Jeffrey Ford (was two Ford threads and extracted thread from MWS thread)

DrBloodmoney1 · March 4th, 2003, 04:27 PM

I was just curious if anyone has read anything by Jeffrey Ford. A month or so ago I read a story by him called Creation on a website (I don't recall which) and for some reason I can't stop thinking about it. Here I just googled the story so feel free to read it.

Creation by Jeffrey Ford

At any rate I just bought the book The Fantasy Writer's Assistant from Amazon, which includes this story plus some others of his work. While I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of the book I thought I would query the MB here for some opinions. I know that he has a trilogy of works out and also another new novel that was included on SfSites' best of 2002 list (the portrait of somebody).

So what do you think?

DrB

jfclark · March 4th, 2003, 04:44 PM

Last week I read Ford's The Physiognomy, the first novel in a trilogy and the first book by Ford I'd read.

The Physiognomy is, for its size, a brilliantly written metaphorical fantasy which functions both as a good story set in an intriguing secondary world and as a Novel of Ideas. The Ideas at the heart of the book revolve mainly around Science and Man's Role with Respect to Science.

I've picked up the sequels, Memoranda and The Beyond, on the strength of other reviews indicating that they live up to the intellectual and literary potential of The Physiognomy. If you like engaging intellectual fantasies that aren't 1000 pages long, you should give it a go.

And then let us know what you think!

**Rob B** · March 4th, 2003, 05:29 PM

Hey Doc, Ford is probably one of the brightest new talents in Specualtive Fiction. Well he's been at it a while, but I think the ball got rolling big time with the publication of The Physiognomy its subsequent winning of The World Fantasy Award in 1997.

I've got tons to say on him and we've discussed him here:
The Physiognomy

I'm just starting to appreciate short fiction, so I don't yet have much to say about The Fantasy Writer's Assistant.

Llama · March 4th, 2003, 05:59 PM

"Creation" is an excellent story, but it's only one of the standouts from FANTASY WRITER'S ASSISTANT, which was one of my favorite books from last year. (Other great stories from the collection include "At Reparata", "Bright Morning" and the title story.) Jeff's novel PORTRAIT OF MRS CHARBUQUE is a very effective, spooky thriller with fantastic overtones set in 19th century New York. Definitely check it out.

Jeff will also be writing a regular column for our webzine singularity once it debuts in full form later this month.

Bear · March 31st, 2003, 03:11 PM

Fitz Flagg mentioned Jeffrey Ford in another thread, and it made me remember. Has any here read the Portrait of Mrs. Charbuque? It's the only book from Ford that I've read, but I loved it. It was well-written, had great plot twists, and the actual plot concept (a portrait painter is hired to paint the portrait of a woman, but he is never allowed to see her; he has to discern her appearance by listening to stories of her life) was genius. Are his other novels as good? Are there any particular titles from him that I should check out? I tried to hunt down some of his others after reading Mrs. Charbuque, but I didn't have any luck. But if he's got other good ones, i'd be happy to order them.

Any input is appreciated . . .

**Rob B** · March 31st, 2003, 04:13 PM

Bear his recognition in the forums is growing. Outside the forums he is a pretty respected name having garnered a World Fantasy Award and numerous award nominations for his short stories.

Anyway, Charbuque is an amazing, surreall gothic novel. Reads as horror, mystery and dark fantasy.

The other books telling the tale of Physiognomist Cley (The Physiognomy, Memoranda, and The Beyond) are spectacular visions of a twisted reality a dark science and everything that makes fantasy great.

Here are a couple other topics about Jeffrey Ford:

Jeffrey Ford
The Physiognomy

Shehzad · June 5th, 2003, 08:49 PM

Split from the Matt Stover thread.... Sammie

Posted by Bear:
To make sure I stay off topic--have you ever read the "Portrait of Mrs. Charbuque" from Jeffrey Ford? I've been reccomending it to a lot of people. It isn't at all action-packed and doesn't read like most fantasy (it reads like an early 1900's classic, actually), but the concept of the book is so awesome that I think it should be read. The first half was a bit slow at times, but the second half was impossible to put down.

And that genius concept I mentioned:

The story is about a painter who's hired to paint the portrait of a woman he is never allowed to see. He must concoct her image from the stories she tells about her life. Nothing else.

If you haven't read it yet, I reccomend giving it a try. You seem to have good taste in the fantastic side of life, so you just might enjoy it as much as I did.

Posted by Shehzad:
Well, I'll see if I can track it down, and, more importantly nowadays, find time for it!

Llama · June 5th, 2003, 11:25 PM

Jeff is a wonderful writer and PORTRAIT OF MRS CHARBUQUE is an excellent novel. There are short stories of his I prefer, but as far as novels are concerned this one ranks at the top.

Bear · June 6th, 2003, 01:34 AM

Aha! Another Ford fan. Llama, where would I go about finding some short stories from him? Has he put out a collection? I would certainly like to read more of his work. Charbuque is one of the best fantasies I've come across in a while.

And I guess could do some reasearch and find this out for myself, but I'm lazy.

Shehzad · June 6th, 2003, 02:07 AM

Just ordered Charbuque off Amazon.com...

Vladimir · June 6th, 2003, 02:37 AM

Good thing I'm not then eh.
Jeffery Ford

Bear · June 6th, 2003, 04:44 AM

Good for you, Shehzad! Tell me what you think of it when you're done. There aren't enough Ford fans out there.

Llama · June 6th, 2003, 09:30 AM

>>Llama, where would I go about finding some short stories from him? Has he put out a collection?

FANTASY WRITER'S ASSISTANT is a great collection of his from Golen Gryphon. Unfortunately you don't tend to see Golden Gryphon titles in bookstores (other than Borders for some reason) so you may need to order it from Amazon.

Bear · June 6th, 2003, 01:16 PM

No qualms there. I don't mind ordering books if I'm fairly sure I'll enjoy them, and I'm definitely a fan of Ford. And It's a rare thing to find a good short story collection anymore. Other than David Sedaris's work, which is hilarious, I haven't come across any in a few years. But then again, a friend of mine works at borders. . . I'll ask him to check on this before I order it.

Thanks, Llama. I'm in your debt.

Oh, hey! Has anyone here read Graham Joyce?. . . (just kidding, Sammie).

Shehzad · June 6th, 2003, 04:54 PM

Let's see... I'll post here again when I read the book. If its good I'll plug it viciously. Strange things happen when I plug books.



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