doesn鈥檛 culminate in any change for Vic, which is odd because I think the story gets it鈥檚 energy from the expectation that something is going to happen, something that will change Vic. But, even when he sees himself in the mirror, 鈥淎n Adulterer鈥檚 face, a face to turn away from,鈥� he doesn鈥檛 seem affected beyond the moment, and there is no sense that he will be affected. It鈥檚 a hard to story to figure, with its juxtaposition of transitory feeling and loss. There鈥檚 a mood that permeates when we are just with Vic, and that mood is clashing with the mood of the framing scenes with Marge. I鈥檓 not exactly sure how Ford wants us to feel about these characters. The ending paragraph is stunningly nihilistic.
鈥淲interkill鈥� is a sleeper of a story. It starts out not moving anywhere fast and then ends in a crescendo. Like 鈥淓mpire,鈥� it has the juxtaposition of transitory feeling and loss as a driver for it鈥檚 meaning. And like many of Ford鈥檚 stories, a day in the life of the characters takes on much deeper meaning because of how the narrator thinks and feels about what happens. Without that perspective nothing in the story is dramatic, the drama comes from how the narrator reveals what鈥檚 at stake. The ending is one of Ford鈥檚 best: the narrator slipping away so as not to see, or be seen鈥攈e knows what鈥檚 at stake.
鈥淥ptimists鈥� has the same structure as 鈥淕reat Falls,鈥� 鈥淐hildren,鈥� 鈥淐ommunist,鈥� and even 鈥淛ealousy鈥� from Women With Men and the novel Wildlife: an early 40鈥檚 male narrator reflecting back on a teenage experience that he now realizes changed the course of his life. In all of these stories the narrator has so much authority. That authority comes partly from the accuracy of the details, and the mastery of tone, but it owes a lot to the matter-of-factness of the narration. Momentous events acknowledged. A history of hard times traceable, now, to those events. Yet, not a trace of self-pity. As the narrator of 鈥淓mpire鈥濃€攃ommenting on the army women, and imagining the lives they must have fled to choose a career of military life鈥攕ays: 鈥溾€omething to run away from. Bad luck, really.鈥� Or as the mother in 鈥淥ptimists鈥� says: 鈥淢aybe that鈥檚 what this is. Just a coincidence.鈥� As for the story itself, the only scene that I had hard time with was the ending scene. The disconnection鈥攖he length of time since they鈥檇 last seen each other鈥攂etween mother and son seemed too great based on the information Ford has provided in the story. There is a subtle hint that Frank may have blamed his mother for what happened to his father and their life; and she is at least concerned that Frank did not think that she was in love with the man his father killed. It鈥檚 a powerful ending scene, but strikes a slightly sour note on the believability scale. Although I鈥檓 not willing to say it would be a better story if we had more explanation for why they hadn鈥檛 seen each other.
鈥淔ireworks鈥� is a story I didn鈥檛 really appreciate until this reading. More life has passed me by so perhaps I can appreciate it now. Or maybe it was because I was having a similar day as the narrator when I read it! One of those days when your whole life and all its consequences seems to be in your head. One of those days when something otherwise inconsequential makes you aware of the choices you鈥檝e made. One of those days where you look at where you鈥檙e at and realize it鈥檚 a place you never imagined yourself. Ford captures that state of mind perfectly in this story. Again, without self-pity鈥擨 think that is the key to what makes these narrators work (and perhaps what seems to fail in 鈥淭he Womanizer鈥� and 鈥淥ccidentals鈥� from Women With Men; those narrators wallow in self-pity.) The ending is pitch-perfect. Not a life changing moment, but a rescuing moment just the same, the kind of moment we need more of in literature. Not to be saved forever鈥攂ut saved for today, saved for right now, saved for just this instant.
If you forced me to choose鈥攁nd this would be a tough choice鈥斺€淐ommunist,鈥� the collection鈥檚 concluding story, might just be my favorite. The geese are transcendent. Equally riveting is the way that the mother continues to taunt Glen about the wounded goose until he shoots it. And then that climactic moment when Les wants to hit Glen hard in the face and 鈥溾€ee him on the ground bleeding and crying and pleading for me to stop.鈥� That鈥檚 a great honest moment. The ending scene with the mother is probably the best of the stories that end this way (鈥淕reat Falls鈥� and 鈥淥ptimists鈥� are the others). Again, another honest moment. The transition Ford makes with the first sentence of the last paragraph so simply and so quickly brings back the frame鈥攋ust in time to break your heart.
As I said, this is one of my favorite short story collections. These are stories that I can read over and over, and the more I do so, the more impressed I become with the subtlety of Ford's art in these stories. They have the appearance of being one thing, often because of the narrative voice he establishes. Many of the stories begin with an older narrator reflecting on something that happened in his youth. That sets up the expectation that the story is going to be about something the narrator learned, or has now come to understand about that long ago experience. That setup is usually fulfilled. But the reason the stories have so much power is that there is this sense that much more has happened than the narrator lets on or is even aware of himself. After years of repeated reading I'm beginning to see that the hidden power is in the other characters, sometimes the minor, bit players, and what happens to them, or how questions about what they might be feeling, haunt us. The narrator's experience is a kind of ruse. The narrator's story is satisfying鈥攖hese might be good stories even if that's all that was there. But what makes these stories resonate is the subtle currents that are on the periphery of the narrator's experience. Things that happen to other characters鈥攁nd that the narrator describes in passing, while missing their significance, but that Ford clearly intends the reader not to miss. How difficult a writing task is that?
Update 5/22/2023: Listened to the audiobook now several times. Hearing them definitely adds weight and nuance to the stories.
鈥淩ock Springs鈥� is remarkable for its tone, the way that Ford captured the language of the first-person narrator鈥檚 sense of himself, but still let the reader see that the narrator was worse than he thought he was. The ending is brilliant, the way it winds up鈥攔ather than down鈥攖o a series of questions that are left hanging there for the reader.
鈥淕reat Falls鈥� begins with this first paragraph: 鈥淭his is not a happy story. I warn you.鈥� Are you hooked or what? There鈥檚 so much in this story that is good: tone, details, precisely focused scenes, that climactic scene where the father has the gun under Woody鈥檚 chin, the hopelessness of the scene with the mother, and the questions at the end, again without answers. This time a shadow of meaning follows the questions, but it is not an epiphany and it seems clear that this meaning is really in no way a result of the events the story recounts鈥攊t is something the narrator accumulated along the way, it鈥檚 the something that allowed him to tell us this story.
