Rating: 
Summary: The Art of Being O.K.
Review: In Independence Day, Richard Ford chronicles with consummateskill a few days in the life of a New Jersey sportswriterturned real estate agent, Frank Bascombe. With keen observations, outstanding descriptive power and dialogue more real than "The Real World," Ford pulls the strings of this great book masterfully. Frank is in the midst of what he calls "The Existence Period," a time when he has come to terms with his life to date and moved on to the more uncharted waters of vaguely contented middle-agedom. He has arrived at a crossroads where he has plenty of past but still a lot of future left ahead. The novel's narrative flows like life itself - forward, back, sideways - in a way that is so natural and consuming that you would swear the character is you and his thoughts are yours. There is not a book that I have read that does better justice to the realities of being human and adult in today's world. At its heart, Independence Day is the recording of two worlds- the one we sense through our bodies and the one that exists in our heads - and how these two interact in a way that is sometimes painful, sometimes beautiful, and most times just O.K. To read it is to see yourself, and in many ways, all of us. A must.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful mid life slice of America
Review: I read this book right after Rabbit at Rest and thought Ford did a better job inside the head of Frank Bascombe than Updike did. Frank is a middle aged Divorcee coming out of his "existence" period of keeping his head down and not making waves until independence day weekend pits him against his real estate clients, his kids, his ex-wife, his girlfriend, truckers and everyone else under the sun. Frank is a gem, wise, funny and just trying to get by until all of the above convince his that there may be more to living than just staying alive. A wonderful book and for a 30 something guy to look into a 40 something guys head.
Rating: 
Summary: Zzzzzz...
Review: I tried with this one too, I really did, but I couldn't get through the first one hundred pages of this book for the life of me. After two different tries I must say that this is the most boring novel I have ever read, and that's a difficult thing for me to say. I have always been able to hold my own with literature, past and present. I waded through "War and Peace" with relative ease. I LOVED the heavily-interior "The Scarlet Letter" and other older, canonical works, but this one didn't have anything interesting whatsoever in it. Only invest your time in something you could get insight, entertainment and pleasure from, not this 450-page snoozefest.
Rating: 
Summary: Who cares?
Review: Not only did I not care about any of the characters or what happend to them, but I can't even imagine how anyone else could, especially nominators of the Pulizter Prize. I don't get it. I didn't care about Frank's little narrow life with his pretentious tone. He was insincere with everyone he related to. He fit the realtor stereotype quite well (nothing against realtors). His son was a typical weird 15 year old with no depth to him. His daughter was contrived and Frank didn't seem to really care much about her--though he tried to make it seem he did (same with his son, for that matter). Cliche plot with predictable, shallow characters. Blech.
Rating:
Summary: a huge bundle of literary cliches
Review: I really wanted to like this book, but I had to force myself through it, probably just because I paid for it. It is dreadful. It is massively overrated: the book is a bundle of literary cliches. Are we this desperate for good literature that we have to make believe this is acceptable? The dialogue is horrendous, no one, and I mean no one, speaks like these characters. Worst of all is that this book is like a first draft, there are so many stupid errors it is insulting. Very, very sloppy. And the plot, and nearly every line, is utterly predictable; I was left with the sense that I've seen all of this someplace before, and done much better the first time. You would be best not to waste time reading it.
Rating:
Summary: Booooorrrrrring!
Review: I got on the Pulitzer prize winning book kick after reading the unbelievably wonderful "The Confederacy of Dunces." "Independence Day" has just ended that kick. I managed to get all the way through it - but found "blah blah blah" resounding in my head through much of the narrative. Imagine your most boring relative telling you the same story over and over and over like their opinion on everything is so deep that you should be in awe. Now imagine you paid them to tell it to you...egads...there you have my opinion of this book. Great for insomnia.
Rating: 
Summary: Boredom, thy name is Independence Day
Review: "Internal dialogue" seem to be the buzz words for the positive reviews I have read about this book. However, I fail to see this as a positive endorsement. The internal dialogue in this novel never takes the reader beyond the average and mundane. Maybe that's the point. Maybe this is supposed to be a portrait of an average middle-aged American man going through all too common problems: death, divorce, raising troubled teens, disappointment, boredom, etc. If that is the case, then Ford achieves his goal. The problem is, most of us have enough mundane thoughts running through our heads. Reading someone else's mundane thoughts just leaves you feeling...well, mundane. Yes, Richard Ford has an obvious talent for writing well. His prose is good. Never once in the course of reading his novel did I question his skills as a writer (and that is definitely not something I can say with every book I read). But, writing well isn't always what makes a great novel. Great novels, in my opinion, capture you and take you somewhere new and interesting, not somewhere mundane and average. If you are the type of person who enjoys reading "slice of life" portraits of the obvious and average, then this is your book. If, however, you thrive on characterization and plot, then this book is definitely not worth your time. (I cannot in all good conscience give this book less than three stars because Richard Ford is obviously a good writer. However, if I were to base my rating on the pleasure of the read alone, I would give it only two stars.)
Rating: 
Summary: 2nd installment of the life and times of Frank Bascombe.
Review: I liked this book, which is written in the first person, despite not liking the main character. This book is a sequel to `The Sportswriter' which was a breakthrough for Richard Ford. I haven't read the first book yet, but this one takes up with Frank planning a 4th July trip with his son, who lives with his ex-wife and her new husband in another state.
The book works through a series of thoughts, reminiscences and rather mundane activities which Frank goes through before and during the weekend. Through his preparations we get a view of Franks life being an " Existence Perid", neither particularly happy nor sad, without a clear purpose. His relationship with his colleagues and clients - he is now a realtor - is, in my view, the best part of the book. The dialogue with his ex-wife and new girlfriend is extremely good, and the general craft of the book - to sustain a descriptive novel, which details ordinary events, in a monologue - is excellent. The story takes many different turns, some related, some incidental but somehow never lags. Strangely, as Frank's major purpose is to spend some time with his son, I felt the son's character and the dialogue between Father and Son, were brittle, hollow, superficial. Perhaps this was intentional, but I got no great feeling of any credible relationship between the characters.
Overall an excellent read.
Rating:
Summary: An infuriating writing style
Review: I once had a plan to read every novel that has received the Pulitzer. After reading a few, I now realize what kind of book the Board loves: stories about American men past their prime and dealing with it. Rabbit is Rich and Rabbit at Rest. American Pastoral. And now Independence Day. I can't take it anymore. Plus, my goodness, the detail. Ford spends 50 pages on showing a house to a indecisive couple. Some masochists, ahem, readers, enjoy this writing style (e.g., Virginia Woolf), but I like stories that actually GO SOMEWHERE. So if you hated "Mrs. Dalloway", you'll hate Independence Day the way I did.
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