A review by meganmreads
The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch, Volume One: At the Edge of Empire by Daniel Kraus
3.0
The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch, Vol 1 has such an intriguing premise. I saw Vol 2 at a local bookstore and knew it was something I had to read.
The best way to describe the story is to compare it to Forrest Gump. Instead of a not-so-smart guy going through major historical events and succeeding despite all odds, Zebulon is a smart (but increasingly arrogant and short-sighted) dead guy decomposing at a pretty slow rate, going through major historical events, and failing miserably despite his enormous ego.
The only reason the book isn’t rated higher is because his narration began to grate on my nerves and I wished the story was a bit shorter in order for it to get the point. At the same time, I can’t say I didn’t enjoy it because I think Zebulon’s narration illustrates his character and I think the longwinded prose is sort of the point. It’s really quite clever, but a bit difficult to get through at times.
I recommend the story so far and I will definitely pick up the sequel and already own it. This is a great nightstand book, one that you can read a little from each day rather than a book to digest in longer sittings. I enjoyed the book a lot more when I sat it down and read some other ones in between.
The best way to describe the story is to compare it to Forrest Gump. Instead of a not-so-smart guy going through major historical events and succeeding despite all odds, Zebulon is a smart (but increasingly arrogant and short-sighted) dead guy decomposing at a pretty slow rate, going through major historical events, and failing miserably despite his enormous ego.
The only reason the book isn’t rated higher is because his narration began to grate on my nerves and I wished the story was a bit shorter in order for it to get the point. At the same time, I can’t say I didn’t enjoy it because I think Zebulon’s narration illustrates his character and I think the longwinded prose is sort of the point. It’s really quite clever, but a bit difficult to get through at times.
I recommend the story so far and I will definitely pick up the sequel and already own it. This is a great nightstand book, one that you can read a little from each day rather than a book to digest in longer sittings. I enjoyed the book a lot more when I sat it down and read some other ones in between.