鈥淪weethearts鈥� is a story I admire for what it tries to do: put into words a situation that might defy expression. It鈥檚 a story that might have been better if it had tried to do less, maybe give it the Carver treatment. It鈥檚 like Ford was struggling hard to make the reader understand why this event is so significant, and thus he brings in all these details and dialogue to try to make us see the full import. Ultimately, though, I think those efforts work against him. There鈥檚 too much going on. Better perhaps to have picked less to show and left more for the reader to fill in.
鈥淐hildren鈥� is a complex story full of anger and tension and threats, yet it is the quiet moments that crush. When Lucy takes the beer and the hotdog and the transistor radio out of the paper bag and says: 鈥淚鈥檝e accumulated this much so far.鈥� Wow. And the best thing is that Ford doesn鈥檛 stop the flow of narrative, doesn鈥檛 let the narrator reflect, or even notice the importance of that image; he leaves it for the reader to discover. A little bit later Lucy says: 鈥淏atteries are my next assignment.鈥� Yikes, it鈥檚 like being in a grain silo that鈥檚 slowly filling up. The way he plays the characters off each other in this story is fantastic. I like that George is observing and understanding so much, understanding things he isn鈥檛 aware of, while at the same time feeling that everything is a mystery, that he understands nothing. The ending is a nice touch. Claude has become quiet, so full of himself, yet clearly diminished. In this story, as with all of the stories in this collection, Ford has thought deeply about his characters, journeyed inside to imagine what life must mean, and feel like, for them. The things the characters worry about and question鈥攐r don鈥檛鈥攕eem their own, they don鈥檛 appear to be disguised author鈥檚 questions (which of course they are).
鈥淕oing to the Dogs鈥� seems the weakest, by far, in this collection. Nothing deep here, just an ironic twist as the guy going to stiff his landlord gets robbed, after being setup by the two women hunters. There is some humor in the situation, which is atypical for the stories in this collection.
鈥淓mpire鈥� is a novella, or at least a very long story. It doesn鈥檛 culminate in any change for Vic, which is odd because I think the story gets it鈥檚 energy from the expectation that something is going to happen, something that will change Vic. But, even when he sees himself in the mirror, 鈥淎n Adulterer鈥檚 face, a face to turn away from,鈥� he doesn鈥檛 seem affected beyond the moment, and there is no sense that he will be affected. It鈥檚 a hard to story to figure, with its juxtaposition of transitory feeling and loss. There鈥檚 a mood that permeates when we are just with Vic, and that mood is clashing with the mood of the framing scenes with Marge. I鈥檓 not exactly sure how Ford wants us to feel about these characters. The ending paragraph is stunningly nihilistic.
鈥淲interkill鈥� is a sleeper of a story. It starts out not moving anywhere fast and then ends in a crescendo. Like 鈥淓mpire,鈥� it has the juxtaposition of transitory feeling and loss as a driver for it鈥檚 meaning. And like many of Ford鈥檚 stories, a day in the life of the characters takes on much deeper meaning because of how the narrator thinks and feels about what happens. Without that perspective nothing in the story is dramatic, the drama comes from how the narrator reveals what鈥檚 at stake. The ending is one of Ford鈥檚 best: the narrator slipping away so as not to see, or be seen鈥攈e knows what鈥檚 at stake.
鈥淥ptimists鈥� has the same structure as 鈥淕reat Falls,鈥� 鈥淐hildren,鈥� 鈥淐ommunist,鈥� and even 鈥淛ealousy鈥� from Women With Men and the novel Wildlife: an early 40鈥檚 male narrator reflecting back on a teenage experience that he now realizes changed the course of his life. In all of these stories the narrator has so much authority. That authority comes partly from the accuracy of the details, and the mastery of tone, but it owes a lot to the matter-of-factness of the narration. Momentous events acknowledged. A history of hard times traceable, now, to those events. Yet, not a trace of self-pity. As the narrator of 鈥淓mpire鈥濃€攃ommenting on the army women, and imagining the lives they must have fled to choose a career of military life鈥攕ays: 鈥溾€omething to run away from. Bad luck, really.鈥� Or as the mother in 鈥淥ptimists鈥� says: 鈥淢aybe that鈥檚 what this is. Just a coincidence.鈥� As for the story itself, the only scene that I had hard time with was the ending scene. The disconnection鈥攖he length of time since they鈥檇 last seen each other鈥攂etween mother and son seemed too great based on the information Ford has provided in the story. There is a subtle hint that Frank may have blamed his mother for what happened to his father and their life; and she is at least concerned that Frank did not think that she was in love with the man his father killed. It鈥檚 a powerful ending scene, but strikes a slightly sour note on the believability scale. Although I鈥檓 not willing to say it would be a better story if we had more explanation for why they hadn鈥檛 seen each other.
鈥淔ireworks鈥� is a story I didn鈥檛 really appreciate until this reading. More life has passed me by so perhaps I can appreciate it now. Or maybe it was because I was having a similar day as the narrator when I read it! One of those days when your whole life and all its consequences seems to be in your head. One of those days when something otherwise inconsequential makes you aware of the choices you鈥檝e made. One of those days where you look at where you鈥檙e at and realize it鈥檚 a place you never imagined yourself. Ford captures that state of mind perfectly in this story. Again, without self-pity鈥擨 think that is the key to what makes these narrators work (and perhaps what seems to fail in 鈥淭he Womanizer鈥� and 鈥淥ccidentals鈥� from Women With Men; those narrators wallow in self-pity.) The ending is pitch-perfect. Not a life changing moment, but a rescuing moment just the same, the kind of moment we need more of in literature. Not to be saved forever鈥攂ut saved for today, saved for right now, saved for just this instant.
If you forced me to choose鈥攁nd this would be a tough choice鈥斺€淐ommunist,鈥� the collection鈥檚 concluding story, might just be my favorite. The geese are transcendent. Equally riveting is the way that the mother continues to taunt Glen about the wounded goose until he shoots it. And then that climactic moment when Les wants to hit Glen hard in the face and 鈥溾€ee him on the ground bleeding and crying and pleading for me to stop.鈥� That鈥檚 a great honest moment. The ending scene with the mother is probably the best of the stories that end this way (鈥淕reat Falls鈥� and 鈥淥ptimists鈥� are the others). Again, another honest moment. The transition Ford makes with the first sentence of the last paragraph so simply and so quickly brings back the frame鈥攋ust in time to break your heart.
