The Sportswriter (Frank Bascombe, #1) in Around the World in 80 Books

Sep 13, 2021 Steve rated it liked it

Shelves: fiction

375 pages of 5 star writing for a one star character. It can be done, and Updike pulled it off with that stinker, Rabbit Angstrom. But in that novel at least the reader had some insulation. No first person meandering musings. Ford gives you that in Frank Bascombe, a one-hit fiction writer who has retreated to a life of sportswriting. He is, as the novel opens (supposedly) nursing the loss of his son. He is two years divorced, though his ex ("X" ho-ho) lives nearby with his other two children. Th 375 pages of 5 star writing for a one star character. It can be done, and Updike pulled it off with that stinker, Rabbit Angstrom. But in that novel at least the reader had some insulation. No first person meandering musings. Ford gives you that in Frank Bascombe, a one-hit fiction writer who has retreated to a life of sportswriting. He is, as the novel opens (supposedly) nursing the loss of his son. He is two years divorced, though his ex ("X" ho-ho) lives nearby with his other two children. They seem to have an amicable relationship, though one wonders why she puts up with him. Frank is always on the make, whether is was before his son died, or after, though he blames his current condition of "dreaminess" upon that loss. (You can call bullshit on him pretty much anywhere in the book.)

Frank's current love is a young nurse (herself a divorcee), who sounds more and more, as the novel proceeds, like Susan Sugarbaker (Delta Burke) from "Designing Women." That's a coincidence, but I wasn't surprised to see both the book and show, in an unfair and inexact comparison, coming out in 1986. It wasn't hard to imagine Delta decking Frank. The more damning comparison is with Updike's creation. I see nothing wrong with a new Rabbit for new times. It's a great idea. And the phony quaintness suburbia (which Frank cynically worships) is always prime fodder. Ford certainly has the writing chops to pull it off. More troubling is Ford's attempt to attach some sort of religious overlay, with events occurring during Easter week. Why? It worked with Updike's Rabbit, because Rabbit had some sort of residual awe rooted in his old-time Lutheranism. Franks doesn't believe in anything, and if cheap crucifixion of an asshole is what Ford had in mind, it's a book-long misfire. You'll have to decide whether this is homage or aping the previous effort by Updike. I found it too close for comfort, and mishandled at that. More effective, late in novel, is Frank's improbably hearing (it is April in New Jersey) of a pool splash from a suburban swimmer. I'm sure this was a meant to be a nod to Cheever's great short story "The Swimmer." There are some great and greatly funny moments in "The Sportswriter." One of the greatest moments occurs early in the novel, where Frank tries to interview a partially paralyzed football star. At one point the star looks at tells him he's "Full of shit." More than once. This episode could probably stand alone as an excellent short story. The other stretches that could also work as short stories.

*I am currently reading Ford's Frank follow-up, Independence Day. I have slightly revised my earlier take and rating on The Sportswriter. The version of Frank in Independence Day is the same guy, but older and more reflective. I'm finding that he is a natural outgrowth of the earlier asshole (and he still may be an asshole), but from a story-telling perspective, I find the transition impressive. In the other words The Sportswriter is a necessary foundation for Independence Day.

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Jul 18, 2010 Tony rated it did not like it

Shelves: read-for-bookclub, novels

This is one of those books I've seen sitting on other people's bookshelves for years, and have picked up to look at countless times, only to put it back down and instantly forget the jacket's plot description. So, when my book club picked it to read, it felt somehow both familiar and disappointing at the same time. As I started it, I was momentarily drawn in by the fact that the narrator and I were the same age, and I was reading it over a long Easter weekend, paralleling the timeline of the boo ...more

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Jan 03, 2008 Judy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I wasn't entirely sure if I liked this novel while reading it, but it has really stuck in my mind and grown on me in retrospect. I'd definitely read more by this author. ...more

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