Alluring tale by a master
It’s a tease, of course. When, after almost a hundred pages, this opening gambit plays out, it feels strangely muted, with little of the fireworks that such curt, declarative statements seemed to promise. By then, though, far from disappointing, such an unfurling feels inevitable. Ford builds his story from its foundations so that nothing is forced, and we are led to a complete and complex understanding of the events, their causes and effects.