As I said, this is one of my favorite short story collections. These are stories that I can read over and over, and the more I do so, the more impressed I become with the subtlety of Ford's art in these stories. They have the appearance of being one thing, often because of the narrative voice he establishes. Many of the stories begin with an older narrator reflecting on something that happened in his youth. That sets up the expectation that the story is going to be about something the narrator learned, or has now come to understand about that long ago experience. That setup is usually fulfilled. But the reason the stories have so much power is that there is this sense that much more has happened than the narrator lets on or is even aware of himself. After years of repeated reading I'm beginning to see that the hidden power is in the other characters, sometimes the minor, bit players, and what happens to them, or how questions about what they might be feeling, haunt us. The narrator's experience is a kind of ruse. The narrator's story is satisfying鈥攖hese might be good stories even if that's all that was there. But what makes these stories resonate is the subtle currents that are on the periphery of the narrator's experience. Things that happen to other characters鈥攁nd that the narrator describes in passing, while missing their significance, but that Ford clearly intends the reader not to miss. How difficult a writing task is that?
Update 5/22/2023: Listened to the audiobook now several times. Hearing them definitely adds weight and nuance to the stories.
April 10, 2012
Richard Ford writes stories somewhat like Raymond Carver, only with more of an edge. Set mostly in the towns and rural areas of Montana, his stories are about characters who have survived against the odds - busted marriages, unemployment, jail terms, and a kind of bleak aimlessness. Some struggle to hold onto an identity that will maintain their self respect and some sense of security, but it's often slipping away as life's lessons leave them typically empty-handed.
In the title story, a man with a small daughter hopes to start a new life with a new girlfriend and a stolen Mercedes. In another story, a boy watches his parents' marriage come unglued as a young man only a few years older drives off into the night with the boy's mother. Two boys skip school to spend the day with a girl who has run away from home and has spent the previous night in a motel with the married father of one of them. A young man is escorted by his former wife and her new husband to the police, where he reluctantly turns himself in after robbing a convenience store. A game of canasta is interrupted in a young boy's home when his father punches another man in the chest and kills him. A man in a wheelchair goes fishing and discovers that his line is snared in the carcass of a deer. In another story, a biker has a vanity plate on his Harley with the word LOSER.
Children and teenagers figure in many of Ford's stories. They are witnesses to the disintegrating lives of the adults who try awkwardly and often unsuccessfully to care for them. All in their innocence or their growing awareness of the world seem destined to lives of loneliness and confusion like their parents. Who they are becomes no more than a thin boundary between bad luck and diminished dreams, muted by the temporary relief of alcohol, sex, and either a groundless optimism or a fatalistic surrender to futility.
This is an interesting book to read along with Mary Clearman Blue's "All But the Waltz," which describes the tough survivors among Montana homesteaders who were confronted by unimaginable bad luck during the 1920s and 1930s and found the resources within themselves to persevere. Only a generation or two later, Ford's characters seem made of lesser stuff, as though circumstances have reduced a pioneering spirit to exhaustion.
Ford is a terrific storyteller. These are wonderfully written stories that for the most part let characters speak for themselves as they puzzle over the meaning of what's happening to them. A sexual tension pervades many of the stories, along with a poignancy that allows characters to preserve a degree of dignity, even as they behave foolishly.
In the title story, a man with a small daughter hopes to start a new life with a new girlfriend and a stolen Mercedes. In another story, a boy watches his parents' marriage come unglued as a young man only a few years older drives off into the night with the boy's mother. Two boys skip school to spend the day with a girl who has run away from home and has spent the previous night in a motel with the married father of one of them. A young man is escorted by his former wife and her new husband to the police, where he reluctantly turns himself in after robbing a convenience store. A game of canasta is interrupted in a young boy's home when his father punches another man in the chest and kills him. A man in a wheelchair goes fishing and discovers that his line is snared in the carcass of a deer. In another story, a biker has a vanity plate on his Harley with the word LOSER.
Children and teenagers figure in many of Ford's stories. They are witnesses to the disintegrating lives of the adults who try awkwardly and often unsuccessfully to care for them. All in their innocence or their growing awareness of the world seem destined to lives of loneliness and confusion like their parents. Who they are becomes no more than a thin boundary between bad luck and diminished dreams, muted by the temporary relief of alcohol, sex, and either a groundless optimism or a fatalistic surrender to futility.
This is an interesting book to read along with Mary Clearman Blue's "All But the Waltz," which describes the tough survivors among Montana homesteaders who were confronted by unimaginable bad luck during the 1920s and 1930s and found the resources within themselves to persevere. Only a generation or two later, Ford's characters seem made of lesser stuff, as though circumstances have reduced a pioneering spirit to exhaustion.
Ford is a terrific storyteller. These are wonderfully written stories that for the most part let characters speak for themselves as they puzzle over the meaning of what's happening to them. A sexual tension pervades many of the stories, along with a poignancy that allows characters to preserve a degree of dignity, even as they behave foolishly.
September 27, 2011
A lot of writers who do the brutal, spare stuff are not keen on explaining everything a character is thinking, even exactly what a character doesn't understand, or odd things the character might fear. Richard Ford doesn't avoid those tricky emotions here. Since these stories are all first-person, the narrator will always go into detail about what they believe are important moments. It becomes most intense when a character is confused:
Troy moved his hand around on the deer, then looked at me again in a painful way.
"What is it?" he said.
"A deer," I said. "You caught a dead deer."
Troy looked back at the little deer for a moment, and stared as if he did not know what to say about it. And sitting on the wet sand, in the foggy night, he all at once looked scary to me, as though it was him who had washed up there and was finished. "I don't see it," he said and sat there.
^That fragment might not be a good example. Moments that aren't so unusual become evil or darkly funny, like in Raymond Carver. It's the same territory. They were friends apparently. I've been reading some more of Carver's friends since I ran out of his writing to read: Tobias Wolff, Ford, and maybe Andre Dubus? I like this stuff, this book especially reminds me of 'Death in The Woods' by Sherwood Anderson.
Somehow I got a signed first edition of this off of amazon.com for 2 cents and 3.99 s&h.
Troy moved his hand around on the deer, then looked at me again in a painful way.
"What is it?" he said.
"A deer," I said. "You caught a dead deer."
Troy looked back at the little deer for a moment, and stared as if he did not know what to say about it. And sitting on the wet sand, in the foggy night, he all at once looked scary to me, as though it was him who had washed up there and was finished. "I don't see it," he said and sat there.
