Francey by Martin Dubow

The world is not a perfect place. Even when we fictionalize it, there must be, at minimum, a gritty element that allows the reader a hint of plausibility. In Francey by Martin Dubow we are brought into the world of a young girl who begins channeling a past life and with it she assumes the identity and the talents of her former self. Francey’s strange but vivid memories cause more than one public scene where diverse characters including a school teacher, an architect and an English lord, attached to her past life are brought together in their current day bodies.

If all of this sounds a little unusual then you are not alone in that thought. Aside from a badly written flashback of sixteenth century romance, no attempt is ever made to explain why any of this is happening or why we should care. The reader is expected to accept these coincidences hands down while never questioning the validity of the events. Worse yet, Francey’s sudden but spectacular artistic abilities should bring us deeper into the study of art and its old masters but it only touches the borders of this majestic world. I already knew Rembrandt’s name, tell me something I don’t know. Nothing is ventured or gained from this absence of exploration even though it is entirely relevant to the story.

At its core Francey sets a scene where three hundred year old personalities, obviously considered superior to modern ones, are thrust forward in time to settle past emotional entanglements. What the text does not do is allow the reader to become entangled themselves. It is absent of the kind of drama expected of such works. During the action no one ever trips on a step, skins a knee or embarrasses themselves. Despite the background of New York City, the story displays a frigid but harmless setting where everyone is emotionally stable and willing to connect the wildest of speculations. They do this while being tender, uniquely loving and thus supremely boring. This book badly needed a skeptic or a villain. It needed some blood pumping beneath the flowery images and insincere dialogue. Ultimately, it needs a severe rewrite including a barrel of research and a keg of conflict otherwise I wouldn’t recommend it to anybody.