The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch, Volume 1: At the Edge of Empire

Daniel Kraus tells a fascinating story of a guy fated to eternal life, all the while being dead. And if that doesn't confuse you, nothing will. Quite interesting in its approach, the hero isn't a particularly nice guy, even if he is dead. In his century long travels and travails he encounters some pretty uninteresting characters, each bent on getting something different from him, none of which he can provide. By the end of this long story, I found myself praying that he'd die already! Understand there may be a sequel. Why? Not for me.

I will start with this, Zebulon Finch is not a causal read, nor is it for the faint of heart. The story of Zebulon is brutal, and there is no other way to describe it. His life is absolute hell. Kraus illustrates this well. His writing is impeccable, in fact reminiscent to the “old way” of smithing paragraphs into long, swelling, voluptuous descriptions of the character’s actions and settings. That being the case, it isn’t for the average reader and I find the “YA” audience tag misused for this story. The protagonist is 17 years old, but it isn’t a story for the normal high-schooler. As far as the story is concerned, it is your textbook “journey” type narrative. Zebulon doesn’t have a destination and his life is mostly just drifting between the parental figures he’s always wanted and various conflict. Despite what some other reviewers have said, there are no “torture” scenes. The scenes they are referring to are medical expierements that are being conducted in a proper scientific way (mostly). In accordance, despite what the summary says about this book, WWI is not a major part of the story, it’s is simply just another situation Zebulon finds himself in. I found that unfortuante, because it was by far the most thrilling and interesting part of the book. If it wasn’t for that section, I would put this story at 3 stars because the plot line, in itself, stays relatively flat and the conflict is drawn out so far that it becomes hard to care about what the conflict centers around. Even the main character pokes fun at this very thing. I know that sounds harsh considering much of the events Zebulon finds himself in do have literary merit, but it is what it is. The book could have been half the size, the same content covered, and achieved a better line of conflict and care for the characters involved.With that said, I encourage people who are on the fence about this book to read it and get your own opinion like I did. Some call it gruesome and gory, I found it accurate to real-life injuries and war. Some called the story very wordy and hard to read, I found that only half true (I’m used to the style of writing); however, if you’re unfamiliar with certain personal items, way of life and technology of the early 1900’s you will struggle a bit more simply because you won’t understand the simlies and metaphors used in dialog and description.Nevertheless, this is my opinion, and as I always tell people, they should go out and get their own.

The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch is a modernized and macabre Peter Pan adventure. When I say "modernized" I mean the distinct style Daniel Kraus employs in his narrative of a boy who could not die, and would not grow up.Zebulon Finch is born in the late 19th century and is killed when he is 17. More than a distinct examination of the human condition from a myriad of perspectives, Zebulon also experiences the rise of America. The progression of a 17 year old boy through a life he never wanted, and would never accept as entitlement is an interesting and surprisingly emotional ride. Kraus uses historical events to line up the plot and puts Zebulon in the middle of everything.This boy was caught up in the rise of organized crime in Chicago, the evolution of the film industry in California, civil war, great war, and prohibition, Zebulon sees it all. He struggles in this to understand the consequences of not only his own actions, but the actions of others. Emotionally, he doesn’t really grow up. He’ll always be 17, a criminal, a soldier, and an experiment.Not knowing if or when his life will finally end, Zebulon cannot begin to grasp at the ideals of reparation, war, and sacrifice. He sees his own daughter grow old, tries to steer her from, in his mind, a morally ambiguous path. Great nations rise and fall, and all Zebulon wants is a normal life, a normal death. Instead, he is forced to watch the people he loves grow old, grow desperate, and die fighting. And regardless of injury, he continues to exist. His life meant nothing, but his death shows him everything.

The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch is a tremendous expedition of an extraordinary, horrific yet detailed some what addressed as a memoir of how someone could alter their life with a second chance. One could struggle but testing their new strength to get back up on their feet, to take the opportunity to reinvent one's self, and searching the core of redemption. In my opinion, this book was like a freaky science fiction of Forest Gump impacted with an immortal, teenage Oliver Twist, set in a paused life in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. 642 pages; this book took me three days to read, and it also took me a while to get back down to earth, but it is worth reading and I couldn't even put this book down, even if I tried. I felt as if I was Zebulon, narrating the entire journey, gasping at every twisted moments, clutching my chest at the most magnificent collisions, and swimming in a pool of my own tears. I am hell bent to know what happens next!!!

This rambling half-novel is book one of proposed two-book set. It follows the before-and-after death experiences of the titled character through the decades of the early 20th century, and is an interesting read, but somewhat unfocused.

I am really enjoying this book. I love the voice that the author has given to Zebulon. This is just an all around great read. It seems a shame that simply because a novel has a teenage protagonist, it is automatically categorized as young adult fiction. I think that limits the potential audience. This book is so well written and has such a distinct premise, that I am certain audiences of all ages would enjoy it. It is definitely not a typical YA novel. I very highly recommend this to all ages. It's a great read. Looking forward to book two!

American history through a unique perspective: undead 17 year old boy. Gruesome at times, but interestingly so. Will definitely read the sequel.

What makes Finch such a compelling lead is not his acknowledgement of his mistakes, but his inability to stop himself from making more of them. He makes bad decision after bad decision, knowing each and every time how much pain he’s going to cause. He makes cowardly choices, abandons those who care about him, and is rebuffed when he tries to reach back out to them later. As a reader, I rallied in vain, hoping that this time he’d make the right call, but even when he did, someone else was there to let him down.Resigned to his fate, and to the pain he will cause others, this could have been a tragic read, difficult because it was so sad. However, pulled along by Finch’s narrative style (after all, he might look like a teenager but he’s been around long enough to talk/write like an erudite older man), and with a sense of humour that is dark, yet infectious, Kraus manages to avoid making this an inaccessible chronology of pain – it’s tough going, yes, and you’re always waiting for the next bad move, but a good book doesn’t always mean an enjoyable one.It’s a big read, and a decidedly morbid one at that. 600 plus pages following a dead teenager through freak shows, lynchings, trench warfare, and suicide might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but there’s just something about this book that is sticking in my mind, and asking me to read again. Maybe it’s those little sparks of good intention in Zebulon, the moments when he chooses fight over flight, or maybe it’s just his dark wit and way with words, but I’m definitely keen to read onto Volume 2.

I am finding this book interesting but it definitely is not hard to put down.