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Thalia Book Club: Richard Ford's 'The Sportswriter', 'Independence Day', and 'The Lay of the Land'
- Narrated by: Isaiah Sheffer, David Strathairn
- Length: 1 hr and 35 mins
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Thalia Book Club: Richard Ford's 'The Sportswriter', 'Independence Day', and 'The Lay of the Land'
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Editorial reviews
Richard Ford, author of the critically acclaimed trilogy composed of The Sportswriter, the Pulitzer Prize- and Pen Faulkner-winning Independence Day, and The Lay of the Land, stars in this episode of Symphony Space’s Thalia Book Club series, with the venue’s esteemed artistic director, Isaiah Sheffer, interviewing and overseeing proceedings.
Following the reading of an excerpt of Ford’s work by acclaimed actor David Straithairn, Sheffer and Ford engage in a humorous, conversational, and thoroughly thoughtful dialogue about the nature of writing and novels. Ford is a sharp and satisfying guest, offering keen literary insights, and engaging good-naturedly with audience questions and comments.
Publisher's summary
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Richard Ford talks candidly about his celebrated trilogy of novels and his approach to writing the character of Frank Bascombe over 20-plus years, overthrowing some of his readers' assumptions in the course of the conversation.
Symphony Space Artistic Director Isaiah Sheffer interviews Mr. Ford, whose "pitch-perfect voice takes us as close as we can get to experiencing another person's inner life" (Newsweek). Actor David Strathairn performs the opening chapter of The Lay of the Land at the beginning of the program.
This special event was recorded live as part of the Thalia Book Club series at Peter Norton Symphony Space in New York City.
And don't miss any of the Thalia Book Club author events.
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What listeners say about Thalia Book Club: Richard Ford's 'The Sportswriter', 'Independence Day', and 'The Lay of the Land'
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Louis
- 06-07-12
Missings
What did you like best about Thalia Book Club? What did you like least?
I need more time to read through this one.
How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?
Add about 10 characters, enough with the I, I, I's
How could the performance have been better?
You know after much thought I decided this could have been better if read off the pages where there is no voice to distract me. Some books are like that I guess, sorry the story needs concentration off the stage.
Did Thalia Book Club inspire you to do anything?
Made me realize that we all read in silence, of a closet if necessary, we want to be alone, that, incidently is why I read, me and my book, the travel alone is exciting. Theater is different, I would go to hear Richard Burton's voice in Macbeth, hearing characters on a stage in London is really thrilling.
Any additional comments?
Thanks for the thoughts of why I read, never did before, it's because I love to travel alone, you can take on as another character. Between chapters you also can dream, some, oh to dream!
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