Richard Ford, born in 1944, is an American writer and editor. Before settling on a literary career, Ford worked a variety of jobs, briefly studied law and enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. The publication of his novel The Sportswriter in 1986 brought Ford critical acclaim, culminating in a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1995.
Crediting his mild dyslexia with sparking his fascination in literature by forcing him to read slowly, Ford's writing is characterized by an intense devotion to language itself, often displaying a meticulous rhythm. Though Ford himself dislikes being linked to a single literary movement, his short stories have been loosely associated with dirty realism, a North American writing style that illustrates the mundane lives of everyday people in simple and plain language.
The short story Under the Radar features a married couple, Steven and Marjorie Reeves, facing marital trouble on their way to a party. The story was first published in The New Yorker and later as part of Ford’s third collection of short stories titled A Multitude of Sins in 2001.
It is a prime example of Ford’s fondness to portray the demise of traditional cultural institutions such as marriage and feature characters scorning a meaningful past and focusing on the here and now. Every detail of the story is highly metaphorical, and while the plot is straightforward and uncluttered in its simplicity, the imagery of the scene is rich and intricate, displaying Ford’s mastery of language and his emphasis on the importance of every word.
Though many of his short stories exceed the length typically associated with short fiction, Ford himself has cited the simple and straightforward premise of Under the Radar as the main reason for its uncharacteristic brevity, giving no need to divulge in extensive backstory apart from the bare minimum.
