Fracking King, The: A Novel (2014) - Plot & Excerpts
There was so much that was clever about this book. Imagine combining Scrabble, fracking and rowing. But for all its cleverness and a true message there was no emotional center for me. It struck me as dark farce, meant to be allegorical but somehow too jumpy for me to dig in. Strangely for a fairly short book it was hard for me to get through. Perhaps it's a case of the reality being so dramatic and terrifying that its hard to compete with the people trying to expose the dangers of fracking. It was entertaining to have folks see the cover and misread the title in a very expletive way. This short, first novel by the chief strategist for the organization, Common Cause,is a quirky combination of teenage angst, the game Scrabble and fracking, the process of extracting gas and oil by injecting chemicals into the fractures in rocks. The main character, Win Crwth, receives a scholarship to attend Hale, a boarding school in Pa. where the Dark Oil & Gas Company uses fracking to get to the energy deposits. He thinks in Scrabble terms and hopes to win the state Scrabble tournament - the winner gets a meeting with the current Pa. governor, Linda King LaRue. Win meets some unusual teachers and students at the school, including Thomasina, the daughter of one of his teachers. This book was fun to read and clever and humorous in places, but sometimes too quirky for it's own good. At times I had the feeling the author was saying "look at how clever I am" with his dialogue and that took me out of the story. Reading this book did spur me to learn more about fracking and the environmental consequences of the process. I was amused by the Scrabble acknowledgements at the end of the novel. Thinking more about the book, I would give it three and one-half stars. I got a free ebook copy of this novel from the Kindle First program.
What do You think about Fracking King, The: A Novel (2014)?
Disjointed at best. One of the best things about this book was its price--$0.00.
—Loveislife2018
Terrible and disjointed - couldn't even finish
—julee