^That fragment might not be a good example. Moments that aren't so unusual become evil or darkly funny, like in Raymond Carver. It's the same territory. They were friends apparently. I've been reading some more of Carver's friends since I ran out of his writing to read: Tobias Wolff, Ford, and maybe Andre Dubus? I like this stuff, this book especially reminds me of 'Death in The Woods' by Sherwood Anderson.
Somehow I got a signed first edition of this off of amazon.com for 2 cents and 3.99 s&h.
November 10, 2024
4,5
Rock Springs, 1987. Canada, 2012. Sunt 25 de ani distanta 卯ntre ele, dar universul din prima carte se continua 卯n ultima f膬r膬 nicio 卯ndoial膬. Nu exista nicio ruptura. Nu 葯tiu dac膬 ar fi corect sa spun ca Richard Ford a b膬tut pasul pe loc, ci mai degrab膬 ca a conservat tot ce este definitoriu pentru el. Spa葲iul, aerul, limita, grani葲a, lucrurile consumate, risipite, resturile. Oamenii afla葲i 卯n tranzi葲ii dintr-o ipostaza inspre alta. Frigul, peisajul, ora葯ul mic, comunit膬葲ile m膬rgina葯e. Familia, lucrul acela fragil care este mereu desf膬cut 卯n buc膬葲i independente 葯i risipite. Ipostaza de fiu martor la dezintegrari silen葲ioase, stoice. Este un maestru 卯n a induce senza葲ia ca familia este ca o efemerida, o f膬ptur膬 cu via葲a scurt膬, o structur膬 slaba din care te desprinzi foarte devreme. O unitate 卯n葯el膬toare de euri care nu se pot suda. Ford este un ve葯nic copil l膬sat de izbeli葯te, abandonat de p膬rin葲i care nu pot juca rolul adultului. Nimeni nu e responsabil pentru un altul 葯i nici m膬car pentru sine.
Ceea ce Ford pune 卯n scena f膬r膬 卯ncetare este un lucru simplu 葯i foarte adev膬rat. Anume ca via葲a nu este un plan, o proiec葲ie stabil膬 葯i controlat膬. Via葲a este o tipsie pe care te mi葯ti 葯i care, f膬r膬 葯tirea ta sau chiar cu concursul pa葯ilor t膬i incon葯tien葲i, se 卯nclin膬 intr-o parte f膬c芒nd lucrurile s膬 se mi葯te vertiginos, sa alunece, sa cad膬, sa dispar膬 sau sa se zdrobeasc膬. Exista o uimire perpetu膬 卯n fa葲a deznodamantului, o inepuizabila interogare despre cum s-au 卯nt芒mplat lucrurile, de vreme ce fiecare a avut 卯n minte o cu totul alt膬 inten葲ie. 脦n lumea lui Ford inten葲iile, faptele si consecintele sunt intr-un crescendo injust, oamenii ajung sa se g膬seasc膬 peste noapte la finalul drumului rezonabil, dezirabil. Oamenii se afla, 卯n floarea v芒rstei, cand tocmai se preg膬teau sa traiasca mai bine, deja irosi葲i, condamna葲i. Asta mi se pare hipnotic la proza lui RF.
Mi-a pl膬cut mult. 葮i are ni葯te pasaje care, uluitoare 卯n simplitatea lor, sunt, 卯ntr-o m膬sur膬 m膬car, devastatoare.
Rock Springs, 1987. Canada, 2012. Sunt 25 de ani distanta 卯ntre ele, dar universul din prima carte se continua 卯n ultima f膬r膬 nicio 卯ndoial膬. Nu exista nicio ruptura. Nu 葯tiu dac膬 ar fi corect sa spun ca Richard Ford a b膬tut pasul pe loc, ci mai degrab膬 ca a conservat tot ce este definitoriu pentru el. Spa葲iul, aerul, limita, grani葲a, lucrurile consumate, risipite, resturile. Oamenii afla葲i 卯n tranzi葲ii dintr-o ipostaza inspre alta. Frigul, peisajul, ora葯ul mic, comunit膬葲ile m膬rgina葯e. Familia, lucrul acela fragil care este mereu desf膬cut 卯n buc膬葲i independente 葯i risipite. Ipostaza de fiu martor la dezintegrari silen葲ioase, stoice. Este un maestru 卯n a induce senza葲ia ca familia este ca o efemerida, o f膬ptur膬 cu via葲a scurt膬, o structur膬 slaba din care te desprinzi foarte devreme. O unitate 卯n葯el膬toare de euri care nu se pot suda. Ford este un ve葯nic copil l膬sat de izbeli葯te, abandonat de p膬rin葲i care nu pot juca rolul adultului. Nimeni nu e responsabil pentru un altul 葯i nici m膬car pentru sine.
Ceea ce Ford pune 卯n scena f膬r膬 卯ncetare este un lucru simplu 葯i foarte adev膬rat. Anume ca via葲a nu este un plan, o proiec葲ie stabil膬 葯i controlat膬. Via葲a este o tipsie pe care te mi葯ti 葯i care, f膬r膬 葯tirea ta sau chiar cu concursul pa葯ilor t膬i incon葯tien葲i, se 卯nclin膬 intr-o parte f膬c芒nd lucrurile s膬 se mi葯te vertiginos, sa alunece, sa cad膬, sa dispar膬 sau sa se zdrobeasc膬. Exista o uimire perpetu膬 卯n fa葲a deznodamantului, o inepuizabila interogare despre cum s-au 卯nt芒mplat lucrurile, de vreme ce fiecare a avut 卯n minte o cu totul alt膬 inten葲ie. 脦n lumea lui Ford inten葲iile, faptele si consecintele sunt intr-un crescendo injust, oamenii ajung sa se g膬seasc膬 peste noapte la finalul drumului rezonabil, dezirabil. Oamenii se afla, 卯n floarea v芒rstei, cand tocmai se preg膬teau sa traiasca mai bine, deja irosi葲i, condamna葲i. Asta mi se pare hipnotic la proza lui RF.
Mi-a pl膬cut mult. 葮i are ni葯te pasaje care, uluitoare 卯n simplitatea lor, sunt, 卯ntr-o m膬sur膬 m膬car, devastatoare.
August 16, 2017
Este volume cont茅m dez bonitas hist贸rias, nas quais o narrador 茅 sempre do sexo masculino variando as idades entre a inf芒ncia, adolesc锚ncia e idade adulta. Em todos os contos senti uma ternura imensa destes homens pela fam铆lia: pela mulher, pelo pai e pela m茫e - a qual, muitas vezes, abandona marido e filho para ir em busca de...sonhos?
Homens carentes e solit谩rios que querem dar e receber amor.
