The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

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The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

3.94 of 5 stars 3.94 · rating details · 931 ratings · 147 reviews

One of the great classic tales of The Great American West...

IT IS 1881. Jesse James, at the age of 34, is at the height of his fame and powers as a singularly successful outlaw. Robert Ford is the skittish younger brother of one of the James gang: he has made himself an expert on the gang, but his particular interest - his obsession - is Jesse James himself. Both drawn to...more

Paperback, 320 pages

Published February 26th 1997 by Harper Perennial (first published 1983)

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Aug 17, 2012 Ashley Sandeman rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: my-favourite-books

I fell in love with this book on the first page, with the opening lines,

“He was growing into middle age and was living then in a bungalow on Woodland Avenue. Green weeds split the porch steps, a wasp nest clung to an attic gable, a rope swing looped down from a dying elm tree and the ground below it was scuffed soft as flour.”

There begins a master class in description that continues until the novel’s end, and the environment becomes almost as large a character as the protagonist himself as Hans...more

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Mar 19, 2009 Ayu Palar rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Sindro

Shelves: favorites-ever

Usually, I prefer to watch the book and after that get in touch with the film. But this time, it's the other way around. I watched the film first, and then read the book. Obviously, having watched the film influenced the way I think and feel about the book, but I think I took the right move. It doesn't mean the book is bad, in fact the book is gripping and exciting in its own way. Yet, kudos to the actors, the film has made the experience of reading the book more pleasing. Everytime the name Bob...more

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Nov 21, 2008 Willspeare rated it 4 of 5 stars

What makes this book is the language. Though I am no authority, it has effectively captivated the language we would expect from the time. Hansen is definitely a researcher and it shows, but on top of that, the story seems removed from the contemporary. It breathes forward to us from another time, even though it was probably composed on a computer. The language and tone, generating that removal from the contemporary, provide the elevated platform to be awed at, Jesse James is a realized mythologi...more

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Nov 30, 2008 Patrick Gibson rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary-literature, history, the_west, truth_sort-of

There is a detachment in the writing style that is unengaged. Once you adjust to this punctuated attitude towards the characters, it is easier to absorb the stark beauty of the words. For example: “He was one to read auguries in the snarled intestines of chickens, or the blow of cat hair released to the wind, and years of bad luck that moated and dungeoned him.” Throw away details like the conditions of Jesse’s teeth or the smell of a sweating horse accumulate unconsciously to create a startling...more

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Nov 29, 2008 John rated it 4 of 5 stars

I disagree with the term assassination in this title – I characterize it as “Justice” - and referring to Bob Ford as a coward. Jesse James was a coward in the purest sense and was an inveterate and vicious killer of innocent, indefensible people. He was credited with the murder of 19 (the movie says 17) men and robbing people of their hard earned money, valuables and in many cases their life savings. His gangs wrought additional mayhem, murder and robbery on many other innocent victims. There is...more

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Jan 24, 2013 Deb rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography-memoirs, audiobooks, bookcrossing-com

A good tale about the days leading up to the assassination of Jesse James. I, of course, have heard many tales of this famous outlaw but not in such detail. It appeared to me that Bob Ford is one of those folk who had such an obsessive admiration of someone famous, such as Jesse James, that when the "real man" overrode the glamorous figure built up in his head, Bob felt he had to dispose of his idol. Jesse was not saint but ol' Bob was a skunk. He picked a low way to take out Jesse James and Kar...more

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Sep 22, 2012 Roger rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: history-jesse-james-crime

The story begins with Frank and Jesse James, whose relationship was strained to antagonistic, gathering a bunch of local rubes for one last heist. The story ends with the death of Robert Ford nearly a dozen years later. In between Hansen weaves a fascinating tale of intrigue and violence surrounding many of those who robbed the Chicago & Alton Railroad on Sept. 7, 1881, five years to the day after the James and Younger gang got shot up trying to rob a bank in Northfield, Minn.

Written by Ron...more The story begins with Frank and Jesse James, whose relationship was strained to antagonistic, gathering a bunch of local rubes for one last heist. The story ends with the death of Robert Ford nearly a dozen years later. In between Hansen weaves a fascinating tale of intrigue and violence surrounding many of those who robbed the Chicago & Alton Railroad on Sept. 7, 1881, five years to the day after the James and Younger gang got shot up trying to rob a bank in Northfield, Minn.

