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First of all, this book has no link with the blogbuster science fiction film Independence day. It was written by acclaimed Richard Ford, one of the main writers of American dirty realism.
French editor l’Olivier has said about Ford that he was “cult”. A term rarely used in a literary context since a novelist needs minimum readers to achieve different works during a period of time. We would rather talk about a "cult" jazz musician or a an alternatative rock band discovered by a new audience thanks to the internet.
However, Independence day is a great novel, depicting various aspects of American society and rising questions about the individual, the notion of time and the aptitude of making choices in a fast-moving world.
What strikes us first at the reading is Richard Ford’style and his keen observing of urban reality in 80’s America, with a gracious style that combines the precision of John Steinback and the irony of J.D Salinger in vivid descriptions and realistic dialogues that run through the six hundred pages of the book without real intrigue, but focusing on the missions of Tom Bascomb, a recurrent character in Ford’s novels.
This time, Bascomb is a real estate agent, divorced and father of two children, a boy and a girl.
His first mission is to sell a house to Marchams, a recalcitrant retired couple, who think all the arguments of Tom aim to fool them.
Second mission is to keep in touch with a girlfriend who find it hard to stay in one place.
Last but not least, Bascombe must spend the week-end with his son, in a car ride across some great American highways, in order to transmit “something” to his kid. Before that, he has to talk again with his ex-wife, and meet her successful but annoying husband.
Built on the ground of everyday life, Independence Day managed to address many questions from young Americans problems to racial matters, sometimes in a humoristic tone, sometimes dramatically, with a flowing style depicting events in an almost cinematographic way. The scene on the phone call from a rest area, for example, is particularly funny.
What can be added except saying that Independence Day is a humble but lucid testimony about America of the last decades, and a reflection on the notions of freedom, willingness and the constraints of space and time. This winner of Pulitzer prize and Faulkner award is worth reading for sure.
Lyes Ferhani