Rock Springs
Earl...
a mulher abandonou-o e 脿 filha. Ele junta-se com Edna, rouba um carro e v茫o procurar futuro numa terra onde h谩 uma mina de ouro. Mas h谩 pessoas para quem nada na vida 茅 f谩cil...
Great Falls
Jackie...
um menino que nunca compreendeu a l贸gica dos acontecimentos que levaram 脿 separa莽茫o dos pais. Talvez pela "incapacidade que n茫o nos deixa compreender que a vida pode ser l铆mpida e singela; que faz com que a nossa exist锚ncia seja uma esp茅cie de fronteira entre dois nadas; que faz de n贸s nem mais nem menos do que animais que se cruzam - desconfiados, rancorosos, desconhecendo a toler芒ncia e a paix茫o."
Namorados
Russel...
divorciado, vive com a filha e com a namorada Arlene, cujo ex-marido vai ser preso. Uma hist贸ria sobre os sentimentos de amizade e de generosidade que continuam a existir entre um casal mesmo ap贸s a separa莽茫o; e de ci煤me e de amor e de medo da solid茫o. "Eu sabia o que era o amor. Era n茫o nos causarmos problemas um ao outro. Era n茫o deixar uma mulher para ir atr谩s de outra. Era n茫o me meter em sarilhos. E era nunca estar s贸. Isso nunca. Isso nunca."
颁谤颈补苍莽补蝉
George...
Claude e Lucy. Tr锚s adolescentes que numa tarde vivem um tri芒ngulo amoroso. "脡ramos amigos. No entanto, quando crescemos, aquilo que nos aconteceu enquanto jovens deixa de ter import芒ncia. Sei disso agora, embora o n茫o soubesse na altura."
Sem Cheta
Lloyd...
um homem sem cheta, sem sorte e sem mulher (que lhe fugiu com outro). Anima-se quando recebe a visita de duas corpulentas ca莽adoras, uma delas especialmente meiga. Mas quando um homem n茫o tem sorte at茅 o que parece bom 茅 s贸 "uma amostra da pouca sorte que me esperava."
滨尘辫茅谤颈辞
Sims...
um bom homem, casado com Marge. Para ele a morte mais horr铆vel seria "morrer de chatice". Durante uma viagem de comboio, enquanto a mulher dormia, tem uma aventura com uma passageira. "Esta coisa pode dar cabo de ti, pensou ele, esta coisa de nada pode ser fatal."
O Veado Morto
Lester...
e o amigo Troy, que anda numa cadeira de rodas, conhecem Nola num bar e v茫o os tr锚s fazer uma pescaria. Troy pesca um veado morto...
Optimistas
Frank...
tem 15 anos quando numa noite um acontecimento inesperado alterou toda a sua vida familiar.
Foguetes
Eddie...
est谩 desempregado e o sustento da casa vem do trabalho da mulher Lois. Uma hist贸ria de amor maravilhosa e com um final sublime.
O Comunista
Les...
tem dezasseis anos 茅 贸rf茫o de pai e vive com a m茫e, uma mulher que "procurava algu茅m que nos protegesse a ambos, mas n茫o deu resultado. Penso que o problema era ela ter tido de enfrentar a vida cedo de mais."
Embora hist贸rias diferentes de pessoas distintas (com mais defeitos que qualidades), t锚m em comum vidas quase sempre dominadas pela perda (ou risco de perder) os suportes afectivos necess谩rios ao equil铆brio de um ser humano.
Todas me comoveram e fizeram sentir um grande carinho pelas personagens.
Homens carentes e solit谩rios que querem dar e receber amor.
Rock Springs
Earl...
a mulher abandonou-o e 脿 filha. Ele junta-se com Edna, rouba um carro e v茫o procurar futuro numa terra onde h谩 uma mina de ouro. Mas h谩 pessoas para quem nada na vida 茅 f谩cil...
Great Falls
Jackie...
um menino que nunca compreendeu a l贸gica dos acontecimentos que levaram 脿 separa莽茫o dos pais. Talvez pela "incapacidade que n茫o nos deixa compreender que a vida pode ser l铆mpida e singela; que faz com que a nossa exist锚ncia seja uma esp茅cie de fronteira entre dois nadas; que faz de n贸s nem mais nem menos do que animais que se cruzam - desconfiados, rancorosos, desconhecendo a toler芒ncia e a paix茫o."
Namorados
Russel...
divorciado, vive com a filha e com a namorada Arlene, cujo ex-marido vai ser preso. Uma hist贸ria sobre os sentimentos de amizade e de generosidade que continuam a existir entre um casal mesmo ap贸s a separa莽茫o; e de ci煤me e de amor e de medo da solid茫o. "Eu sabia o que era o amor. Era n茫o nos causarmos problemas um ao outro. Era n茫o deixar uma mulher para ir atr谩s de outra. Era n茫o me meter em sarilhos. E era nunca estar s贸. Isso nunca. Isso nunca."
颁谤颈补苍莽补蝉
George...
Claude e Lucy. Tr锚s adolescentes que numa tarde vivem um tri芒ngulo amoroso. "脡ramos amigos. No entanto, quando crescemos, aquilo que nos aconteceu enquanto jovens deixa de ter import芒ncia. Sei disso agora, embora o n茫o soubesse na altura."
Sem Cheta
Lloyd...
um homem sem cheta, sem sorte e sem mulher (que lhe fugiu com outro). Anima-se quando recebe a visita de duas corpulentas ca莽adoras, uma delas especialmente meiga. Mas quando um homem n茫o tem sorte at茅 o que parece bom 茅 s贸 "uma amostra da pouca sorte que me esperava."
滨尘辫茅谤颈辞
Sims...
um bom homem, casado com Marge. Para ele a morte mais horr铆vel seria "morrer de chatice". Durante uma viagem de comboio, enquanto a mulher dormia, tem uma aventura com uma passageira. "Esta coisa pode dar cabo de ti, pensou ele, esta coisa de nada pode ser fatal."
O Veado Morto
Lester...
e o amigo Troy, que anda numa cadeira de rodas, conhecem Nola num bar e v茫o os tr锚s fazer uma pescaria. Troy pesca um veado morto...
Optimistas
Frank...
tem 15 anos quando numa noite um acontecimento inesperado alterou toda a sua vida familiar.
Foguetes
Eddie...
est谩 desempregado e o sustento da casa vem do trabalho da mulher Lois. Uma hist贸ria de amor maravilhosa e com um final sublime.
