Customer Reviews

Frankland: A Novel

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This was a good find that turned into a light, enjoyable read. Quirky characters really catch the essence of East Tennessee. The cover promises work on par with Mark Twain or John Kennedy Toole (A Confederacy of Dunces). The book didn't deliver on this high promise, but it does sort of read like "A Confederacy Of Dunces" kid brother.

We follow John Tolley from New York to the wilds of Pantherville, a "blink-and-you-miss-it" town in Eastern Tennessee. He is a misguided, if optimistic, historian in search of an Andrew Johnson scrapbook that may or may not exist. Along the way, he meets a collage of offbeat citizens, including Dweena, a post-office worker, her cousin who trains coon dogs, and a snobby New York t.v. producer looking for a scoop on a mysterious infant rash.

If you care about the Volunteer State or enjoy light-hearted farces, this may be an excellent read for you. Expect to get pelted with a lot of mostly useless Tennessee trivia. The dialogue also reads uneven (realistic dialogue is a longstanding pet peeve of mine). Otherwise, good on author James Whorton. He put together a fine piece of work.

This really is a funny book. The comparisons to Confederacy of Dunces are no lie; the main character, John Tolley, an amateur Andrew Johnson scholar, has the same mix of cluelessness and erudition as Ignatius Reilly, and one of the book's great pleasures is that Tolley also serves as narrator. His voice alone is enough to carry the book. But there's a strong cast of characters along for the ride, all of them both odd and real. There's also a really engaging plot with scraps of mystery and conspiracy of the East Tennessee variety. The dialogue is sharp, the writing first-rate. Buy it; you won't regret it.

I had a great time with this book! Being from East TN, it felt like coming home! The "quirky" characters were relatable to many of the natives I've known during my lifetime of growing up here. There were several times I laughed out loud during this book! Being a former student and huge fan, this is not the first book I've read of Mr. Whorton's. In both of his books, I've found his attention to detail and thorough description to be dead-on (especially in Approximately Heaven). I look forward to the next one!

There are bits of Barry Gifford, Richard Brautigan and Donald Barthelme in this novel--mostly Whorton, but these guys too. A good read, written by a smart guy.

The stereotypes in this weightless novel are beyond annoying. Sorry, but I just couldn't see what other reviewers saw that would warrant giving this book anywhere near five stars. It wasn't a 'great ride' at all and I wonder how many friends and relatives reviewed the book in order to pad the star ratings!

This was just a wonderfully fun book to read. The characters were engaging, the dialogue was excellent and the setting was fantastical with very real aspects of what East Tennessee life is like. I believe the author attempted to make a caricature of Tennesseans from this area to create a wild and absurd yarn that should delight any reader. The fact that the author has spent a lot of time in this area leads me to the conclusion that was his intention. Also being born and raised in this area I can assure readers that the caricature, at times, hits close to home. Mr. Whorton's story made me laugh out loud, so I will forgive him for indulging in some stereotypes to create this wonderful book.

What really makes this book is the dialogue. The writing is very tight, and the humor and the wit have a very Helleresque quality to it in that it's the author's use of irony to expose the absurd that dwells within the mundane that makes the dialogue so engaging. The author doesn't really create outrageous settings to infuse his story with humor, but instead uses irony to highlight the humor in the ordinary details. It is fabulous, and this type of writing (when done well) is some of my very favorite styles of writing. I do not make the above comparison lightly. I found the dialogue to be extremely good.

The whole book is a great, wild ride that any reader will enjoy. Any book that can make me laugh out loud deserves a good review and a good rating. It is a quick and easy read that I was unable to put down. Treat yourself today and get this excellent book. You will not regret it.

East Tennesseans are used to being stereotyped, but this time even the stereotype isn't done well. The setting receives no descriptive treatment, the characters are thinly developed, there is no attempt to capture the vernacular, and the narrative is not believable. Would the Virginia state police let this man sleep on the shoulder of the interstate? Why would he rent a log cabin from someone waving a weed-eater at him, when he hasn't even arrived at his destination? This weak yarn may amuse those who hold fast to their Beverly Hillbillies view of the southern highlands, but it will annoy anyone who actually knows the place.