FRANKLIN ROCK

5 stars out of 5

Despite a few misgivings about starting this book - it's clearly outside of my usual blood-and-guts, head-games mystery/thrillers - I dug in just because it was offered to me by the publisher. Now that I'm done, I'm having a little trouble describing it. While I think more about how to proceed, I'll say this: It was entertaining, enlightening and overall, a true "feel-good" delight that, as the official description suggests, is reminiscent of Forrest Gump.

Basically, the story follows the title character, a gifted college undergrad student, as he tries to figure out his purpose in life - especially meaningful since he experiences flashes of being "transported" to other times. Early on, he gets help from mentor and professor Charles Niemeyer who, when he dies, leaves Franklin only with a mysteriously blank book titled Franklin Rock: The Man Who Fixed the World.

So it is that Franklin sets out to try to find his destiny, not knowing whether he'll find it in his "real" world or through sudden meetings with notable characters from other generations. He gets more help from an elderly cancer patient, college bookstore manager Lori Constantine and a rather strange character known as Govinda, who seems to understand what Franklin is all about and is willing to guide him in his journey.

For the record, I admit I had a few reservations along the way. Would the story, I asked myself, end up taking on a decidedly religious bent? After all, anytime you pair time travel and parallel universes with the possibility of "we'll all be together again" and guidance from some sort of supreme being, it's not unreasonable to think that's where it's headed. To be sure, that's hinted at here and there, but the author does a great job sidestepping any commitment thereto and leaves those kinds of decisions up to the reader (and Franklin). If nothing else, the whole thing was food for thought presented in a tasty manner - not a bad thing as we all head into the Christmas holidays amid a devastating and seemingly relentless pandemic.

In short, I'm glad I read it - and I don't hesitate to recommend it to others (yes, even to my blood-and-guts loving friends). Well done!

Franklin Rock by Mark E. Klein (Greenbriar Publishing, January 2021); 352 pp.