4 out of 4 stars
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Can I Be Frank is a very humorous novel that follows the story of Father Francis Gold, or rather Father Frank, as he wishes to be known. Father Frank is a young English (British) Catholic Priest invited by the Diocese of Central Florida to take over at Saint Francis of Assisi Church, Palmetto Lake Florida.
Of course, as it always goes, the first Mass that Father Frank held was attended by almost everyone in the congregation. After this Mass, he meets Carly, the wife of Gene Charmois. Her mission is to seduce Father Frank. This situation is very funny for his friend, Father William, the Vicar General, and not so funny to the parish administrator, Martha.
In every story, there must be a villain and in this novel, it is Gene Charmois. Gene Charmois is a businessman and one of the big financial contributors to the parish and Diocese. Because of this, he thinks that the parish, as well as the priest, belongs to him. Unfortunately, Father Frank made an enemy of Gene Charmois and soon after found himself to be the subject of some unfound rumours. Father Frank lost the support of his congregation as well as the diocese.
Father Frank and Martha decided that life must go on as normal, even though nobody pitches for Mass and other sermons held by the priest. They get unexpected help from Judge Karl Matthews and Ginny, a doctor and good friend of Martha. Together they rescue Mexican migrants living in disgusting conditions and also discover some illegal operations going on, on the farm of Gene Charmois.
What I like about this novel is that it is written in the first person. This is done in such a way that you cannot help but become part of Father Frank’s world. You go through each situation with him and feel everything that he is feeling. At times I could not help but laugh out loud. I also liked the fact that even though it is a humorous novel, there are a whole lot of life lessons to be learned. The novel is also written from a religious point of view and each chapter starts with a verse from the Bible that is applicable to the situation at hand.
I feel that the author could let us have a bit more information about the characters. The descriptions of the characters are done very sparingly and if asked, I will not be able to tell you how Father Frank or Martha looks.
A big plus is the fact that the book was definitely professionally edited as I did not find any grammatical or spelling errors.
I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars and can with a clean conscious recommend this book to anyone who likes a good comedy with some drama in between.
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Can I Be Frank?
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