Shortlisted for the Pulitzer Prize 2015, Let Me Be Frank with You marks a return to the territory that sealed Richard Ford’s reputation as a master: the world of Frank Bascombe

Richard Ford returns with four deftly linked Christmas stories narrated by the iconic Frank Bascombe. Now sixty-eight, Frank resides again in the New Jersey suburb of Haddam, and has thrived – seemingly but not utterly – amidst the devastations of Hurricane Sandy. The desolations of Sandy, which left countless lives unmoored, are the perfect backdrop for Ford – and Bascombe. With a flawless comedic sensibility and unblinking intelligence, these stories range over the full complement of universal subjects: ageing, race, loss, faith, marriage, the real estate debacle – the tumult of the world we live in.

"Ford here is at the top of his form … Stylish, elegiac and funny" - John Banville, Guardian Books of the Year

"Funny, touching and profound" - Financial Times

"Exquisitely written, surprising and heart-breaking … This is a work of understated power, intelligence and not a little mischief" - Independent

"Another seemingly effortless Ford masterpiece" - Daily Mail

"A huge talent. There is no denying Frank Bascombe is in ripping form and reading this makes you want to return to the trilogy" - Irish Times

"Written in a fresh, graceful, accessible voice … In the supple, thickly detailed Bascombe prose, shifting effortlessly from lyrical to vulgar in a sentence … There are many small marvels" - Sunday Times