Be Mine

Be Mine is the last novel in Richard Ford's Frank Bascombe series. The Pulitzer Prize winning author has followed Bascombe across four books and almost four decades, using him as a way into American life as people actually live it. Bascombe is unconstrained, sharp and provocative, and often very funny.

Now in the last stretch of his life, Frank has been a sportswriter, father, husband, ex-husband, friend and real estate agent. His newest role is the hardest: caregiver to his son Paul, who has been diagnosed with ALS. The two set out on a winter journey to Mount Rushmore, and along the way Frank, in his usual style, looks squarely at the mortality that awaits everyone and asks what happiness can mean when life is nearly over.

The novel mixes humor, sorrow and tenderness, and treats a troubled America with affection.