Book Review and Giveaway: Finny by Justin Kramon

 

Finny by Justin Kramon

Publisher:  Random House

Publish Date: July 13, 2010

Trade Paperback, 384 pages

My Review:

 

Why I read this: I was offered this book through TLC Tours and when I read the description I knew I wanted to read it and be a part of the tour.


How is the novel driven: Character - the character of Finny is front and center in this book with secondary roles of Earl, and her friend Judith.


My thoughts: I was captured in the first few pages and transported to Finny's world, which was much like any other teenager's world when the book beigns.  But what captivated me so was Finny herself and her way of saying what she was feeling and almost trying to get into trouble without really trying.  Finny couldn't seem to censor herself nor did she want to.  I found this endearing in a strange way.  As the novel continues and I continued to learn more about Finny through her life, I liked her even more.  She is strong and confident at times and unsure at times.  She reads like a person you would really know.

The pacing of the novel is perfect.  No time in her life is really dwelt on in too much detail - it's like a giant overview, but an overview that is well-done so you get to know Finny and the others in her life without being bogged down by the trivial.  Mr. Kramon has a delightful writing style that seems to understand the reader and give the reader exactly what they want (or at least this reader).

I loved Finny, the character and the book and would highly recommend it to people that read just about any genre.  It's a fast enjoyable read and Finny, the character won't leave your mind any time soon I promise.

My Rating:  4.75/5.0

For more information about the book and the author, see my tour post here.

Giveaway:  Since my bookshelves are overflowing, I'm going to give my gently read copy of Finny away.  Open to US/Canada only.  Leave all entries in one post please for this one.  To enter all you have to do is comment and leave your email addy.  For extra entries follow me (GFC Friend, RSS, email subscription, Goodreads friend, Like My Reading Room on Facebook, Twitter (@cfulcher)), you can also tweet 1 entry per day.  For 10 extra entries tell me why you want to read this book. Giveaway ends 9/21.

Book Tour: Finny by Justin Kramon (Giveaway and Review coming later today)

 

Finny by Justin Kramon

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks (July 13, 2010)

My Review will be coming later today, but let me say I love this book - I love Finny as a character.  Stay tuned for more later.  And with the review, there will be a giveaway.  For now here's some more information on the book and the author

About Finny:

Before I started writing my novel, I fell in love with some great coming-of-age books: The World According to Garp, Great Expectations, Catcher in the Rye, and several others. For me, these books brought back the excitement of reading. I loved their intricate and suspenseful plots, the slightly-larger-than-life characters, the humor, and the sense of bigness and adventure I got from even the opening sentences. I felt like these classic novels were treasure chests of funny characters and surprising moments and beautiful insights about the world.
And I realized: These are the kinds of books I want to write, books filled with unforgettable characters, books that make me laugh and cry (even at the same time), books that give me an almost childlike sense of wonder.
But one thing I noticed about a lot of these books is that they’re about young men. So I was interested in what it would be like to tell one of these big classic stories about a young woman coming into the contemporary world. And that’s how the idea for FINNY started.
Finny herself is a lonely, defiant young woman, with a wonderful sense of humor, and a great ability to cut through other people’s pretensions. She’s a character I’ve loved from the moment I met her, and I wrote this book that follows her over twenty years because I wanted to find out everything that happened to her. The book is a love story, about Finny’s relationship with a young man named Earl, but I also wanted Finny to live in a rich and detailed world, full of interesting and lively and sometimes mysterious characters, such as a narcoleptic pianist, a seductive New York heiress, and an unlikely mother figure with tastes for exotic Asian fruits and Irish fiddle music.
I hope this book will allow readers to completely immerse themselves in Finny’s world and her adventures, and leave them with the sense of enchantment I’ve found in my favorite books.
Check out the book trailer for Finny.

About Justin

A graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, he has published stories in Glimmer Train, Story Quarterly, Boulevard, Fence, TriQuarterly, and others. He has received honors from the Michener-Copernicus Society of America, The Best American Short Stories, the Hawthornden International Writers’ Fellowship, and the Bogliasco Foundation.
He teaches at Gotham Writers’ Workshop in New York City and at the Iowa Young Writers’ Studio.
He lives in Philadelphia.
Find out more about Justin on his website.

 

 

Justin’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS

Monday, August 16th: English Major’s Junk Food
Tuesday, August 17th: The Lost Entwife
Thursday, August 19th: The Bluestocking Society
Tuesday, August 24th: Rundpinne
Wednesday, August 25th: Tales of a Capricious Reader
Monday, August 30th: Dolce Bellezza
Wednesday, September 1st: Jenny Loves to Read
Friday, September 3rd: Raging Bibliomania
Tuesday, September 7th: Lit and Life
Wednesday, September 8th: Reading on a Rainy Day
Thursday, September 9th: Café of Dreams
Monday, September 13th: Age 30+…A Lifetime of Books
Tuesday, September 14th: My Reading Room
Thursday, September 16th: Jo-Jo Loves to Read!
Wednesday, September 22nd: Fizzy Thoughts


FTC Information: I received this book through TLC Book Tours for review.  I have Amazon links on my review pages but I do not make any money from these because of NC laws.  I put them solely for people to check out the books on a retail site.