My Review of Fool’s Errand by Jeffrey S. Stephens

(This is an excerpt from my review of Fool's Errand that was posted on my Focus on Fiction
blog.)


Fool's Errand is about a young man who was given a letter written to him by his father Blackie who had died six years earlier. A father who, though charming, also lived on the edges of organized crime. A father that the son loved but didn’t want to emulate.

The letter sends the son on a quest to discover what his father is referring to—“something really big” is how his father describes it in the letter—but the item in question is more of a MacGuffin: that mysterious object that everyone wants and that keeps the story moving forward. But that’s not really what the novel is about.

It’s about seeking that which is lost—not a thing, but a relationship.

And about understanding people—those who are still here and those who have gone—and their motivations and characters to a greater degree and to a deeper level.

Or about value—how one’s life experiences helped influence the worth placed on intangibles such as honor, friendships and beliefs.

That the book is well-written, entertaining and descriptive is a given. As the son seeks to unravel the meaning behind the letter his father left for him, his journey takes him from New York to Las Vegas, and ultimately to the south of France, with the kind of “you are there” details that a gifted writer provides.

But it’s also a journey into his past as memories crowd his mind, and, as he talks with people who knew his father, a journey into the shadows of his father’s past as well.

Fool’s Errand is about the illumination that comes when the son digs deeper into his father’s past and gains a more nuanced understanding of the man. It’s full of twists and turns, recollections and revelations, perceptions and misconceptions.

My advice? Read the book. You'll love it!