CANADA by Richard Ford (fic)

Richard Ford is one of my favorite American authors and "Canada" is my favorite of his books.  Ford has written through the eyes of a young teen male before.  This time we follow Dell Parsons, 15 years old, who tells the story of how an ill-thought out robbery by his immature parents, changed his life forever.  Dell, the narrator, is now 60 years old, a teacher of writing, who returns to American to visit his twin sister who is dying of cancer.
The novel is placed in 1960 and rings authentic in its descriptions. I recognize this middle century America; it is as true as I remember it.  Just so, is the bewilderment of young Dell as his parents actions lead to consequences beyond his control, that he is incapable of understanding.  It is all so real, even Dell's passivity and inertia to control the events that are determining his life and what he is to become.
Dell and his twin sister, Berner, grow up on a series of American air bases, until they find themselves in Great Falls, Montana, where their father, Bev Parsons, decides to settle down and leave the service.  Dell at last begins to lead a more normal school existence, and it is touching to see his blossoming interest in chess and beekeeping.  Meanwhile, Bev's choices in life are naive and grandiose, and he eventually destroys his family with his crazy schemes.
The book begins with the robbery, and after his parents are arrested Dell is spirited off to Saskatchewan by a friend of his mother.  Here the reader begins to feel real anxiety as Dell is thrown in with some shady characters, especially an ex-pat radical, Arthur Remlinger, the brother of the woman who brought Dell to Canada. There is also a particularly peculiar and creepy character named Charley, who the reader will want to rescue Dell from.  Yet, through all his subsequent adventures, there is something about Dell that is grounded and the knowledge that he is writing this, having reached adulthood safely, is somewhat comforting. Meanwhile his sister, Berner has chosen to run off to California and chooses a vastly different path in life than Dell.
Ford's writes perfect sentences, clean yet at the same time so full of description, that you don't have to have ever been in Montana to know just how desolate the open scrub landscape can be.  When Dell flees to Canada, the reader does as well. All of Ford's characters are well-drawn and complete.
I highly recommend "Canada" to all readers.  It is also a good choice for book club readers.  It would be on my list of best books of 2012.