The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch, Volume 2

August 3, 2015
In this morbidly fascinating story, first in a two-book saga about a young man who refuses to stay dead, Kraus (Scowler) deconstructs the idea of the bildungsroman. Zebulon Finch is born in Chicago in 1879, murdered in 1896, and inexplicably reanimated 17 minutes later as a walking dead man without the need for food, drink, or sleep. In a verbose, grandiose manner, Zebulon shares the details of his exploits and misadventures over the next few decades, and hundreds of pages. As he endures the life of a traveling sideshow attraction, suffers the horrors of combat during WWI, ekes out a living during Prohibition, and falls prey to the seductive charms of pre-WWII Hollywood, he drops in and out of contact with a motley cast of characters, including his daughter. Zebulon’s lack of motivation leads to a meandering, dismal narrative filled with dire insights into the futility of life and the dark side of human nature, where even the most innocent end up corrupted and ruined. Zebulon himself describes it best when he labels his adventures “a fable without a discernible moral.” Ages 14–up. Agent: Richard Abate, 3 Arts Entertainment.

Born in 1879, murdered in 1896, and awakened 17 minutes later as a sort of animated cadaver, Zebulon Finch offers this second installment of his autobiography, spanning 1941 to the 21st century.Blond, white, self-proclaimed handsome devil Finch, perpetually 17, continues his limping course through key moments of American history. He unfailingly reveals humanity's most brutal tendencies, including World War II concentration camps, the vitriol of 1950s suburban housewives, and chronic abuses within mental health facilities. As in The Edge of Empire (2015), Finch still occasionally longs for acceptance from his fellow man, even fantasizing about becoming a stepfather figure at one point. But any sympathy these episodes may garner from readers is soon destroyed by his inevitable return to cruelty. It's difficult to forgive decisions like his formation of a strange 1970s desert cult in which he encourages followers to practice cannibalism. Kraus' signature gory prose offers details of these practices: "A typical recipe was to remove a chunk of meat from one's thigh...and simmer it in broth before offering it to a friend....It was an acquired taste, so new mothers rubbed blood on their nipples so that their breastfeeding children would develop the craving." Moments like these may haunt readers far beyond any of Finch's emotional or theological ruminations. In the end, Finch's fancy vocabulary and occasionally affected formality never obscure his interior monster. A grisly reflection on human nature. (Horror. 14 & up) COPYRIGHT(1) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.