'Canada' by Richard Ford Book Review

The vast, empty prairie lands of Montana and Canada come alive in Richard Ford's latest work, Canada.

The novel, which was first released in hardcover back in May 2012, and has now been released in paperback, follows the life of young Dell Parsons, a 15-year-old boy living in Great Falls, Mont. in 1960, whose life is uprooted after his parents commit a robbery.

Ford does a masterful job at giving a voice to Dell that is curious yet full of understanding. Canada is told from the perspective of an older Dell, who's about to retire from teaching, as he looks back to his life with his parents and twin sister before embarking on a completely remote existence in Saskatchewan, Canada.

The novel opens up with a key paragraph from Dell, which sets the stage for the entire book.

"First, I'll tell about the robbery our parents committed. Then about the murders, which happened later. The robbery is the more important part, since it served to set my and my sister's lives on the courses they eventually followed. Nothing would make complete sense without that being told first."

Throughout the first part of Canada, Ford manages to let the reader into Dell's life as almost a dreamlike participant. Older Dell is relaying his memories and the reader is there along for the ride. Each scene, Dell's day-to-day life with his family, moves fluidly from one to the next. Passage of time is not something the reader becomes aware of until the fateful day Dell's parents-Bev Parsons and Neeva Kamper-are arrested for a North Dakota robbery.

What happens to Dell, a chess-playing, bee-loving, academia-inspired teen, is both saddening and inspiring. After being taken to Canada by his mother's friend Mildred, Dell must learn to adjust to his new life alongside the radical union-hating anti-authoritarian, Arthur Remlinger. Ford pulls the reader further along in Dell's story by clearly stating future events while still managing to foreshadow Dells future. 

Dell again reaches a crucial turning point in his life when Arthur's past comes back to haunt him in the small town of Fort Royal, Canada. Over a third of the way into the story, Dell declares, "The next day, Friday, the fourteenth of October, will never seem like anything but the most extraordinary day of my life-for the reason of how it ended."

Ford has pushed Dell's boundaries and has build up his maturity that young Dell never thought possible.

Canada will appeal to those readers who find themselves wanting something fresh and inviting but with writing that rivals Hemmingway and Steinbeck.

Richard Ford's Canada is now available on paperback, as well as hardcover.