Written by Ron Hansen, this book came to my attention after watching the movie by the same name. This story is so well done that I carried the book with me for two weeks and read it when I could. When we find good books, it is actually exciting to open the pages and knowing we have great stories waiting for us makes life a little brighter.

One of the things that I liked best about the writing was Hansen's telling the story in the language of the period, roughly 1880 forward. Consider Hansen's description of the gang that Frank and Jesse James gathered for their final robbery of a train near Blue Cut Missouri:

"Here thirteen men squatted with coffee and idled or cradled shotguns: croppers and clerks and hired hands, aged in their late teens and twenties, wearing patched coveralls and wrinkled wool trousers and foul-looking suit coats that exposed their wrists, or overcoats the color of nickel, of soot, that assorted weeds had attached themselves to. They were hooligans, mainly, boys with vulgar features and sullen eyes and barn-red faces capped white above the eyebrows. They were malnourished and uneducated; their mouths were wrecks of rotting teeth. Consumption was a familiar disease , they carried infirmities like handkerchiefs; several were missing fingers, one was sick with parasites, another two had lice, eyes were crossed or clouded, harelip went undoctored."

I had creative writing instructors who might have give low marks to Hansen's writing for the amount of "telling" (vs. showing) in his writing, but it worked for me. I found his descriptive passages vivid and creative.

Published in the early 1983, the book was fine spice to my life. I encourage you to put this book in your hands.
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Roger The story begins with Frank and Jesse James, whose relationship was strained to antagonistic, gathering a bunch of local rubes for one last heist. The...more The story begins with Frank and Jesse James, whose relationship was strained to antagonistic, gathering a bunch of local rubes for one last heist. The story ends with the death of Robert Ford nearly a dozen years later. In between Hansen weaves a fascinating tale of intrigue and violence surrounding many of those who robbed the Chicago & Alton Railroad on Sept. 7, 1881, five years to the day after the James and Younger gang got shot up trying to rob a bank in Northfield, Minn.

Written by Ron Hansen, this book came to my attention after watching the movie by the same name. This story is so well done that I carried the book with me for two weeks and read it when I could. When we find good books, it is actually exciting to open the pages and knowing we have great stories waiting for us makes life a little brighter.

One of the things that I liked best about the writing was Hansen's telling the story in the language of the period, roughly 1880 forward. Consider Hansen's description of the gang that Frank and Jesse James gathered for their final robbery of a train near Blue Cut Missouri:

"Here thirteen men squatted with coffee and idled or cradled shotguns: croppers and clerks and hired hands, aged in their late teens and twenties, wearing patched coveralls and wrinkled wool trousers and foul-looking suit coats that exposed their wrists, or overcoats the color of nickel, of soot, that assorted weeds had attached themselves to. They were hooligans, mainly, boys with vulgar features and sullen eyes and barn-red faces capped white above the eyebrows. They were malnourished and uneducated; their mouths were wrecks of rotting teeth. Consumption was a familiar disease , they carried infirmities like handkerchiefs; several were missing fingers, one was sick with parasites, another two had lice, eyes were crossed or clouded, harelip went undoctored."

I had creative writing instructors who might have give low marks to Hansen's writing for the amount of "telling" (vs. showing) in his writing, but it worked for me. I found his descriptive passages vivid and creative.

Published in the early 1983, the book was fine spice to my life. I encourage you to put this book in your hands.(less)
Sep 22, 2012 04:44am

Sep 01, 2012 Sara rated it 1 of 5 stars

I have no doubt that the author set out to be historically accurate, so I am not judging accuracy because I truly don't know that much about Jesse James or that time period. I was curious to know more about the robberies, Jesse's personality, why the public was fascinated by him/adored him and about his assassination. I got the gist of what I wanted to know, but it was more confusing than it was entertaining/informative for me because great detail was taken in the character development of the Ja...more

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May 01, 2009 Mick rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Look, I don't know how much of the "novel" THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD is true; I don't know how much of the dialogue and interaction and actions of the characters actually took place, or were embellished by a very gifted Ron Hansen.