O Comunista
Les...
tem dezasseis anos 茅 贸rf茫o de pai e vive com a m茫e, uma mulher que "procurava algu茅m que nos protegesse a ambos, mas n茫o deu resultado. Penso que o problema era ela ter tido de enfrentar a vida cedo de mais."
Embora hist贸rias diferentes de pessoas distintas (com mais defeitos que qualidades), t锚m em comum vidas quase sempre dominadas pela perda (ou risco de perder) os suportes afectivos necess谩rios ao equil铆brio de um ser humano.
Todas me comoveram e fizeram sentir um grande carinho pelas personagens.
October 19, 2022
My favorite was 鈥淪weethearts,鈥� followed close by 鈥淐ommunist鈥� and the titular 鈥淩ock Springs.鈥�
September 28, 2015
Ten variations on a handful of themes: broken families, financial insecurity, moral unease, desolation, and the West. The characters in these stories may appear interchangeable and a bit too similar, but to me they simply seemed human. While not every story has a protagonist to root for, most have one to root against, one to feel sorry for, and one with whom we can relate. The characters make mistakes, they pay for them, and they mostly accept their flaws. For me, these stories were not always enjoyable to read, but I couldn't help but want to read another. Seedy characters in desperate situations, and often with children caught in the middle of it all鈥擨 wanted to know more about these people, but Ford only gives us small glimpses at a time, mostly from the first person perspective. Each story is another fragment of small town life in the West: individually, some of these stories are weak, but as a collection, the recurring imagery, repeated phrases, and familiar locations complete the picture.
I'm already a huge Ford fan, but if his Bascombe novels turned you away, this short collection might hook you. As another reviewer noted, it's largely told from a male perspective, but I didn't feel as if the female characters were slighted at all. In fact, I felt these were some of his more realistic female characters, some caring, most emotionally detached, others overly sensual. While there's largely a disconnect between parents and children here, Ford still manages to convey a maternal tenderness in these stories that most female characters in the Bascome novels lacked.
I can see how the back-to-back publication of this and the Sportswriter in the late-80s really put Ford on the map.
I'm already a huge Ford fan, but if his Bascombe novels turned you away, this short collection might hook you. As another reviewer noted, it's largely told from a male perspective, but I didn't feel as if the female characters were slighted at all. In fact, I felt these were some of his more realistic female characters, some caring, most emotionally detached, others overly sensual. While there's largely a disconnect between parents and children here, Ford still manages to convey a maternal tenderness in these stories that most female characters in the Bascome novels lacked.
I can see how the back-to-back publication of this and the Sportswriter in the late-80s really put Ford on the map.
August 12, 2016
(4.2/5.0)
Some pretty great white trash stories in here. I wish Richard Ford wrote less in the first person, though. After a while, all his characters start to sound like the same old sot.
Some pretty great white trash stories in here. I wish Richard Ford wrote less in the first person, though. After a while, all his characters start to sound like the same old sot.
December 22, 2020
亘爻蹖丕乇賵丕賯毓蹖 貙 亘爻蹖丕乇鬲賱禺 亘乇丕蹖 丨丕賱 賲賳..丿乇爻讴賵鬲 賵 丌乇丕賲卮 賵 亘賴 爻賵蹖 賴蹖趩 讴噩丕
January 2, 2024
This may seem like a poor reason to be disappointed in a book but I found I wanted more from each of the stories. I was just getting to know these people and then their stories ended. Don鈥檛 get me wrong, each story was well written and the characters as well developed as you could expect in about 25 pages. I just wanted more, deeper exploration, more time with these fascinating people. Ford is a master of character development with his spare prose and the stories leave you feeling you spent some real time actually living with these mostly ordinary yet memorable people, getting a glimpse into each of their lives. My next Richard Ford book will be a novel though. I want more. I鈥檓 just selfish that way.
September 17, 2010
Richard Ford has become my favorite author.
I have a new favorite author, Richard Ford.
It鈥檚 important for you to know that I have a new favorite author, Richard Ford.
Three sentences saying very much the same thing, but yet each saying it so completely differently from the others. Yes, it鈥檚 a matter of words, but more than that, it鈥檚 a matter of tone. It鈥檚 a matter of intimacy. And it is the last sentence, the one that draws the recipient into the message -- because it implies, or rather creates, relationship -- that most seduces, most intrigues. It鈥檚 a technique Richard Ford uses again and again in his collection of short stories, Rock Springs.
There are writers who cannot tell stories, and there are storytellers who will never write. And then there is Richard Ford, a masterful storyteller, and an excellent writer with a knack for writing in such a way that the reader feels she is being told a story. The small, simple, trick of involving the reader does great things to contribute to this.
Ford鈥檚 story, 鈥淕reat Falls鈥�, begins: 鈥淭his is not a happy story. I warn you.鈥� And immediately the reader is curious, prepared and feeling familiar, if not quite involved. The story continues, introducing characters and setting:
My father was a man named Jack Russell, and when I was a young boy in my early teens, we lived with my mother in a house to the east of Great Falls, Montana, near the small town of Highwood and the Highwood Mountains and the Missouri River. It is a flat treeless benchland there鈥�
And just as the reader starts to drift, the narrator interrupts the story, with a casual clarification more suited to conversation than literature, but so extremely effective here for the way it yanks the reader back. 鈥淗e鈥攎y father鈥攈ad been an Air Force sergeant and had taken his discharge in Great Falls.鈥�
A paragraph later, he does it again. 鈥淭he house itself is gone now鈥擨 have been to the spot.鈥�
But then, as the story picks up, as the reader loses herself in the conflict, Ford is wise enough not to interrupt anymore, at least until the heavy drama comes to a pause when the narrator reminds us again of our familiarity, our relationship -- as storyteller and listener -- with a simple comment. 鈥淭hings seldom end in one event.鈥�
And the story moves forward again, before finally wrapping up. Then, once the action stops the narrator returns to us with a long, thoughtful paragraph in which he contemplates the events of the story, questions them, and forms his own conclusions.
It鈥檚 an effective strategy that works best in a first person narrative, and better still for the nature/content of Ford鈥檚 stories which are wrought with the drama of everyday people and everyday life in the most basic of settings, small simple towns where everyone knows everyone and there鈥檚 no such thing as formal.
鈥淲hat I want to explain happened in November.鈥� 鈥淐ommunist鈥�
鈥淎ll that happened next is what you would expect to happen.鈥� 鈥淥ptimists鈥�
鈥淚 will say how all of this turned out because in a way it is surprising, and because it
did not turn out badly.鈥� 鈥淐hildren鈥�
I have a new favorite author, Richard Ford.
