Franky Furbo

Not wholly satisfying, for me, but a tale with surprising depth, in light of the simple story-telling tone that Wharton sets; a tale that deals with themes of faith, fantasy and identity.

William Wiley’s crisis begins when his youngest son announces that he doesn’t believe in Franky Furbo, the super-intelligent fox of his father’s stories, and family icon. Franky Furbo isn’t just a made up character, though; he is, to William, a real, important figure of faith, someone who has taught him all the values that he has tried to integrate into his life. Persuaded by his wife, he sets off to try to find the one person who can validate his belief; the German soldier with whom he recuperated in Franky’s lair, after they were bombed show more during the war.

It’s quite a clever book, beginning with the war, which Wharton has written about before, with elements of fantasy and even science fiction, but although I appreciated the technical writing skill of Wharton, and enjoyed with appropriately childish simplicity the written fables of Franky Furbo, I failed to be completely engaged… in a way, I think this was because the author was too successful describing his character’s inner quandary; he gave his narrator too many doubts, too many things to vacillate over, and this kept the reader on the outside, waiting to see what the outcome would be, rather than in the heart of the story. show less

Interessant relat en què el narrador ens conta en primera persona la seva extraordinària experiència durant la guerra amb una rabosa superdotada, com comença a dubtar de la realitat dels seus records i com finalment tot es resol d'una manera sorprenent i una mica enrevessada.