Skip to Main Content (Press Enter) Toggle side nav

The Lay of the Land

Bascombe Trilogy (3)

Bascombe Trilogy (3)

By Richard Ford

By Richard Ford

By Richard Ford

By Richard Ford

By Richard Ford
Read by Joe Barrett

By Richard Ford
Read by Joe Barrett

Best Seller

Part of Bascombe Trilogy

Part of Bascombe Trilogy

Part of Bascombe Trilogy

Paperback $16.95

Jul 24, 2007 | ISBN 9780679776673

Ebook $11.99

Oct 24, 2006 | ISBN 9780307267122

Audiobook Download $30.00

Oct 24, 2006 | 1492 Minutes

All Formats
+
    The Lay of the Land by Richard Ford
    Paperback $16.95
    Jul 24, 2007 | ISBN 9780679776673

    Buy from Other Retailers:

    See All Formats (2) +

    Paperback
    –

    • Paperback $16.95

      Jul 24, 2007 | ISBN 9780679776673

      Buy from Other Retailers:

    Ebook
    +

    • Ebook

      Oct 24, 2006 | ISBN 9780307267122

      Buy from Other Retailers:

    Audio
    +

    Buy the Audiobook Download:

    About The Lay of the Land

    NATIONAL BESTSELLER
    National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist
    A New York Times Best Book of the Year

    A sportswriter and a real estate agent, husband and father –Frank Bascombe has been many things to many people. His uncertain youth behind him, we follow him through three days during the autumn of 2000, when his trade as a realtor on the Jersey Shore is thriving. But as a presidential election hangs in the balance, and a postnuclear-family Thanksgiving looms before him, Frank discovers that what he terms “the Permanent Period” is fraught with unforeseen perils. An astonishing meditation on America today and filled with brilliant insights, The Lay of the Land is a magnificent achievement from one of the most celebrated chroniclers of our time.

    Also available in the Bascombe Trilogy:  The Sportswriter, and  Independence Day

    About The Lay of the Land

    NATIONAL BESTSELLER
    National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist
    A New York Times Best Book of the Year

    A sportswriter and a real estate agent, husband and father –Frank Bascombe has been many things to many people. His uncertain youth behind him, we follow him through three days during the autumn of 2000, when his trade as a realtor on the Jersey Shore is thriving. But as a presidential election hangs in the balance, and a postnuclear-family Thanksgiving looms before him, Frank discovers that what he terms “the Permanent Period” is fraught with unforeseen perils. An astonishing meditation on America today and filled with brilliant insights, The Lay of the Land is a magnificent achievement from one of the most celebrated chroniclers of our time.

    Also available in the Bascombe Trilogy:  The Sportswriter, and  Independence Day

    About The Lay of the Land

    BONUS FEATURE: Exclusive interview with the author.

    With The Sportswriter, in 1985, Richard Ford began a cycle of novels that ten years later – after Independence Day won both the Pulitzer Prize and the PEN/Faulkner Award – was hailed by The Times of London as “an extraordinary epic [that] is nothing less than the story of the twentieth century itself.”

    Frank Bascombe’s story resumes, in the fall of 2000, with the presidential election still hanging in the balance and Thanksgiving looming before him with all the perils of a post-nuclear family get-together. He’s now plying his trade as a realtor on the Jersey shore and contending with health, marital and familial issues that have his full attention: “all the ways that life seems like life at age fifty-five strewn around me like poppies.”

    Richard Ford’s first novel in over a decade: the funniest, most engaging (and explosive) book he’s written, and a major literary event.

    Read An Excerpt

    Reading Guide

    Read An Excerpt

    Reading Guide

    Read An Excerpt

    Reading Guide

    Also by Richard Ford

    The Bascombe Novels
    Vintage Ford
    A Multitude of Sins
    Women with Men
    The Ultimate Good Luck
    See all books by Richard Ford

    Also by Richard Ford

    The Bascombe Novels
    Vintage Ford
    A Multitude of Sins
    Women with Men
    The Ultimate Good Luck
    See all books by Richard Ford

    Also by Richard Ford

    The Bascombe Novels
    Vintage Ford
    A Multitude of Sins
    Women with Men
    The Ultimate Good Luck
    See all books by Richard Ford

    About Richard Ford

    Richard Ford is the author of six novels and three collections of stories. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize and the PEN/Faulkner Award for Independence Day and the PEN/Malamud Award for excellence in short fiction. He lives in New York and Maine…. More about Richard Ford

    About Richard Ford

    Richard Ford is the author of six novels and three collections of stories. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize and the PEN/Faulkner Award for Independence Day and the PEN/Malamud Award for excellence in short fiction. He lives in New York and Maine…. More about Richard Ford

