Review by marartsch -- Can I Be Frank? by Rob Wyatt
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marartsch
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- Latest Review: Can I Be Frank? by Rob Wyatt
Review by marartsch -- Can I Be Frank? by Rob Wyatt
[Following is a volunteer review of "Can I Be Frank?" by Rob Wyatt.]
3 out of 4 stars
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Can I Be Frank? by Rob Wyatt is an amusing and heart-warming story about a young priest named Father Francis. He left his home in England to take on the responsibilities of the parish to which he had been assigned, located in Florida. His adventures, and misadventures, began almost the minute he got off the plane, where he was greeted by an unlikely looking priest, with a not quite so priestly-appearing personality, who was actually Father Francis’ superior.
Beginning with the ride from the airport to his new home and church, Father Francis seemed to be in a constant state of shock – culture shock, mostly, but also shock over the behavior of some of the parishioners and townspeople. Sometimes this behavior was helpful, sometimes not so much., but, mostly surprising. The book also contains some very interesting characters, some villains, and some unexpected heroes.
What I enjoyed most about this book was Father Francis’ sense of humor, manifested by mutterings under his breath, about his true feelings and reactions to the daily challenges that were thrown at him. Most of these were a bit unpriestly, but never really bad, and went a long way to show that he is simply human, like the rest of us.
I also enjoyed the fact that everyone seemed to have his back (except the villains, of course), and he often did not even recognize it, until the last minute. But Father Francis always trusted – God, his friends, the church - and came out winning in the end.
My favorite character, aside from the main character, was the judge. He had a comical, unexpected personality and some of the things he said and did made me laugh, and made me feel good.
There were also some very colorful and interesting descriptions in the book, for example, when Father Francis first met the judge, he described his appearance as, “The exposed portion of his large, red face glistened with little beads of sweat, like morning dew on an enormous strawberry. “ This brought to my mind some very interesting imagery, and this sort of descriptive language runs throughout the book.
What I liked least about the book was the fact that there were many glaring errors. The book was not professionally edited and appeared to be in a rough draft form. For example, the pages in the book are not numbered.
There are also many examples of extra words, no punctuation, and other errors. On page 130, there is a sentence that reads, “He his expression instantly revealed…” There is an extra word in this sentence. On Page 151, a sentence reads, “I had worked solidly putting printing out sign-up sheets.” There appears to be an extra word in this sentence, also. Either the word “putting” or “printing” should be deleted. On page 198, there is a phrase that reads, “did at least give me a two days to.” It should read, “did at least give me two days to,” leaving out the word “a.
On page 226, the phrase, “out it in yet,” doesn’t make sense and I think should be, “out in it yet.” A sentence on page 317 reads, “I was standing on the white line the delineated one end of the parking space,” should read, “I was standing on the white that delineated one end of the parking space.” On page 322, there is no punctuation at end of first sentence. Page 331, the sentence that reads, “been referring to car of some sort, should have “a” between “to” and “car.”
I gave this book a rating of 3 out of 4 stars. I wanted to give it the highest rating that I could because I enjoyed it immensely. I enjoyed the characters, the understated humor, even the concept of a priest from England experiencing the culture shock of suddenly being transplanted to Florida added to my enjoyment. The story, itself, was different than anything I’ve read lately and had my interest and attention throughout. However, because of the errors I found, I could not rate it any higher. Once it is cleaned up, I recommend this book as a very good read. It will keep your interest, keep you amused, and leave you wanting more.
******
Can I Be Frank?
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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3 out of 4 stars
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Can I Be Frank? by Rob Wyatt is an amusing and heart-warming story about a young priest named Father Francis. He left his home in England to take on the responsibilities of the parish to which he had been assigned, located in Florida. His adventures, and misadventures, began almost the minute he got off the plane, where he was greeted by an unlikely looking priest, with a not quite so priestly-appearing personality, who was actually Father Francis’ superior.
Beginning with the ride from the airport to his new home and church, Father Francis seemed to be in a constant state of shock – culture shock, mostly, but also shock over the behavior of some of the parishioners and townspeople. Sometimes this behavior was helpful, sometimes not so much., but, mostly surprising. The book also contains some very interesting characters, some villains, and some unexpected heroes.
What I enjoyed most about this book was Father Francis’ sense of humor, manifested by mutterings under his breath, about his true feelings and reactions to the daily challenges that were thrown at him. Most of these were a bit unpriestly, but never really bad, and went a long way to show that he is simply human, like the rest of us.
I also enjoyed the fact that everyone seemed to have his back (except the villains, of course), and he often did not even recognize it, until the last minute. But Father Francis always trusted – God, his friends, the church - and came out winning in the end.
My favorite character, aside from the main character, was the judge. He had a comical, unexpected personality and some of the things he said and did made me laugh, and made me feel good.
There were also some very colorful and interesting descriptions in the book, for example, when Father Francis first met the judge, he described his appearance as, “The exposed portion of his large, red face glistened with little beads of sweat, like morning dew on an enormous strawberry. “ This brought to my mind some very interesting imagery, and this sort of descriptive language runs throughout the book.
What I liked least about the book was the fact that there were many glaring errors. The book was not professionally edited and appeared to be in a rough draft form. For example, the pages in the book are not numbered.
There are also many examples of extra words, no punctuation, and other errors. On page 130, there is a sentence that reads, “He his expression instantly revealed…” There is an extra word in this sentence. On Page 151, a sentence reads, “I had worked solidly putting printing out sign-up sheets.” There appears to be an extra word in this sentence, also. Either the word “putting” or “printing” should be deleted. On page 198, there is a phrase that reads, “did at least give me a two days to.” It should read, “did at least give me two days to,” leaving out the word “a.
On page 226, the phrase, “out it in yet,” doesn’t make sense and I think should be, “out in it yet.” A sentence on page 317 reads, “I was standing on the white line the delineated one end of the parking space,” should read, “I was standing on the white that delineated one end of the parking space.” On page 322, there is no punctuation at end of first sentence. Page 331, the sentence that reads, “been referring to car of some sort, should have “a” between “to” and “car.”
I gave this book a rating of 3 out of 4 stars. I wanted to give it the highest rating that I could because I enjoyed it immensely. I enjoyed the characters, the understated humor, even the concept of a priest from England experiencing the culture shock of suddenly being transplanted to Florida added to my enjoyment. The story, itself, was different than anything I’ve read lately and had my interest and attention throughout. However, because of the errors I found, I could not rate it any higher. Once it is cleaned up, I recommend this book as a very good read. It will keep your interest, keep you amused, and leave you wanting more.
******
Can I Be Frank?
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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Latest Review: Can I Be Frank? by Rob Wyatt
