Holiday Reads 3

Canada by Richard Ford My rating: 4 of 5 stars

So much of 20/21 Century American fiction seems to be about the desolation of life in rural communities in the mid-west.

Steinbeck described the depression, Cormack McCarthy the plight of the modern cowboy and here, Ford takes a look at 1960’s Montana and Saskatchewan – all bleak.

There are some intriguing characters in this book – bordering on John Irving territory – the sleeve notes cover just the first of three parts – 15-year old twins, one of whom describes the bewilderment of what happens when their seemingly ordinary parents decide to rob a bank.

Parts Two and Three take a very different direction and kept me engaged.

Not a light read but the prose is worth the investment.

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