    About Richard Ford

    Richard Ford is the author of six novels and three collections of stories. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize and the PEN/Faulkner Award for Independence Day and the PEN/Malamud Award for excellence in short fiction. He lives in New York and Maine…. More about Richard Ford

    Product Details

    Category: Literary Fiction | Historical Fiction

    Paperback | $16.95
    Published by Vintage
    Jul 24, 2007 | 496 Pages | 5-3/16 x 8 | ISBN 9780679776673

    Category: Literary Fiction | Historical Fiction

    Ebook | $11.99
    Published by Vintage
    Oct 24, 2006 | 496 Pages | ISBN 9780307267122

    Category: Literary Fiction | Historical Fiction | Audiobooks

    Audiobook Download | $30.00
    Published by Random House Audio
    Oct 24, 2006 | 1492 Minutes | ISBN 9780739339770

    Inspired by Your Browsing History

    Buy other books like The Lay of the Land

    ‹ ›
    The Dive From Clausen's Pier
    The Dive From Clausen’s Pier
    Ann Packer
    A Patchwork Planet
    A Patchwork Planet
    Anne Tyler
    The Feast of Love
    The Feast of Love
    Charles Baxter
    A Spot of Bother
    A Spot of Bother
    Mark Haddon
    May We Be Forgiven
    May We Be Forgiven
    A. M. Homes
    The Fourth Hand
    The Fourth Hand
    John Irving
    Who Will Run the Frog Hospital?
    Who Will Run the Frog Hospital?
    Lorrie Moore
    Joy School
    Joy School
    Elizabeth Berg
    The Tragedy of Arthur
    The Tragedy of Arthur
    Arthur Phillips
    The Inn at Lake Devine
    The Inn at Lake Devine
    Elinor Lipman
    Ladder of Years
    Ladder of Years
    Anne Tyler
    Infinite Home
    Infinite Home
    Kathleen Alcott
    Anywhere but Here
    Anywhere but Here
    Mona Simpson
    Ordinary Love and Good Will
    Ordinary Love and Good Will
    Jane Smiley
    Black Swan Green
    Black Swan Green
    David Mitchell
    Nobody's Fool
    Nobody’s Fool
    Richard Russo
    If Morning Ever Comes
    If Morning Ever Comes
    Anne Tyler
    The Inner Circle
    The Inner Circle
    T.C. Boyle
    Disturbing the Peace
    Disturbing the Peace
    Richard Yates
    Saint Maybe
    Saint Maybe
    Anne Tyler
    Last Night at the Lobster
    Last Night at the Lobster
    Stewart O’Nan
    The Whore's Child
    The Whore’s Child
    Richard Russo
    Thunderstruck & Other Stories
    Thunderstruck & Other Stories
    Elizabeth McCracken
    Drop City
    Drop City
    T.C. Boyle
    Mohawk
    Mohawk
    Richard Russo
    Until I Find You
    Until I Find You
    John Irving
    Lake Wobegon Days
    Lake Wobegon Days
    Garrison Keillor
    The Accidental Tourist
    The Accidental Tourist
    Anne Tyler
    The Tin Can Tree
    The Tin Can Tree
    Anne Tyler
    The Age of Grief
    The Age of Grief
    Jane Smiley
    Battleborn
    Battleborn
    Claire Vaye Watkins
    Cavedweller
    Cavedweller
    Dorothy Allison

    Praise

    “Ford once again shows why he deserves to be hailed as one of the great American fiction novelists of his generation.” —The Washington Post Book World“By now, we have gotten to know Frank Bascombe well enough to take his measure, and to appreciate that, like almost no one else in our recent literature, he is life-size.” —The New York Times Book Review"The Lay of the Land . . . is distinct not only for its singular style but also because of its generosity. Ford shows that life is never easy and never placid. . . . Yet we keep moving forward for that occasional moment of pure understanding." —Chicago Sun-Times

    Looking for More Great Reads?
    21 Books You’ve Been Meaning to Read
    Get the latest updates from Richard Ford
    And go from well-read to best read with book recs, deals and more in your inbox every week.
    And go from well-read to best read with book recs, deals and more in your inbox every week.
    By clicking SIGN UP, I acknowledge that I have read and agree to Penguin Random House’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
    Dismiss
    Thanks!
    Something awesome is on its way.
    Back to Top

    Visit other sites in the Penguin Random House Network

    Raise kids who love to read

    Brightly

    Raise kids who love to read
    Today's Top Books

    Today's Top Books

    Want to know what people are actually reading right now?
    An online magazine for today’s home cook

    TASTE

    An online magazine for today’s home cook