Assessment:

Plot: Krauss delves into the next tale of his main character’s life, the final installment of the Frank Vaughn Trilogy. Though this is the third book in the series, the plot line does seem to be fairly disparate from the previous two novels. The amount of subplot distracts from the major plot points, yet adds to a deeper understanding of the main character as a complex human.

Prose/Style: The format of the prose is written in third person and stream of consciousness is used as a narrative style. The tone is informal, oftentimes irreverent. Krauss does lightly dip into first person storytelling, which some readers may find confusing.

Originality: Krauss makes an attempt to follow a typical hero’s journey with archetypal characters, but the journey, or end goal, is not grand or unique enough to be fully gratifying.

Character Development/Execution: As is the third installment in the Frank Vaughn Trilogy, Krauss assumes the reader has learned of Butch and other various characters throughout the series and does not offer significant development time for key characters. The narrator’s motivations are at times difficult to determine. Nevertheless, Krauss shows a knack for creating unusual personalities that resonate on the page. 

Date Submitted: July 22, 2021