But does it matter? The account of the final days of infamous outlaw Jesse James (and the subsequent final days of his killer) is "historical fiction", in any case (the definitive oxymoron, if you ask me). What does matter is this tigh...more

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Dec 11, 2008 The Book Gobbler rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary-fiction

Don’t be fooled by the title. This isn’t just a fictional retelling of a murder, of one of the most infamous celebrity assassinations in United States history. This is the story of two lives that once-upon-a-time intersected, and were forever changed, each by the other, for better or worse. Jesse James: train robber, thief, husband, father, ex-bushwhacker and hero to many, at the long and lonely end of his ‘night riding’ ways. Bob Ford: young, impressionable, and desperate to be like his childho...more

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Apr 15, 2013 blake rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, literature-modern

This is a riveting story that reads quickly relative to its dense 400 pages of length. Hansen's writing is so confident and authentic that you as a reader immediately sense you're in the hands of a master. He marries fact and fiction in the most natural way possible; you have to think long and hard to discern where one ends and the other begins. An example:

But as (Bob Ford) lifted the dipper he viewed himself in the store window and was discouraged by the picture of a scroungy boy in a ridiculou

...more This is a riveting story that reads quickly relative to its dense 400 pages of length. Hansen's writing is so confident and authentic that you as a reader immediately sense you're in the hands of a master. He marries fact and fiction in the most natural way possible; you have to think long and hard to discern where one ends and the other begins. An example:

But as (Bob Ford) lifted the dipper he viewed himself in the store window and was discouraged by the picture of a scroungy boy in a ridiculous stove-pipe hat that was dented and smudged, in an overlarge black coat that was soiled and stained and plowed with wrinkles and cinched at his waist by a low-slung holster. He thought he looked goofy and juvenile, so he went inside the store and cruised the aisles. 112

He goes onto describe the outfit that Ford picked out, which I assume is accurate and based on eyewitness accounts or maybe newspaper reports. But to describe the thought process behind the purchase takes it one step further. Hansen is actually inhabiting these historical figures, giving them motives and desires and insecurities, and the results are quite convincing.

The matter-of-fact prose -- at times electrifying in its succinctness -- helps with the characterization. Hansen also utilizes a wide variety of colorful imagery and metaphor to describe scenes in altogether unique ways. In the first pages of his description of Jesse James he magically brings him to life with such passages:

He could intimidate like Henry the Eighth; he could be reckless or serene, rational or lunatic, from one minute to the next. If he made an entrance, heads turned in his direction; if he strode down an aisle store clerks backed away; if he neared animals they retreated. Rooms seemed hotter when he was in them, rains fell straighter, clocks slowed, sounds were amplified: his enemies would not have been much surprised if he produced horned owls from beer bottles or made candles out of his fingers. 6

On the next page there's this simple yet utterly effective description of a coat:

. . . climbed into a Confederate officer's coat that was rich with the odors of manual labor and was heavy enough to snap the pegs off a closet rack. 7

And how about this for an interesting description of a death during a train robbery:

. . . Frank McMillan was craning to look inside for himself when a lead ball punched into his forehead above his right eye, stopping his life instantly. His body collapsed just as the air brakes screeched and McMillan too slipped off the slackening train. 92

And check out the level of detail when describing Wood Hite's death:

Wood said nothing. His eyes were closed. A string of saliva hung from his mouth to the floor and it bowed with each cold draft of air. Martha tugged the blue muffler off and picked the blood-tipped hair from his brow. 151

As a visual reader I love writing like this because I can actually see it happening. It definitely has a cinematic quality and I can understand how Brad Pitt and Andrew Dominik were so excited about filming it. What's more, the scenes with Jesse James are menacing and nerve-wracking without fail. The way he turns every gesture, glance or word from James into a paranoid delusion or veiled threat is masterful.

So those are all the reasons to read it, but it's not a flawless book. Because it is essentially a chronicle of the preamble and aftermath to one particular event, and because Hansen apparently takes pride in being thorough, providing a beginning and end for every person involved (no matter how minor), the book has a disjointed feel in places. This is notable especially after the assassination itself, and at the beginning of Part 2 when there is an extended aside about the feud between Wood Hite and Dick LIddil.

