SOURCE: Rubin, Merle. “Bland Saga of a Family in Search of a Foothold.” Christian Science Monitor 82, no. 167 (25 July 1990): 12.

In the following review, Rubin comments that the strength of Ford's Wildlife lies in the effectiveness of its narrative point of view of a sixteen-year-old boy observing the disintegration of his parents' marriage.

Richard Ford is the author of four previous books: three novels (A Piece of My Heart, The Ultimate Good Luck, The Sportswriter) and one story collection (Rock Springs). He is also the recipient of five awards: one Guggenheim Fellowship, two grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, one Pacific Northwest Bookseller Association Book Award, and an award in literature from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters.

Although it is hardly Ford's fault that the prizes he has received thus far outnumber the books he has produced in his first 46 years, it would seem...