Short stories: "Communist" ( )

This is a hodge-podge collection of Richard Ford's writing, consisting of mostly short stories, from both early and later collections, a magazine article about his mother and an excerpt from his most famous novel, Independence Day. I'd never read anything by Ford, and this seemed a good way to see if I would like his writing.

The first few short stories, written early in his career, were very much in the Raymond Carver-Hemingway vein; manly men, or boys trying to become men, in difficult circumstances. They were well-written and the settings were vividly drawn. It's the later stuff that shines, though. The later stories holding more subtlety and depth than I had expected, with each character, even those given only a few sentences in passing, fully real and complex.

The best part of this collection was the article that Ford wrote about his mother. It's the story of an understated love between mother and son that was no less strong for the space it gave both of them to live their lives. Ford's language here is understated and perfect.

This was a good introduction to an author I should already have some familiarity with. I'm inclined to read his later stuff first, with Canada, Women with Men and Independence Day at the top of my list. ( )