Also, while it becomes apparent fairly early on that Robert Ford is the main character, we are still left with maddeningly little explanation as to why he chose to act the way he did. Hansen does provide some more insight much later in the novel, when Ford is commiserating with Dorothy Evans a few months before his death, but it's a case of too-little-and-late for my tastes.

Overall, however, it's a captivating book about a fascinating time in the country's history: when it was transitioning from the uncivilized "Wild West" to the more lawful ways of the East. Bob Ford represents this transition in certain ways and thus serves as a supremely intriguing subject. Combined with Hansen's exceptional writing, this is a novel that will please anyone who doesn't require a traditional narrative.(less)

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May 31, 2009 Miss Poppy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Ron Hansen was the first living author of (semi)fiction I'd read in years. I'd seen the movie and LOVED it - my favorite of the year. It reminded me of "Thin Red Line" and I was not surprised to find that the director of Assassination, Andrew Dominik, had been involved with Malick.

The movie is S... L... O... W..., so if you're looking for Bruce Willis type action, skip it. There's a voice over and that's what drove me to the book. I hoped that same poetry would be there and it was.

Who uses the w...more

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Feb 28, 2012 Kristin added it

I wanted to read this because I loved The Sisters Brothers and True Grit, and this one is often recommended in the company of those works-- I didn't know previously that it was a book, as I saw the movie when it came out. I loved the movie, but I remember calling it a "masterpiece of misery." Meaning it was miserably depressing, such that it would put a person in a funk for many days, but it was so terribly well done and artful that it was totally worth it. Well, it turns out the book is that, t...more

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Jun 28, 2012 Ashlin rated it 4 of 5 stars

I watched the film first and adored it, not knowing that it was based on a book. Much later I was reading another book by the author, Mariette in Ecstasy, and learned that he was the writer of a film that I loved. The book was not a disappointment. As I read it, I could place entire scenes and facial expressions of the film. It came off crisp and clear. I felt that each character was tied up well and that nothing about them was hidden. He exposed so much of the characters in the book that you ne...more

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Jan 23, 2013 Michelle Sawyer rated it 5 of 5 stars

Not since Larry McMurtry has an author brought the American west to life like Ron Hanssen has with The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Who knew that Jesse James was a man given to dark moods and superstitions, haunted by lawmen, idolized by his public and slain by one of the first celebrity stalkers in documented history? Ron Hanssen's dialogue is so vivid it's hard to believe that history isn't being told just as it occurred, yet it's impossible to think that Hanssen was...more

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Dec 09, 2010 Jonathan Schildbach rated it 5 of 5 stars

I am not one for much historical fiction, or for Westerns in general, but this book is incredible at drawing the reader into a particular world and time. A blurb from a Newsweek review on the cover of the edition I read said Hansen made "low history" into "high art," which is a near perfect way of explaining this work. Hansen is extremely gifted with language and clever turns of phrase, as well as having a solid period feel to the diction. Occasionally, Hansen's writing can call attention to its...more

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Apr 02, 2012 Barry Wiley rated it 3 of 5 stars

A well written novel that brings Jesse James alive as a morose psychopathic killer who cared about his family, but little else. Jesse barely talked to his older brother, Frank, who quit the gang when Jesse seemed to be thinking about doing yet another job.
Jesse James has been portrayed in so many ways since the day he was killed (even by Roy Rogers) that Hansen's take is refreshing in that the "Robin Hood of the West" nonsense is never mentioned, or even suggested. It is, frankly, difficult t...more

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Sep 09, 2011 Owen Curtsinger rated it 3 of 5 stars

I haven't read much historical fiction, nor do I know a lot about the life of Jesse James. That being said, I found this book well written in some places and for the most part entertaining, but am torn on whether or not it's a really great read.

I suppose that most historical fiction must tread a careful line between artful prose and historical accuracy, and as I reader I can pinpoint almost too easily when Hansen switches between the two. Scenes of train robberies, of which there must have been...more

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Jul 18, 2012 Daniel rated it 5 of 5 stars

Although this novel is a haunting portrayal of the life of the James gang, it focuses on Bob Ford, the cowardly assassin of Jesse James. Coward is one way to describe Ford, one might also assign him various other titles such as sycophant, fan, aspirer or wannabe, to name a few.

