cover image Wildlife

Wildlife

Richard Ford. Vintage Books USA, $12 (192pp) ISBN 978-0-679-73447-5

Joe, now an adult, recalls confronting his parents' shortcomings at age 16 when his unemployed father took up firefighting and his mother began an affair. According to PW , Ford has a ``remarkable ability to capture distinctive voices'' and ``his short, bittersweet fourth novel . . . again proves him to be a gifted chronicler of the down-and-out.'' (June)