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A review by ethancf
The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch, Volume One: At the Edge of Empire by Daniel Kraus
5.0
I wrote this a while ago but didn't post it because I had an ARC and it wasn't out when I finished it. The book's out now. Don't even read this, go read it instead.
The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch Volume 1: At the Edge of Empire is a curious novel. I’m tempted to compare it to Forrest Gump as it follows a central protagonist as he moves through American history. Minor characters go in and out of the narrative on a revolving door, sometimes making a brief appearance again, other time disappearing for good.
However, this is Forrest Gump as only Kraus would tell it. Finch features three of the four hallmarks of Kraus’ novels: A protagonist with a bad father, incredibly gruesome scenes with gory details (bonus points for those involving genitalia), and beautiful prose on the sentence level. Sadly, the book does not take place in Iowa (rather, it takes place in many places). Our titular Zebulon Finch is not like Gump in any way, save for gender. The order of the title is the first clue: Finch dies, and then he lives.
The reason Finch is able to go through American history through this novel is because he lives in a state of undeath. In the late 19th century, he was murdered, and sometime shortly afterwards, he awoke again, apparently unable to die completely. Much of Zebulon Finch revolves around a sort of body horror. We’ve all read YA books that deal with adolescence in this sense, but Finch takes a different approach. Rather than the changes in the body becoming horrifying, it is the lack of change and his bodies deterioration that forms much of the gruesome horror held in the novel. Some of these scenes do get truly disgusting. I’m not particularly squeamish, but much like he did in both Rotters and Scowler, Kraus evokes all the senses to disgust you.
Though this first volume does feel like one of Kraus’ books for the reasons I listed above, there is one distinct difference: the prose style. While Kraus’ writing is as beautiful as ever, the style here is reminiscent of 19th century literature. This is logical, as our narrator was born in the 19th century, but for many contemporary readers I worry that this style will make the narrative drag.
To tell the truth, the first half of the book does drag. It takes a long time to grow accustomed to not only the writing style, but also the protagonist himself. Zebulon Finch is not a likeable character; he’s a thug. Antihero narratives are in vogue right now, but Finch takes it a step further. Most of these narratives, the antihero admits to doing wrong but justifies it through means of the larger picture, claiming their actions are the lesser of two evils, or claiming that they are the lesser of two evils compared to their antagonist. Finch, however, is ready to admit that he is a villain. While he has his antagonists, who are no doubt more dislikable than him, Finch also seems to feel that he deserves their mistreatments.
It took me some time, but eventually I did come to care about Finch, despite his villainy. However, At the Edge of Empire is a book that likes to challenge you, and my next obstacle came during Prohibition era, when Finch goes to the movie theater and watches the infamous Birth of a Nation. Finch loves the film and readily identifies with its protagonist. Having seen the film myself in the context of a college course on American racism, this obviously unsettled me. I had finally started to like Finch, and now here he is enjoying a film I find incredibly offensive. I chalked his love for Birth of a Nation up to a) his villainy, and b) the historical context of the film - it was very popular when it was first released. And, truth be told, it is a remarkable film that totally changed the face of cinema. It's just incredibly offensive. Yet it still troubled me to have a racist protagonist, and I found myself hesitantly turning pages and frowning.
Then Finch finds himself working for a black family of moonshiners, and the way in which his racism is handled is masterfully done by the text. It's nuanced and feels realistic for how a person of Finch's generation would handle it. A quote from the text (again, disclaimer that this is from an ARC): "It all left me quite conflicted. I was not one of those bleeding-heart Negro activists, my past aligned more with that of the average Klansman. Yet the Klan's single-minded pursuit of the dark-skinned offended me with its lack of logic - I knew firsthand that Negroes were our intellectual peers". This is not just a perfect example of how the text handles racism, but also how Finch admits to being a villain. I was very impressed by how this volume dealt with these issues. Many contemporary books that take place during this time feature what Finch might call a "bleeding-heart Negro activist", or their way of dealing with a racist character is just heavy-handed or clichéd. The novel's willingness to treat this subject like this is bold but it pays off incredibly well, and I found myself loving the book more because of it.