Regardless of what he was or aimed to be, Robert Ford ("Bob") is a fascinating character study. Casey Affleck's amazing depiction of Ford in the film of the same name so thoroughly colored the lens through which I viewed t...more

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Apr 18, 2010 Chris Cosse rated it 5 of 5 stars

Greatest book I have read in a long long time. This may or may not be the true store of Jesse James, but then again no one really knows exactly what his true story is. The narration in this book is amazing and the dialogue is as well. Even if you are not a fan of old outlaws and outlaw gangs, I highly recommend this book. It not only shows Jesse James as a ruthless robber and killer, but as a man trying to make his place in this world. Interesting note from the Jesse James Farm House is that Jes...more

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Jul 08, 2011 Max rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

I first saw the movie and was enthralled by it's sparsity and atmosphere.

The book was just as engaging, there is a sense of detachment or minimalism in the representation of characters it is both austere and meticulously detailed. Jesse is archetypal charming villain and Bob is the deluded sycophant.

The text reads as if you were experiencing the environment the author paints through a certain type of fog which reminded me of certain Japanese authors, Kazuo Ishiguro in particular.

Western fans, li...more

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Mar 30, 2013 David rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: western-literature, favorites

An absolutely outstanding work of historical fiction; an astute commentary on the American fascination with violence; and an enthralling portrait of not only an American outlaw legend, but his almost-forgotten assasin.
Along with his use of elegant prose, Ron Hansen has drawn from a wealth of historical sources to produce a story that reads with the flourish of a mythical western novel and the detail of a biography. Very few books I have read draw so well from both artistic and historical tradit...more

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Aug 18, 2012 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: revenge, murder, crime, politics, historical, rural, superstitions, western

Full of cruel and senseless violence, this book, rooted in history (Hansen states in the afterward that his rules are "fairly simple: honesty and fidelity throughout") gives an opposing portrayal of the James Gang without being clouded by legend. Surprisingly, Jesse's assassination occurs on page 211 out of 304 pages, giving the rest of the story to Bob, Charley, Jesse's family and all the rest of the large cast of characters. No one is innocent, no one played Robin Hood, and the fitting finales...more

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Sep 07, 2012 Derek rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Mark Kemp

I'm not particularly fond of the term "a writers' writer"--it seems far too dismissive and a little pretentious--but I'm not sure I can find a more fitting description for Ron Hansen, and for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford in particular. I've remarked before that there's no one who manages verbs quite as swiftly and beautifully as Hansen does, a feat he repeats here in Jesse James, but I found myself more smitten with his metaphorical descriptions and always-enviable...more I'm not particularly fond of the term "a writers' writer"--it seems far too dismissive and a little pretentious--but I'm not sure I can find a more fitting description for Ron Hansen, and for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford in particular. I've remarked before that there's no one who manages verbs quite as swiftly and beautifully as Hansen does, a feat he repeats here in Jesse James, but I found myself more smitten with his metaphorical descriptions and always-enviable wealth of period details this time around. I'll limit myself to just one such example, lest I end up quoting the whole damn book: "his eye sockets were as deep and dark as fistholes in the snow."

Which is to say that there's something pleasurable to be found on every page, and nearly every paragraph. Jesse James isn't terribly plot-y, but there's enough going on here to keep any reader interested, unless he or she is particularly impatient. But I think Hansen really wishes for us to luxuriate over the words here: to pick up on and spend time with their poetry, which he supplies in a way that seems effortless. (My heart tells me that hours of effort had to go into these descriptions, however, which is maybe just something I tell myself so that I can sleep at night.) There's precious little to criticize here, though I have to admit that I didn't feel much of an urgency to pick this up once I'd finished a chapter or section. This can almost certainly be attributed to having seen Andrew Dominik's excellent 2007 film, which hews so closely to the novel (including quoting passages of it at length) that there were very few surprises.