It鈥檚 important for you to know that I have a new favorite author, Richard Ford.
Three sentences saying very much the same thing, but yet each saying it so completely differently from the others. Yes, it鈥檚 a matter of words, but more than that, it鈥檚 a matter of tone. It鈥檚 a matter of intimacy. And it is the last sentence, the one that draws the recipient into the message -- because it implies, or rather creates, relationship -- that most seduces, most intrigues. It鈥檚 a technique Richard Ford uses again and again in his collection of short stories, Rock Springs.
There are writers who cannot tell stories, and there are storytellers who will never write. And then there is Richard Ford, a masterful storyteller, and an excellent writer with a knack for writing in such a way that the reader feels she is being told a story. The small, simple, trick of involving the reader does great things to contribute to this.
Ford鈥檚 story, 鈥淕reat Falls鈥�, begins: 鈥淭his is not a happy story. I warn you.鈥� And immediately the reader is curious, prepared and feeling familiar, if not quite involved. The story continues, introducing characters and setting:
My father was a man named Jack Russell, and when I was a young boy in my early teens, we lived with my mother in a house to the east of Great Falls, Montana, near the small town of Highwood and the Highwood Mountains and the Missouri River. It is a flat treeless benchland there鈥�
And just as the reader starts to drift, the narrator interrupts the story, with a casual clarification more suited to conversation than literature, but so extremely effective here for the way it yanks the reader back. 鈥淗e鈥攎y father鈥攈ad been an Air Force sergeant and had taken his discharge in Great Falls.鈥�
A paragraph later, he does it again. 鈥淭he house itself is gone now鈥擨 have been to the spot.鈥�
But then, as the story picks up, as the reader loses herself in the conflict, Ford is wise enough not to interrupt anymore, at least until the heavy drama comes to a pause when the narrator reminds us again of our familiarity, our relationship -- as storyteller and listener -- with a simple comment. 鈥淭hings seldom end in one event.鈥�
And the story moves forward again, before finally wrapping up. Then, once the action stops the narrator returns to us with a long, thoughtful paragraph in which he contemplates the events of the story, questions them, and forms his own conclusions.
It鈥檚 an effective strategy that works best in a first person narrative, and better still for the nature/content of Ford鈥檚 stories which are wrought with the drama of everyday people and everyday life in the most basic of settings, small simple towns where everyone knows everyone and there鈥檚 no such thing as formal.
鈥淲hat I want to explain happened in November.鈥� 鈥淐ommunist鈥�
鈥淎ll that happened next is what you would expect to happen.鈥� 鈥淥ptimists鈥�
鈥淚 will say how all of this turned out because in a way it is surprising, and because it
did not turn out badly.鈥� 鈥淐hildren鈥�
April 30, 2013
Dieci racconti che non ci presentano l'America che conosciamo o che spesso immaginiamo, l'America luminosa e indaffarata, gli americani sorridenti e soddisfatti degli obiettivi raggiunti. Questa 猫 l'America desolata e fredda del Montana, la provincia, gli americani sono quelli dei sogni infranti, dalla vita che non sentono loro e verso la quale si sentono impotenti, che vivono loro malgrado.
Racconti che parlano di solitudine, che a volte cammina vicina ad altre senza per貌 fondersi mai, parla di abbandoni, di mancanza di progettualit脿, di mancanza di futuro, di ragazzini abbandonati al loro destino, di uomini sconfitti costretti a percorrere la strada della vita fino alla fine perch茅, nel rettilineo in mezzo al nulla, non si incontrano possibilit脿 di deviazioni.
Lo stile 猫 scarno, tagliente, nessun abbellimento per addolcire anche solo un po' le storie, ma valorizza piccoli dettagli che definiscono l'insieme della vicenda e che riescono a creare quella sospensione che precede il punto di svolta della storia a cui l'autore vuole che dedichiamo tutta la nostra attenzione.
Racconti che parlano di solitudine, che a volte cammina vicina ad altre senza per貌 fondersi mai, parla di abbandoni, di mancanza di progettualit脿, di mancanza di futuro, di ragazzini abbandonati al loro destino, di uomini sconfitti costretti a percorrere la strada della vita fino alla fine perch茅, nel rettilineo in mezzo al nulla, non si incontrano possibilit脿 di deviazioni.
Lo stile 猫 scarno, tagliente, nessun abbellimento per addolcire anche solo un po' le storie, ma valorizza piccoli dettagli che definiscono l'insieme della vicenda e che riescono a creare quella sospensione che precede il punto di svolta della storia a cui l'autore vuole che dedichiamo tutta la nostra attenzione.
February 10, 2019
賳賯胤賴 賯賵鬲 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 賴丕 诏蹖乇丕蹖蹖 賵 亘丕賵乇倬匕蹖乇蹖 卮賵賳 賴爻鬲貙 賲丨賵乇蹖鬲 卮賵賳 乇賵丕亘胤 禺丕賳賵丕丿诏蹖賴貙 賮丕氐賱賴 賴丕 賵 诏丕賴丕 丨爻乇鬲蹖 讴賴 乇丕賵蹖 亘丕 賳诏丕賴 亘賴 诏匕卮鬲賴 丿丕乇賴貙 賮囟丕蹖 讴賱蹖 讴鬲丕亘 讴丕賲賱丕 賲乇丿丕賳賴 丕爻鬲貙 丕讴孬乇丕 丿乇 丕蹖丕賱鬲 賲賵賳鬲丕賳丕 丿乇 睾乇亘 丌賲乇蹖讴丕 賵丕賯毓 賲蹖卮賵賳丿 亘丕 丨丕賱 賵 賴賵丕蹖 夭賳丿诏蹖 睾蹖乇 卮賴乇蹖...
