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The Lay of the Land

The Bascombe Trilogy

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The Lay of the Land

By: Richard Ford
Narrated by: William Hope
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It is fall, 2000, and Frank Bascombe has arrived at a state of optimistic pragmatism that he calls the Permanent Period of life. Epic mistakes have already been made, dreams downsized, and Frank reflects that now at least there are fewer opportunities left in life to get things wrong. But the tranquillity he anticipated is not to be. In fact, as Thanksgiving dinner with his children and first wife nears, the Permanent Period proves as full of possibility as life had ever been.

In his third Frank Bascombe novel, Richard Ford contemplates the human character with wry precision. Graceful, expansive, filled with pathos but irresistibly funny, The Lay of the Land is a modern American masterpiece.

©2006 Richard Ford (P)2018 Audible, Ltd
Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction
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Captures Frank’s voice exceptionally well. A very good listen and enhancement to the written word.

Does the book justice

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I have listened to this story more than once. I keep coming back to Richard Ford because nobody comes close to capturing what it's like to be a man of a certain. age in America. All of the Basco.e novels leave the reader/listener captivated.

Another Classic

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