Though his descriptions are always what I cite first when I tell people that they have to read Ron Hansen, his characterization is commendable too. Jesse James, a "character" already so thoroughly explored and exploited even when he was alive, is given a depth and a scariness here that I haven't seen in other portrayals. He's unhinged and sick and charming and terrible. But Bob Ford is especially well-conceived, and the complexity of his character (fawning attentiveness and sycophancy, roiling disgust with himself and with Jesse) serves as an excellent model for anyone looking to write literary fiction. Because make no mistake: this might take a topic typically explored in genre fiction, but this is light-years from the cardboard cutout versions of Jesse James supplied in the dime novels that first brought his story to life.(less)

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Aug 17, 2012 Nachshon rated it 3 of 5 stars

It's a good book with many flaws. The most bothersome thing is Hansen's use of phrases usually in historical non-fiction, like "records indicate," and, "by all accounts from that time;" it took me out of the story everytime he did that. I mean, it's otherwise written as a novel, but it's as if he's trying to also make it the definitive book on Jesse James. The feeling of Hansen holding back from adding detail or character description, in order to be taken seriously by historians, comes through o...more

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Oct 07, 2011 Sarah rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book is amazing. I was prejudiced because the film is one of my all-time favorites, and I couldn't help but imagine the breathtaking cinematography and beautiful soundtrack while reading.

I did find it slow at parts, and took me a lot longer to get through than I thought, but it was a slow burn - like the film - and a truly rewarding experience.

I love Ron Hansen's characterizations and narration and just how he uses words. It's an American mythology, a Shakespearean tragedy of the highest c...more

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Nov 03, 2012 Dan rated it 3 of 5 stars

I was looking for a well-researched and documented biography and history. What I got was a dramatized novelization of actual events with unknowable details and intimate conversations recounted "word for word". Granted, I listened to the audiobook, so I couldn't see the references or footnotes (if there were any). In my opinion, Mr. Hansen took too many liberties with his artistic license than should be allowed. But I guess I should have realized it was coming from the Fiction section and not Bio...more

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Sep 17, 2012 Mindy Jones rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I saw the film adaptation of this book several times before reading the book. I love how it tells the story and how it was shot. The photography and music were spot on and the acting was nice too.

After reading the book, it feels like the movie was made to be a sort of companion to the book rather than an adaptation. The two lean on each other and thrive as one piece. They act as a sort of collaborative diptych.

While the book has beautiful meandering descriptions of people and events, the film fo...more

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Nov 15, 2012 Brad rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is a work of non-fiction that reads with the richness of a novel. I discovered it on one of those "Summer Reading Lists" that seem to be ubiquitous in magazines and newspapers after Memorial Day. The author of the list (whose name I can't recall) lavished praise on the writing and the story. The only thing I knew about the book was that a movie had been based on it and that it featured Casey Affleck, Ben's younger brother. I was a bit dubious, but bought it on a hunch. I was reading somethi...more

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Jul 06, 2010 Vince rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: history-military

I was surprised to find he movie stays close to the book in form, plot and character, which is unusual for Hollywood. I read somewhere this was mostly Brad Pitt's doing. I am not a fan of the overuse of narration in film, but it worked for this movie, and I would say, for me, this movie verision ranks behind "Unforgiven" in the past 20 years (but doesn't rank with many classics from earlier decades). After seeing the movie in the fall of 2007, Jessica and I took a short day trip to Liberty (Jess...more

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About Ron Hansen

Hansen was born in Omaha, Nebraska, attended a Jesuit high school, Creighton Preparatory School and earned a Bachelor's degree in English from Creighton University in Omaha in 1970. Following military service, he earned an M.F.A. from the Iowa Writers' Workshop in 1974 and held a Wallace Stegner Creative Writing Fellowship at Stanford University. He later earned an M.A. in Spirituality from Santa...more

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Quotes from The Assassination of J...

“Do you know what it is you're most afraid of?"

"Yes."

"What?"

"I'm afraid of being forgotten," Bob said, and having admitted that, wondered if it was true. He said, "I'm afraid I'll end up living a life like everyone else's and me being Bob Ford won't matter one way or the other.” — 3 people liked it

“They weren't penitent over what they'd attempted; their sorrow reached to the limits of their bodies and no further, all their anguish was in their skin.” — 3 people liked it

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