Annalisa Whitfield

Review of Can I Be Frank? By Rob Wyatt Written for the Online Book Club Can I Be Frank? by Rob Wyatt, tells the hilarious story of a young Catholic priest from England named Francis Gold, or Frank as he prefers, and his transition from England to Florida on his first assignment as a priest with his own church. The young priest is good-natured but accident-prone and inexperienced in every sense of the word. Frank’s first trip to America results in his first experiences with culture shock, forward women, alcohol, church politics, driving on the wrong side of the road, and his faith in himself. The narrative is light-hearted and funny, but does delve into more serious conflicts as the story progresses; however, it never loses its initial charm and wit in the process which results in a truly heart-warming story. The story is told in the first person narrative style from Frank’s point of view so that the reader is privy to all the amusing thoughts that go through his head while trying to gain his footing in his new home. Frank’s often self-deprecating humor, frequent pleas to the Lord and the Saints, obliviousness to American culture, and general cluelessness was a source of great laughter. There were, however, moments where the young priest’s insecurities, lack of self-confidence, and innocent ignorance overwhelmed him and provoked the greatest sympathy. What I like most about the story was the development of the exceedingly likable main character. Frank stays true to his character throughout the book, providing consistency, but also develops over the course of the narrative. He learns to be more assertive, convicted, self-confident, self-reliant and learns a great deal about the nature of God and what it means to be in his chosen vocation. The secondary characters are all very likable, and if not that then outright amusing. Amongst this enjoyable bunch is Martha, the chief administrator of the church who, first wary of Frank, becomes a rock for him in times of crisis. Also featured is Bill, a sixty-one-year-old priest with a penchant for beer, vintage cars, and rock music. Frank’s overprotective mother also makes appearances either by way of telephone or in Frank’s thoughts. Their presence greatly adds to the comical nature of the book. The story’s main antagonist comes in the form of Gene Chamois, a rich, powerful, megalomaniac who funds the church. Mr. Charmois and his provocative wife, Carly, cause more than a few problems for Frank. At best the pair is increasingly entertaining and at the worst, they are fun to hate. I can’t say there was anything I had an issue with concerning the book except for minute problems with its organizational structure. There was no table of contents, no page numbers, and an excessive amount of subdivisions in the narrative resulting in seventy chapters for a fairly short book. There weren’t many grammatical errors, three in total to be specific. I would rate this book 4 out of 4 stars and would recommend it to anyone of any age regardless of a predisposition to any specific genre. Can I be Frank? was thoroughly enjoyable and provided a unique story. The only problems I had with the book had nothing to do with the quality of the content and a casual reader would probably take little notice of them.