The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch Volume 1: At the Edge of Empire is a challenging book that is not for everyone, but those who can get past its thuggish protagonist and antiquated prose will find a masterfully written novel. It may take you a while to get hooked, but give it a chance. I cannot wait for part two.
The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch Volume 1: At the Edge of Empire is a curious novel. I’m tempted to compare it to Forrest Gump as it follows a central protagonist as he moves through American history. Minor characters go in and out of the narrative on a revolving door, sometimes making a brief appearance again, other time disappearing for good.
However, this is Forrest Gump as only Kraus would tell it. Finch features three of the four hallmarks of Kraus’ novels: A protagonist with a bad father, incredibly gruesome scenes with gory details (bonus points for those involving genitalia), and beautiful prose on the sentence level. Sadly, the book does not take place in Iowa (rather, it takes place in many places). Our titular Zebulon Finch is not like Gump in any way, save for gender. The order of the title is the first clue: Finch dies, and then he lives.
The reason Finch is able to go through American history through this novel is because he lives in a state of undeath. In the late 19th century, he was murdered, and sometime shortly afterwards, he awoke again, apparently unable to die completely. Much of Zebulon Finch revolves around a sort of body horror. We’ve all read YA books that deal with adolescence in this sense, but Finch takes a different approach. Rather than the changes in the body becoming horrifying, it is the lack of change and his bodies deterioration that forms much of the gruesome horror held in the novel. Some of these scenes do get truly disgusting. I’m not particularly squeamish, but much like he did in both Rotters and Scowler, Kraus evokes all the senses to disgust you.
Though this first volume does feel like one of Kraus’ books for the reasons I listed above, there is one distinct difference: the prose style. While Kraus’ writing is as beautiful as ever, the style here is reminiscent of 19th century literature. This is logical, as our narrator was born in the 19th century, but for many contemporary readers I worry that this style will make the narrative drag.
To tell the truth, the first half of the book does drag. It takes a long time to grow accustomed to not only the writing style, but also the protagonist himself. Zebulon Finch is not a likeable character; he’s a thug. Antihero narratives are in vogue right now, but Finch takes it a step further. Most of these narratives, the antihero admits to doing wrong but justifies it through means of the larger picture, claiming their actions are the lesser of two evils, or claiming that they are the lesser of two evils compared to their antagonist. Finch, however, is ready to admit that he is a villain. While he has his antagonists, who are no doubt more dislikable than him, Finch also seems to feel that he deserves their mistreatments.
It took me some time, but eventually I did come to care about Finch, despite his villainy. However, At the Edge of Empire is a book that likes to challenge you, and my next obstacle came during Prohibition era, when Finch goes to the movie theater and watches the infamous Birth of a Nation. Finch loves the film and readily identifies with its protagonist. Having seen the film myself in the context of a college course on American racism, this obviously unsettled me. I had finally started to like Finch, and now here he is enjoying a film I find incredibly offensive. I chalked his love for Birth of a Nation up to a) his villainy, and b) the historical context of the film - it was very popular when it was first released. And, truth be told, it is a remarkable film that totally changed the face of cinema. It's just incredibly offensive. Yet it still troubled me to have a racist protagonist, and I found myself hesitantly turning pages and frowning.
Then Finch finds himself working for a black family of moonshiners, and the way in which his racism is handled is masterfully done by the text. It's nuanced and feels realistic for how a person of Finch's generation would handle it. A quote from the text (again, disclaimer that this is from an ARC): "It all left me quite conflicted. I was not one of those bleeding-heart Negro activists, my past aligned more with that of the average Klansman. Yet the Klan's single-minded pursuit of the dark-skinned offended me with its lack of logic - I knew firsthand that Negroes were our intellectual peers". This is not just a perfect example of how the text handles racism, but also how Finch admits to being a villain. I was very impressed by how this volume dealt with these issues. Many contemporary books that take place during this time feature what Finch might call a "bleeding-heart Negro activist", or their way of dealing with a racist character is just heavy-handed or clichéd. The novel's willingness to treat this subject like this is bold but it pays off incredibly well, and I found myself loving the book more because of it.
The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch Volume 1: At the Edge of Empire is a challenging book that is not for everyone, but those who can get past its thuggish protagonist and antiquated prose will find a masterfully written novel. It may take you a while to get hooked, but give it a chance. I cannot wait for part two.