The Sportswriter

Frank Bascombe, Book 1

By: Richard Ford

Narrated by: Richard Poe

Richard Ford won the Pulitzer Prize and the PEN/Faulkner Award for his modern classic Independence Day.

In this first volume of his Frank Bascombe trilogy, Bascombe is a sportswriter attempting to cope with his failed marriage and the death of his son. Unable to establish true connections with people, Bascombe drifts into and out of various relationships, but retains an introspective eye that allows him to transcend life's obstacles.

©1988 Richard Ford (P)2007 Recorded Books

Critic reviews

"Powerful....So pliant and persuasive that we are instantly drawn into his story." ( The New York Times)
"Among the best realist American writers today." ( Publishers Weekly)

Exceptional writing

Read this book when it first came out and I think I prefer that to listening to it. The reader is too gruff most of the way through for my ear, but the last third or so I could listen to over and over, Wonderful writing.

a bit reminiscent of Updike's Rabbit

I enjoyed this book more than I expected, despite the hateful main character, Frank Bascombe. He is an unhappy, unmotivated man. I've seen comparisons to Updike's Rabbit, but I found this character less hateful. But that also meant that I cared less.

The Sportswriter is the tale of a man named Frank Bascombe. He isn't quite miserable, but is certainly unhappy. Frank was working as a novelist, but he quits and becomes a sports writer. He is boring, dull and lifeless. He has also lost everything. His son died, and his wife left him taking the other children with her. Although the book doesn't allude to much introspection on Frank's part, it was still obvious that he was swamped by grief. And, for me, that made him a bit more relatable.

The story is told in a way that makes it feel more intimate and voyeuristic. Frank's internal monologue about all the people he meets up with over one weekend make the book feel like you are a fly on the wall. The book is well-written, but in no way happy or light. Be prepared for a dark, quiet book about a joyless man.

WANDERING THROUGH LIFE

Selecting books from book lists like Random House’s Modern Library is not a full proof method for making good choices. The decision to listen to “The Sportswriter” came from one of those lists.

The initial impression of "The Sportswriter" is that it is a story about wandering through life. But as it progresses, the listener begins to realize that Richard Ford is writing about men and how some view life.

This is not a story that makes one proud to be a man but it offers insight to why the cliché “men are from Mars” has some truth. Ford’s main character is a guy’s guy named Frank Bascombe. He is a traveling sports writer and a divorcée of his own making, a fool that fails to understand what is important in life. After his marriage break up, he is cast adrift to find the next best thing which never turns into anything important.

The irony of a guy’s guy skill to seduce is that it leads to a lonely and empty life. In Ford’s story, “The Sportswriter”, Bascombe drifts through life from relationship to relationship to nowhere. He never comes to grips with what is wrong with his life. He drifts to Retirementville, Florida to think about the next best thing. That is how the story ends. It is a rather depressing exploration of how vacuous life can be.

This is a book that gives a concrete explanation of what some men are looking for in life. When listening to The Sportswriter, you may find someone you know; hopefully not you.

Perfect Narrator; Imperfect Novel

If this book were half as long, my tolerance for Frank’s incessant musings would increase. He describes and describes to the point that the book feels stagnant, and perhaps that is the point. He is stuck. Unfortunately he is so unlikeable and so truly unaware of himself, I didn’t care what happened ti him.

Great Story and Narration

I would highly recommend listening to the entire 'Frank Bascom' series. There are 4 books in total.

Listen to the last 15 minutes

Tedious day by day story. Will try another Richard Ford book to see if there is more to them. Only OK.

Excellent. Spot on narration.

Does a rather average, ho-hum life offer insight and a glimpse of truth? Richard Ford answers that question here.

I'm torn....

I am torn as to whether to continue this series. As a middle aged man trying to figure out how to continue to be happy in a world where everything around him is changing, I searched out books that might include people/characters going through the same thing (you'd be amazed what a search for "mid-life crisis" turns up).

I sympathized with Frank's lack of clarity, direction, etc. I certainly understood his trying to grasp on to clearly dysfunctional things in order to try and find happiness. But, I didn't find him particularly likable or compelling. I found myself wanting him to take bolder steps, to take himself out of bad situations, to take more control of his life.

The book is very well written. I did find the overt racism in the book jarring, a bygone of a worse time in our history. It took me out of the story quite often. The narration is spot on and very compelling.

Still can't decide whether to give the second book a shot......

Depressing story

I wanted to like the main character, however, to me he was not a caring good person. The story never got better.

Great writing but difficult to engage

Good writing but story drags and characters seem distant. Seemed like an introduction to the series.