丕夭 賲鬲賳 讴鬲丕亘:
"丨丕賱丕 讴賴 賮讴乇卮 乇丕 賲蹖讴賳賲 诏賱賳 亘丕讴爻鬲乇 丌丿賲 亘丿蹖 賳亘賵丿貙 賮賯胤 丕夭 趩蹖夭蹖 賵丨卮鬲 讴乇丿賴 亘賵丿 讴賴 倬蹖卮 鬲乇 賴乇诏夭 丌賳 乇丕 賳丿蹖丿賴 亘賵丿貙 丕夭 趩蹖夭 賱胤蹖賮蹖 丿乇 丿乇賵賳 禺賵丿卮. 夭賳丿诏蹖 丕卮 乇丕 胤賵乇蹖 賲蹖 诏匕乇丕賳丿 讴賴 亘丕亘 賲蹖賱卮 賳亘賵丿貨 趩賴 讴爻蹖 賲蹖鬲賵丕賳爻鬲 爻乇夭賳卮卮 讴賳丿責 賳賲蹖丿丕賳賲 趩賴 趩蹖夭蹖 賲乇丿賲 乇丕 賵丕 賲蹖丿丕乇丿 讴丕乇賴丕蹖蹖 乇丕 亘讴賳賳丿 讴賴 賲蹖 讴賳賳丿 蹖丕 丕爻賲 賴丕蹖蹖 乇丕 乇賵蹖 禺賵丿卮丕賳 亘诏匕丕乇賳丿 讴賴 賲蹖 诏匕丕乇賳丿. 賮賯胤 丕蹖賳 乇丕 賲蹖丿丕賳賲 讴賴 丌丿賲 亘丕蹖丿 噩丕蹖 讴爻 丿蹖诏乇蹖 夭賳丿诏蹖 讴賳丿 鬲丕 亘鬲賵丕賳丿 亘賴 乇賲夭 賵 乇丕夭 丕賵 倬蹖 亘亘乇丿"
丕夭 賲鬲賳 讴鬲丕亘:
"丨丕賱丕 讴賴 賮讴乇卮 乇丕 賲蹖讴賳賲 诏賱賳 亘丕讴爻鬲乇 丌丿賲 亘丿蹖 賳亘賵丿貙 賮賯胤 丕夭 趩蹖夭蹖 賵丨卮鬲 讴乇丿賴 亘賵丿 讴賴 倬蹖卮 鬲乇 賴乇诏夭 丌賳 乇丕 賳丿蹖丿賴 亘賵丿貙 丕夭 趩蹖夭 賱胤蹖賮蹖 丿乇 丿乇賵賳 禺賵丿卮. 夭賳丿诏蹖 丕卮 乇丕 胤賵乇蹖 賲蹖 诏匕乇丕賳丿 讴賴 亘丕亘 賲蹖賱卮 賳亘賵丿貨 趩賴 讴爻蹖 賲蹖鬲賵丕賳爻鬲 爻乇夭賳卮卮 讴賳丿責 賳賲蹖丿丕賳賲 趩賴 趩蹖夭蹖 賲乇丿賲 乇丕 賵丕 賲蹖丿丕乇丿 讴丕乇賴丕蹖蹖 乇丕 亘讴賳賳丿 讴賴 賲蹖 讴賳賳丿 蹖丕 丕爻賲 賴丕蹖蹖 乇丕 乇賵蹖 禺賵丿卮丕賳 亘诏匕丕乇賳丿 讴賴 賲蹖 诏匕丕乇賳丿. 賮賯胤 丕蹖賳 乇丕 賲蹖丿丕賳賲 讴賴 丌丿賲 亘丕蹖丿 噩丕蹖 讴爻 丿蹖诏乇蹖 夭賳丿诏蹖 讴賳丿 鬲丕 亘鬲賵丕賳丿 亘賴 乇賲夭 賵 乇丕夭 丕賵 倬蹖 亘亘乇丿"
September 30, 2021
Although I have read most of these before, I wanted to see what I thought of them now.
Frankly, I rarely am a short story person to begin with. And these are engaging and written with verve. BUT. But they are almost entirely about people who contrive to be the least that they can be and it to me, is too incredibly sad to enjoy most of any of it.
Absolutely not my cuppa. And IMHO also extremely male voice written. Which is not a bad thing but I find that often goes in the same circles of speech and thought patterns. Redundant.
Frankly, I rarely am a short story person to begin with. And these are engaging and written with verve. BUT. But they are almost entirely about people who contrive to be the least that they can be and it to me, is too incredibly sad to enjoy most of any of it.
Absolutely not my cuppa. And IMHO also extremely male voice written. Which is not a bad thing but I find that often goes in the same circles of speech and thought patterns. Redundant.
May 12, 2020
Lonely, rural, American realism. Read more like prose poetry at points. The comparison to Carver is clear, but I think I like Carver more. These got a bit repetitive. He never gives you room to get your hopes up about anything. Still, good book.
June 7, 2008
Richard Ford's short stories, because they are short stories, lack the almost overwhelming power and depth of his great novels, The Sportswriter and Independence Day. But as short stories, they are no less masterfully crafted and lyrical. Of the huge glut of American writers and their publications, Ford is one of the few who will actually be studied and remembered after he is long dead and gone. He has such a distinct rhythm to his prose, somehow lyrical without being flowery. He excels at adding an almost mythical quality to utterly realistic, frequently even mundane moments in the lives of distinctly American characters (working class types, mostly; ex-military drifters, semi-employed day laborers, teens in small towns). His best passages depict people dancing in a bar. Friends fishing at the river, or even a character just driving, watching the world blow by. His stories certainly have elements of violence and surprise, but as Rock Springs travels through its dozen or so stories, these elements become less and less, and the tales become, oddly, even more powerful and memorable as a result. Ford also ends his stories as well as any writer alive, frequently zooming back from the protagonist and showing us how they and this small moment they have been captured in resonate in the great, hard void of a universe that surrounds us all. I'll finish with an example of what I'm talking about, the final paragraph of the wonderful story "Fireworks":
"Starling couldn't see. Lois opened the door out into the drizzle, turned her back to him and struck a match. He could see it brighten. And then there was a sparkling and hissing, and then a brighter one, and Starling smelled the harsh burning and the smell of rain together. Then Lois closed the door and danced out before the car into the rain with the sparklers, waving her arms round in the air, smiling widely and making swirls and patterns and star-falls for him that were brilliant and illuminated the night and the bright rain and the little dark house behind her and, for a moment, caught the world and stopped it, as though something sudden and perfect had come to earth in a furious glowing for him and for him alone - Eddie Starling - and only he could watch and listen. And only he would be there, waiting, when the light was finally gone."
"Starling couldn't see. Lois opened the door out into the drizzle, turned her back to him and struck a match. He could see it brighten. And then there was a sparkling and hissing, and then a brighter one, and Starling smelled the harsh burning and the smell of rain together. Then Lois closed the door and danced out before the car into the rain with the sparklers, waving her arms round in the air, smiling widely and making swirls and patterns and star-falls for him that were brilliant and illuminated the night and the bright rain and the little dark house behind her and, for a moment, caught the world and stopped it, as though something sudden and perfect had come to earth in a furious glowing for him and for him alone - Eddie Starling - and only he could watch and listen. And only he would be there, waiting, when the light was finally gone."
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