Zoran B. reviewed Canada by Richard Ford
Review of 'Canada' on 'Goodreads'
1 star
Disclaimer: this review is based on first 140 pages of the book (I couldn't endure more than that).
Have you ever listened to a senile old uncle trying to tell a story? He would hint at the most interesting part, then got so lost in the tale that he forgot what the story was supposed to be about. His tale would constantly spin in circles, repeating the same details about the same people over and over again, until you can't hold it any longer and you use a bathroom break as an excuse to run away.
Well, 'Canada' reads exactly like that, minus the bathroom break. In the first paragraph we learn that the narrator's parents are going to rob a bank. Fine. Then, throught the following 100 pages we are occasionally reminded that, yes, they are really going to rob the bank. In the meantime the story goes meandering …
Disclaimer: this review is based on first 140 pages of the book (I couldn't endure more than that).
Have you ever listened to a senile old uncle trying to tell a story? He would hint at the most interesting part, then got so lost in the tale that he forgot what the story was supposed to be about. His tale would constantly spin in circles, repeating the same details about the same people over and over again, until you can't hold it any longer and you use a bathroom break as an excuse to run away.
Well, 'Canada' reads exactly like that, minus the bathroom break. In the first paragraph we learn that the narrator's parents are going to rob a bank. Fine. Then, throught the following 100 pages we are occasionally reminded that, yes, they are really going to rob the bank. In the meantime the story goes meandering about mundane and boring lives in small-town America in the late 1950s. It's almost as if author was making a conscious effort to make it as uninteresting as possible.
Finally, when the robbery happened, it was so anticlimatic that I think I fell asleep half the way through, before the money was handed over. So, I think I gave this novel more time than it deserves.
I would, however, recommend it strongly to the creative writing classes — it's a perfect example how NOT to write a book.