Independence Day

Frank Bascombe, in the aftermath of his divorce and the ruin of his career, has entered an 'Existence Period' - selling real estate in New Jersey and mastering the high-wire act of normalcy. But, over one Fourth of July weekend, Frank is called into sudden, bewildering engagement with life. "Independence Day" is a moving, peerlessly funny odyssey through America and through the layered consciousness of one of its most compelling literary incarnations, conducted by a novelist of extraordinary empathy and perception.

Review: 'It is nothing less than the story of the twentieth century itself ... an extraordinary epic' The Times 'The best novel out of America in many years, a funny, achingly sad account of a father's disastrous outing with his son - and much else besides ... Simply, a masterpiece' John Banville, Guardian 'Ford's mature prose style, with its long, sinuous, lavishly articulate sentences, is now one of the glories of modern American writing' Jonathan Raban, Observer 'My novel of the year is Independence Day, the unexpectedly symphonic sequel to The Sportswriter, which is coming to be seen as the landmark American novel of the decade' Gordon Burn, Independent